Roger Heacock Inducted Into Hall of Fame

​A long and distinguished career is recognized during the Awards Banquet at the Summit in Fargo.   

Roger Heacock, former CEO of Black Hills FCU was inducted into the Dakota Credit Union Association Hall of Fame in front of more than 200 of his peers, friends, and family members during the Awards Banquet that was held Tuesday evening in Fargo.  
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Roger served the credit union industry for 45 years, starting at the tiny Rosebud FCU in 1975, then joining Black Hills Federal Credit Union (BHFCU) in 1978, becoming the CEO in 1983. He retired earlier this year.  Throughout his career, Heacock has been a dedicated champion for serving the underserved and those in need of access to financial services in some of South Dakota’s most impoverished areas.  Under his leadership, BHFCU grew from $23 million in assets to over $1.5 billion, expanded from 5 branches to 15, and tripled membership to more than 77,000 members.

Heacock also has a long history of service at the national and state levels.  He was a member of the CUNA Board of Directors from 2010 to 2019, and in 2013 he began serving on the CUNA Strategic Services Board of Directors where he continues to serve as Chair.  He has represented credit unions in Washington, DC on many occasions during congressional testimony.  His contributions are seemingly endless and include serving on CUNA’s Field of Membership (FOM) Task Force, the Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Community Credit Union Committee.  He served on the National Association of Community Credit Unions (NACCU) Board for 5 years, the South Dakota Credit Union League Board for 26 years, and the South Dakota Credit Union League Services Corporate Board for more than 20 years.
 
DakCU President/CEO Jeff Olson is fond of telling the story of how he first met Roger.  “In his Laws of Leadership book, renowned author, John Maxwell, writes about the ‘The Law of E.F. Hutton.’  This is a leadership trait that references the successful advertising campaign used by the brokerage firm years ago: When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.  That promotion was touting that true leaders influence people, and I witnessed this idea in action the first time I met Roger Heacock at a managers’ forum some 14 years ago.  I quickly saw the influence he had on other credit union leaders in the room.  Everyone literally stopped to listen intently each time he spoke or offered an idea.  When a real leader speaks, people listen, and to my knowledge, no other person from the Dakotas has contributed as much to the growth and expansion of the credit union movement here in the Dakotas as Roger Heacock,” he says.

As part of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, two videos were played for the audience: a tribute to Roger’s service, and a personal message from Jim Nussle, CUNA President/CEO, which you can view at the links below.
Roger Heacock HOF Tribute
Message from Jim Nussle

From all of us at DakCU, and on behalf of the many credit union professionals you have supported and influenced over the years, congratulations Roger!

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