Debie Keesee, President/CEO of Spokane Media FCU in Spokane, Washington, was recognized by CU*Answers as recipient of the Robert H. Mackay award at the 2021 CU*BASE Leadership Conference held on June 16th in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Keesee has been President/CEO of Spokane Media FCU since 1997. This year she will be completing her final term serving as the Secretary/Treasurer for the CU*NorthWest Board of Directors, a position she has held since 2005. Keesee has also served on the CUNA Board since 2016, on the National CU Foundation Board since 2018, and was the recipient of the Northwest Credit Union Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
Keesee has been working in the credit union industry since 1976 and has always seen it as a labor of love. When accepting the award from CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes, Keesee commented, “I am so fortunate to have done nothing but credit union work my entire career. The work our cooperatives have accomplished has allowed our credit unions to remain relevant in a way that is not duplicated anywhere else. I am thrilled to say that I was a big part of bringing that co-op to the credit unions in our area. I know without that collaboration my credit union would long ago have had to seek a merger partner.” Spokane Media Federal Credit Union currently serves 1,161 members and has $14 million in assets.
Keesee is particularly proud of her work providing collaborative back office services to other credit unions in the cuasterisk.com network. Her long-time experience with the CU*BASE® GOLD core processing platform allows Keesee to assist with accounting and other back office tasks, including using CU*BASE tools for completing the 5300 Call Report. “I have been doing that work since 2015 and I count all the folks I work with at Wymar Federal Credit Union, Jackson County Teachers CU, and Calhoun Liberty Employees Credit Union as not just colleagues but great friends,” said Keesee.
The Robert H. Mackay award was established in 2005 to recognize the leadership contribution of Robert Mackay, retired CEO of Berrien Teachers CU (now known as Honor Credit Union,) who served as a member of the CU*Answers Board of Directors from 1985 to 2007 and as Chairman for 19 of those years. Randy Karnes, CU*Answers CEO said “Bob’s leadership and inspiration served not only as a guide but as the compass for CU*Answers to grow and prosper into a CUSO that is now known in the industry for its core values of cooperation, collaboration and innovation.” Each year this award is presented to an individual who exemplifies these leadership skills.