Dennis D. Degenhardt, recently retired CEO of Glacier Hills CU, was recognized by CU*Answers as the 13th recipient of the Robert H. Mackay award at the 2017 CU*Answers Leadership Conference held on June 21st in Grand Rapids.

Recently retired as CEO of Glacier Hills CU in West Bend, Wisconsin, Degenhardt devoted 39 years to the credit union industry, starting as the teller of his local parish credit union while he was just in the 6th grade. Accepting the award at the gathering of more than 200 credit union professionals, Dennis thanked the CUSO for the honor, saying “This recognition from all of you as my peers means more to me than I can say.” A lifelong credit union member himself, Degenhardt said: “Working at a credit union never really felt like coming to work. I was privileged to work with so many great people who really cared about each other and our members.” Glacier Hills CU has grown from $68M in assets in 2008 to $117M in assets, and today serves 14,600 members.

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.

Degenhardt is replaced as President/CEO at Glacier Hills by Kelly McDonough, who formerly acted as President/CEO of First Alliance Credit Union in Minnesota for thirteen years.