New promotions and year-end retirements

At Cornerstone League, we’re proud of our members’ professional advancements and milestones. We take pleasure in posting significant news.

UFCU names Joe Gonzalez associate VP of everyday banking

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UFCU, Austin’s largest locally owned financial institution, announced recently that Joe Gonzalez was promoted to the position to lead the credit union’s Everyday Banking and Payments business unit.

Overseeing core products and services, including checking and savings accounts, ATMs, and debit and credit cards, Everyday Banking and Payments is one of the epicenters of member experience at the $4.7 billion credit union with more than 371,000 members.

Gonzalez began his career at UFCU as a mortgage coordinator in 2005 and progressively held senior roles at the organization. Most recently, he oversaw consumer lending and mortgage lending where he was instrumental in helping UFCU achieve the number one mortgage company ranking in Central Texas awarded by the Austin Business Journal.

“Joe Gonzalez has a strong track record of accomplishments at UFCU and is uniquely qualified for this position because of his leadership, knowledge of our organization, strong operations capabilities, and experience in growing product lines,” said UFCU Executive Vice President Tom Moore. “We have a high degree of confidence that he will be the impact player we need in areas of the business that touches the greatest number of members.”

In recent months, UFCU has added several senior leaders to its ranks with the goal of providing the best service and products in Central Texas to help members achieve financial success.

Gary Parker retires from 1st University CU after 27 years as president/CEO

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Gary Parker, president and CEO of 1st University Credit Union has retired after 27 years leading the credit union. His successor will soon be named.

Parker’s career began in 1975 when at age 20 he became the youngest leader of a credit union in the state of Oklahoma, taking the helm at Bison Federal Credit Union in Shawnee. The small credit union was affiliated with Oklahoma Baptist University. Parker had been a working volunteer there when he was asked to step into the top position after his mentor’s death.

Parker spent nearly 14 years at Bison FCU, followed by several years at First Family Federal Credit Union in Henrietta, Okla. In 1996, he was asked to fill in temporarily as head of Baylor University Employees Credit Union, which later became 1st University. That temporary role turned into a permanent 27-year position.

“With Gary as president and CEO, 1st University has grown enormously and has become a leader in the community,” said Randy Wood, chairman of the credit union’s board of directors. “Gary always kept the ship moving forward, and we will miss him tremendously.”

Parker has been recognized for several major achievements over the course of his career. He founded the popular Lending and Collections Conference, managed annually by Cornerstone League, and he served for many years on the League’s Lending and Collections Council Executive Committee. In 2021 the Lending and Collections Council established an annual scholarship for the conference in Parker’s name.

He has also served on the board of directors of the Texas Credit Union League (now Cornerstone League). His knowledge and expertise led to NCUA’s asking him to serve on a panel addressing the future of corporate credit unions, following the collapse of the corporate system in 2009.

In addition, Parker was named Alumnus of the Year in 2018 for the CUNA Management School for his contributions to the industry since his graduation in 1980. Parker was also chairman of a CUNA Council for small credit unions, which led to his participation in a U.S. Treasury panel focused on credit union legislation during the Trump administration. He also won the Cornerstone League’s Achiever’s Award in 2005 in recognition of his efforts assisting and mentoring other credit unions.

Parker’s retirement goals include travel, particularly to all the national parks in the U.S.

Bob Eike retiring as Century CU president/CEO

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After serving in the top position at Century Credit Union for the past 32 years and 11 months, Bob Eike is retiring, closing out a career in the credit union industry that spans 42 years. His last day in the office was Dec. 28.

Under Eike’s leadership, the credit union grew from $6 million in assets, 4,000 members, one location, and limited products to $147 million in assets, more than 9,000 members, two branches (and participation in a nationwide network of 5,000 shared branches), and a wide offering of financial products and services.

Eike has cut costs, grown earnings and capital, diversified the credit union’s membership, and transformed Century into one of the most financially robust credit unions in the country, not to mention a rate leader locally.

Providing members with excellent service and taking great care of employees have been high priorities for him, as both are important to running a successful credit union.

“I believe in leading by example and doing whatever it takes to get the job done, whether that means fixing toilets or electrical, cleaning gutters, or anything an employee needs a hand in,” Eike said. “I never liked using ‘CEO’ or ‘president.’ When people ask me what I do, I say I’m a manager at the credit union.”

Helping the average blue-collar member achieve their goals is what Eike said he has enjoyed the most about his long career with Century.

“I had a member come in earlier this month and said she was retiring, and I apparently approved a home loan for her when no one else would,” Eike said. “She is comfortably retiring because of the credit union. I know three cases of members who continue to live in their homes when they were being foreclosed by other banks. The stories are too many to mention.”

Things he is most proud of include growing the credit union, offering the best services possible, and being brave enough to have an in-house data system to dramatically cut costs and help build earnings and capital.

His career started at the Missouri Credit Union League as an auditor, fresh out of college. He went on to become the accounting manager at Missouri League Corporate Credit Union, then back with the League as a field consultant to roughly 125 credit unions in the Pioneer and Northeast Chapters. In the latter job, he helped credit unions with financial analysis, planning sessions, accounting, mergers, charters, etc.

Leaving the state trade association for credit unions was the most difficult career-related decision he’s ever had to make. “I really enjoyed working there,” he said. “Great group of people.”

Seeing so many credit unions and different asset sizes while a field consultant helped him to see what was good and bad out there. NALCO (now Century) was a credit union in his chapter and one that he did a lot of work for, as it was struggling at the time.

“My first goal was to take care of six major areas of concern that the state needed to be fixed or else,” he notes.

After turning Century around, he lent a helping hand to other small credit unions in need.

Having entered retirement, Century’s longest-serving president said he looks forward to spending time with his grandkids, fishing more and playing more golf, volunteering with DuoDogs and other church-related activities, and visiting all 32 Major League Baseball parks.