National award cites NASCUS leader’s ‘outstanding individual achievements’
(Oct. 8, 2021) NASCUS President and CEO Lucy Ito was named this week a winner of the 33rd Annual Herb Wegner Memorial Awards, widely considered the most prestigious honor in the credit union system, for her efforts to make financial freedom achievable to all through credit unions through four decades of work.
Ito, who has announced her retirement as NASCUS leader by year’s end, was named a winner of the outstanding individual achievement award. She will receive recognition at the annual Wegner Awards dinner in February, sponsored by the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) and held during the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) annual Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C.
“I am incredibly humbled to receive this prestigious and unexpected recognition,” Ito said. “It takes so many people for any organization to be successful. At NASCUS, our ‘secret sauce’ is our tireless staff combined with our Regulator Board of Directors, Credit Union Advisory Council, and our membership of both state agencies and credit union industry stakeholders. Together, we are more and better. I am deeply grateful to the nominators and the Herb Wegner Awards Selection Committee for recognizing the work of NASCUS, the California and Nevada Leagues, and the World Council of Credit Unions.”
(Before joining NASCUS in 2014, Ito worked for the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues and the World Council of Credit Unions. Including her tenure at NASCUS, her career has spanned 30-plus years.)
Ito is one of two recipients of the outstanding individual achievement award, the other being Roger Heacock, retired president and CEO of Black Hills FCU in Rapid City, S.D.
Additionally, the African American Credit Union Association (AACUC) will receive the NCUF’s Anchor Award, while the Faith Based Credit Union Alliance will be honored with the outstanding organization award.
All of the awards will be presented during the NCUF’s annual dinner set for Feb. 28 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C. The event is held in conjunction with CUNA’s annual GAC, the largest yearly gathering of credit union advocates.
The awards are named in honor of the late CUNA CEO Herb Wegner, memorializing his dedication, ideas and actions to revolutionize the ways that credit unions serve their communities.
Ito announced her retirement plan last spring. NASCUS leadership is now working to name a replacement for her by year’s end.
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