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RIVERDALE, Utah-It is a good thing the National Credit Union Foundation's Herb Wegner Awards aren't dependent upon self-nominations; otherwise the story of Rick Craig's career and accomplishments might never have been told.
The foundation has named Craig the winner of the 2013 Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement. The retired CEO of $5.5-billion America First Federal Credit Union here will be honored at a dinner hosted by NCUF at the Grand Hyatt Washington this week in conjunction with CUNA's 2013 Governmental Affairs Conference.
Craig has lived an extraordinary life, including a stint with the National Security Agency in Turkey during the Cold War, multiple educational degrees that include a master's in engineering, 35 years in management at America First, and 31 years on the faculty of Western CUNA Management School. He has held leadership positions at the local, state and national levels by serving on various boards and committees in the credit union system, including the Credit Union Executives Society. He is a member of the CUES Hall of Fame.
Yet in a recent interview with Credit Union Journal Craig deflected all of the praise and honors sent his way to the people he has worked with through the years. For example, when asked what one memory sticks out above all others from his career, he said, "The impact people had on me. I met many terrific people along the way and all of them were very dedicated, and that certainly made a difference in my life."
Evolution of Technology
About the only way to get Craig to talk is to ask questions that do not directly involve him. He said the most significant change he witnessed during his lengthy career is the application of technology on financial services.
"There was an evolution of the Internet and electronic banking," he recalled. "I was there when we put the first computer in the house [at America First] in 1978. It communicated with teletype machines. It was one of the first IBM machines that came off the line."
The development of electronic services is the biggest development for CUs, Craig assessed. He said the various e-capabilities have "allowed us to grow, and to serve more members more efficiently. We just have to make sure we...