DULUTH, Ga.–The Georgia Credit Union Affiliates has named the winners of its Moses C. Davis Professional and Volunteers of the Year Awards, which are named after the founding father of Georgia credit unions.
Named as the Professional of the Year was Wanda Rutledge, vice president of community relations for Kinetic Credit Union. Rutledge has been with Kinetic for 36 years and held many different positions.
“Wanda continues to meet or exceed all of her continuing education requirements and plays a key role in the organization of opening new branches for Kinetic,” the GCUA said. “Wanda represents credit unions enthusiastically and professionally. She has dedicated herself to fostering legislative support on behalf of Georgia credit unions. Legislators know her by name and they know how committed she is to promoting the credit union movement. Wanda serves on Georgia Credit Union Affiliates’ Credit Union political action committee and has single-handedly led the CUPAC initiative for her credit union every year, enabling them to offer generous donations reaching five figures annually. She is also a former board member for GCUA’s Outreach Advocacy Committee. Wanda works tirelessly to ensure that credit unions have a consistent and positive impact on members of the community.”
Several people were named as Moses C. Davis Volunteers of the Year. The winners, along with descriptions provided by the GCUA, below, are:
District 1:
Margaret L. Pittman, who has served on the Associated Credit Union board of directors since 1978. She was elected secretary in 1980 and served in the position off and on for more than a decade. In 1984 she was elected vice chairperson. Margaret has served on every committee at ACU. In 2015, she was the first female to ever be elected as Chairperson of the board. Margaret’s dedication to the credit union movement and unyielding leadership has helped Associated Credit Union achieve incredible growth, going from $33 million in assets and 22,535 members, to a current $1.4 billion in assets and 159,855 members.
District 2:
Gail Turner is the epitome of an extraordinary leader within the credit union and the community. As chairman of the Augusta VAH Federal Credit Union board of directors, Gail keeps members' interests at the forefront of her engagement. Maintaining the philosophy of "helping people afford life," Gail contributes to the achievement of the credit union's primary purpose – to help its members achieve a better standard of living. At the state level, Gail participates in the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates’ Idea Institute and GCUA’s Annual Convention. Gail also maintains a national presence through her attendance of the annual Governmental Affairs Conference, as well as directors' conferences throughout the United States.
District 3:
Dr. Edie Thompson has served on MEA Federal Credit Union’s board of directors since 2008. She also held the office of board treasurer for more than six years. Known for her compassion and generosity, Edie works diligently to serve the poor and indigent of Columbus and the surrounding community. She devotes time to the Edgewood Senior Center, established a Grief Counseling Program for St. Anne Church and does pro bono counseling for those in need of family and marriage counseling. Edie was instrumental in establishing the East Alabama Troy State Alumni Association and was named to the Troy State University Hall of Fame.