NAPERVILLE, Ill.–Long-time Illinois CU System President Dan Plauda has died. Plauda was 69.
Plauda was named CEO of the Illinois league and the League Service Corp. in 1984, only the fourth person to serve in that position since the league’s inception in 1930.
He began his career with the League in 1977 when he was hired by then CEO Dick Ensweiler to be its first-ever general counsel. The league reported that one of Plauda’s first and most important accomplishments was the drafting and passage of the recodification of the Illinois Credit Union Act in 1979. This piece of legislation took two years to develop and get signed into law and ushered in a new era of services the credit union movement could provide to its members, the ICUS noted.
“Among many accomplishments too numerous to list, Dan formed the Illinois Credit Union Foundation, establishing it as a 501(3) charitable organization to benefit the needs of small credit unions throughout the state,” the ICUS said in a statement. “In its 37 years of existence, the ICU Foundation has awarded more than $3 million in scholarships, community service grants, peer assistance, and emergency and natural disaster aid.
“Under Dan’s stewardship the Credit Union Political Action Council grew from a small PAC to one of the most effective political action groups in the State of Illinois, raising more than $368,000 in 2015,” the ICUS statement continued. “To better communicate the needs of credit unions to lawmakers, Dan expanded and restructured the governmental affairs department and opened a branch office in Springfield.”
Plauda retired from the Illinois CU System in 2014 and was inducted that year to the Illinois Credit Union Hall of Fame to honor his contributions to the credit union community. During his career he was also active in the American Association of Credit Union Leagues and CUNA.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan’s family and friends as they deal with this unexpected loss,” said Tom Kane, president/CEO of ICUL and LSC. “Dan was a leader for many years in the credit union industry – across the country as well as Illinois – as well as a mentor and friend to many of us. He hired me nearly 13 years ago and always impressed me as a smart, big-hearted, pragmatic, and decisive leader with a great sense of humor and perspective on the challenges of running a successful league and national service corporation. I spent a lot of time with Dan in the years before he retired as we travelled around the state to attend credit union events and he entertained me for hours with stories from his lengthy career. His management style ‘to hire good people and stay out of their way’ was very successful in building the premier credit union league and service corporation in the country. With his tremendous amount of industry experience and knowledge, he was a wonderful sounding board for new ideas or dealing with challenges, as he could engage in discussions on almost any topic and make quick, sound decisions. He will certainly be missed by those of us who were fortunate to work with him over the years.”
In all, Plauda spent 37 years in credit unions.