OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.–Florence Rogers, who spent more than 34 years in credit unions and who survived the Oklahoma City bombing that killed many of her coworkers, was honored by the Cornerstone Credit Union League here with its Hall of Fame Award.
Rogers worked in credit unions from 1963-1997, retiring as president of Federal Employees Credit Union (today its known as Allegiance Credit Union).
But Rogers is best known for surviving the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building that killed 168 people, including 18 employees at the credit union, and injured hundreds of others.
"FECU grew steadily under the leadership of Florence from 1971 to 1997," said Allegiance Credit Union CEO Lynette Leonard, "reaching total assets of nearly $80 million upon her retirement. A culture of providing a high level of member service and offering a full spectrum of options to meet member's financial needs was established and is still our expectation to this day."
Perhaps Florence's greatest accomplishment was guiding FECU through the difficult challenges following the tragedy, Leonard noted. "Her leadership was instrumental in ensuring the survival of Federal Employees Credit Union."
"The credit union was truly a family atmosphere," Leonard recalled in a statement first published by the Cornerstone CU League. "And members felt the loss of friends on that tragic day. Even 20 years later, we have members ask about Florence and how she is doing. This shows the impact she made on individual lives in truly living out the credit union philosophy of people helping people."
The Cornerstone Credit Union League said its Hall of Fame was created to honor those in the credit union movement who reflect a rich history of service to credit unions through their chapters, their league and, in some cases, the Credit Union National Association. Individuals receiving this prestigious award are viewed as pioneers in the credit union movement.
Also recognized by the Cornerstone League:
- The Professional of the Year award went to Maria J. Martinez. Martinez has been president and chief executive officer at BFCU in Del Rio, Texas, since June 1997, and for three years before that she served as its vice president of lending. In total, she has been with the credit union movement for more than 28 years. At the time she became CEO of BFCU in 1997, the credit union had two service locations, $33 million in assets, more than 13,000 members, and 35 employees. Today BFCU has grown to more than $140 million in assets, 24,450 members, 115 employees, five office locations, and 12 proprietary ATMs.