CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Effective Aug. 1, Todd Fortner will take over as CEO of Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union.
Fortner will succeed Blake Strickland, who has been president/CEO for the past 16 years and who is retiring after a 37-year career at the credit union.
Strickland began his career at TVFCU as the organization’s first marketing employee in 1978 and held several marketing and operational roles before becoming president and CEO in 1999. Under Strickland’s leadership, TVFCU has grown to $1.1-billion in assets from $289 million in assets and to more than 114,000 members from 66,783.
“Through Strickland’s innovative guidance, TVFCU was the first financial institution in Southeast Tennessee to introduce dialogue branches to foster a better member experience,” the credit union said in a statement. “He added six branch locations to further meet member needs in the growing service area and renovated five branches. During his tenure, TVFCU gained community charter status from NCUA, allowing anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers or attends school in the 13-county service area to become a member. Throughout his career, he continually strived to give back to the community. He served on the boards of several organizations, including Volunteer Corporate Credit Union, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Greater Chattanooga and Junior Achievement of Chattanooga. He was inducted into the Tennessee Credit Union Hall of Fame in 2013.”
The credit union said that for the past two years Strickland has worked with Fortner, who is EVP, to ensure a smooth transition. In mid-June, the TVFCU board of directors unanimously voted to officially name Fortner as president and CEO, effective Aug. 1.
Fortner, a native Tennessean and Tennessee Tech University graduate, joined TVFCU in 2005 as chief financial officer after an extensive background in the financial services industry. Fortner began his career as a certified public accountant with Hazlett, Lewis and Bieter Certified Public Accountants in Chattanooga. Prior to joining TVFCU, he served as controller for First Financial Bank and as chief financial officer for AOD Federal Credit Union.
“It has been a privilege to have worked with our dedicated board of directors and supervisory committee volunteers and to be just a small part of this tremendous staff that takes care of our members each and every day,” said Strickland. “It is indeed an honor to pass the baton to Todd who I know will continue to enhance member service to help everyone live the life they love at TVFCU.”