PLANO, Texas— The 2016 Compliance Professional of the Year award was presented to First Service Credit Union's Darla Grimes, vice president of compliance, during the Compliance and Audit Conference in Galveston, Texas. The purpose of Cornerstone’s Compliance Professional of the Year award is to recognize an outstanding compliance professional’s achievements and contributions to the advancement of compliance in our movement.
Grimes has 32 years' experience in the credit union industry and 14 years in the compliance profession. She has been a member of Cornerstone's Compliance Council since 2004 and is a member of the Compliance Council Executive Committee. She is also the chair of Cornerstone's Compliance Council and has served several terms previously.
As a role model, Grimes says she particularly likes sharing and mentoring. "I believe this is what also makes the credit union unique," Grimes said. "We are not only here to help our members, but to support each other. The burden of new or changing regulations can be overwhelming at times. Sometimes just knowing you’re not alone in a 'regulatory state of confusion' can be very reassuring.”
At First Service, a credit union with $577 million in assets, Grimes has been included in strategic planning and has been influential in establishing a training department, enhancing fraud detection, and conducting investigations for internal and external fraud. She is responsible for overseeing compliance audits, tracking resolutions and reports the progress to the supervisory committee; assisting with policy and procedure development to maintain compliance. She maintains certifications through CUNA and NAFCU as a certified compliance expert, BSA compliance specialist, and NAFCU certified compliance officer.
Cornerstone Credit Union League SVP Credit Union Relations said of Grimes, "I offer my sincere congratulations to Darla Grimes for being honored with the Compliance Professional of the Year award. We at Cornerstone continue to be impressed by the wealth of talent and the spirit of community that exists within the Credit Union Movement. Darla embodies that talent and spirit in an often complicated regulatory field.