Tag: 20 year anniversary

Congratulations Stephanie Sievers! 20 Years at WaunaCU!

SSievers-20year

Wauna Credit Union is proud to celebrate Stephanie Sievers 20 year anniversary at Wauna CU!

Stephanie was initially hired in 1996 in preparation to fill a front line vacancy of the employees who were transferring to the new Warrenton Branch scheduled to open in January of 1997.  She started as a teller at the Astoria Branch and then was promoted to Head Teller and then to Loan Officer.  She was then transferred to serve as the Warrenton Teller Supervisor and then promoted to the Warrenton Branch Manager.  She then transferred back to serve as the Astoria Branch Manager.  At that point, Stephanie realized that her heart was in branch operations and went back to serve as the Astoria Branch Operations Manager and Jeff Parker took on the Branch Manager role.

In 2006, Stephanie stepped up and helped to prepare for WCU’s core conversion to CU Answers (WCU’s Core system 2006 – 2013).  She assisted with the in house account cleanup process and the setup of the new core account structure.  This led her to her next promotion of Operations Support Manager which included core support and employee operational training responsibilities.  To better oversee these new responsibilities, she was relocated to the Main Office in Clatskanie.  Since that appointment, the back office operations department she oversees has grown from a one person department to a department of seven which includes, back office operations, compliance, card services, and lending admin.  In 2015, Stephanie was given the title of SVP Operations.

Stephanie shared with me that when she started there was a lot a lot of carbon, paper, and manual processing.  There was micro fiche, fax machines, and you used a machine to manually imprint the dollar amount on the money orders and cashier’s check.  The front line often assisted with checkbook register balancing and everything was recorded through paper statements.  They even used an electric typewriter to fill out account cards, certificates of deposits, and other legal documentation.  My how things have changed and Stephanie has had the privilege of being a part of these exciting changes.

Stephanie is a dedicated and committed employee who truly cares about the members, the employees, and the credit union.  I have enjoyed working side by side with her and wish her many more great memories and exciting successes.

Thank you Stephanie for all that you have contributed!

Please join me once again in congratulating Stephanie on this milestone anniversary!

Sincerely,

Debi Smiley, CMO

 

Congratulations! Richard Bighill Celebrates 20 Years at Wauna CU!

Twenty Years & Still Going Strong! Thank You Richard!

richard- bighill-2016Please join Wauna Credit Union in congratulating Richard Bighill, as he celebrates his 20 year anniversary.  What a milestone!  On July 8 wa-a-a-ay back in 1996 Richard started his career at Wauna.  Wow, has he ever seen a lot of change in the past 20 years!

 

When Richard first joined Wauna he was our Administrative Secretary.  He reported to past CEO Eileen Cheuvront, and also to Debi Smiley, who was the Marketing Manager at that time.  He was very busy helping both bosses and in time he became the backup for the Marketing Department (which consisted of just one person).  He took meeting minutes, helped update procedures and other documents, made board packets, and had a plethora of other behind the scenes duties.  Richard was also in charge of supplies for all branches, and he continues to make sure we have all the office supplies, forms and miscellaneous items that we need to keep things running smoothly here at Wauna.  And he seeks out good deals!

In 2003, Richard became the Administrative Assistant to past CEO Dave Baggett who came to Wauna when Eileen retired.  Dave appointed Richard to be our official Wauna “Minister of Fun” (yep, you read that right!).  Employees looked forward to his jokes, fun facts and activities in our branches, and they were simply meant to add some fun to our day.  A few of us remember bowling with pumpkins, having paper airplane contests, and other fun games.  Don’t let Richard’s quiet demeanor fool you; he has a great sense of humor and comes up with the funniest lines at the most unexpected times.  But back to his work, Richard was also past CEO Bruce Mallory’s Administrative Assistant, so he has directly served 3 CEOs.

And then in 2005 Richard had the extreme good fortune to join the HR Department. He became responsible for payroll and variety of HR administrative duties that include all our insurance and 401k enrollments/changes, our HR system software, compliance assistance, on-boarding new employees, and much more.  He has experienced 3 payroll systems and countless insurance carriers in the past 11 years, not to mention all the new laws we need to comply with.  He continues to take on new responsibilities as our number of employees increases and our systems become more sophisticated.  Yes, many changes indeed!

A few things you might not know about Richard…  He has an identical twin brother (and Richard claims to be the better looking of the two!).  He will celebrate his 24th wedding anniversary this year (wow!).  He has 2 sons, he is a HUGE David Bowie fan, and a big fan of the Seahawks and the Mariners, too.  He loves cars, burgers, and chocolate (he always has a stash of peanut M&Ms).

Richard is very proud to be a member of Team Wauna and the HR Department, and he enjoys serving all our employees.  Please be sure to give him a high five and thank him for all he does here at Wauna.  And a big “Go Seahawks” is always welcome!)

Richard, thanks for your dedication, your work & your positive outlook for all these years.  Happy anniversary and congratulations!!

Written by Sharon Borgardt, SPHR, SHRM-SCP