Mr. Ponteri, CEO of 25 years, will be retiring at the end of this year. Retirement is anticipated to be fun and rewarding; however, the last day on the job is, at the same time, a celebration of accomplishments and a bittersweet feeling of departure.
Raymond Ponteri, our President and CEO, will be retiring January 4, 2010 after 25 years of service to the Credit Union. Mr. Ponteri served both as a volunteer, starting in 1982, and as our President for the past 22 years. His involvement in the credit union movement is extensive. He served ten years as a director for the Texas Credit Union League and CU Resources Inc., serving in various positions and committees. He also served on the 2000 CUNA Renaissance Commission and in various local community organizations.
Needless to say, Ray will be missed by the Board of Directors, Executive Staff, employees, and most of all, by our membership. He has been a visionary and a leader who took the Credit Union from 20 million in assets to over 260 million dollars, increased membership to 48,000, and expanded to eight branch offices.
When asked what he would miss the most Mr. Ponteri responded, "That's easy - the people. Over the years I have made many friends with members, volunteers and employees. It's hard to walk away from those relationships. Working at the Credit Union has been a truly great experience."
Mr. P, like many of us at the Credit Union call him, is planning to stay in El Paso. He will still be involved with the Credit Union in some capacity but also hopes to "play a lot of golf!"
It is sad to say goodbye to Mr. Ponteri, but we know he leaves us in good shape and under the direction of a supporting Board an incoming President/CEO, Ken Walters, who has been Mr. P's understudy for the past three years. Ken Walters brings many years of credit union management experience. He is a true believer in the credit union philosophy of "People helping people" where his priority is to take care of our members and maintain a strong financial position such as the one achieved by Mr. Ponteri.
Retirement brings many of the same opportunities as a graduation. The exception now is that you have an incredible amount of skill and abilities that could be redirected in many exciting directions. So, it is not goodbye. Instead, it is "We'll be seeing you!" and "Thank you for those years of hard work and dedication to us and our members!"
