The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Membership of First Education Federal Credit Union will be held on March 20, 2024. The business meeting will start at 5:30pm. It will be held in-person at Laramie County Community Collage in the ANB Bank Leadership Center located in the Clay Pathfinder Building. Attendance is free for members, but you must register for the meal and to be eligible for prizes. Call 307-432-7400, send an email to ms@firstedfcu.com, or stop by our office to register. Contact the Credit Union by March 15, 2024 to register.
Members may attend virtually. You must register by emailing ms@firstedfcu.com and provide a valid email address to attend virtually.
Board of Directors Election
As a member of First Education Federal Credit Union, you have a say in how the Credit Union is run. This control comes through your right to vote for the Board of Directors. The Board then appoints other committee members and sets policy for the Credit Union. First Education uses a Nominating Committee/Mail Ballot System to elect its Directors. A Nominating Committee, appointed by the Board Chair, reviewed candidates for the four Board vacancies and nominated Dan Sawyer, Matt Hager, Jeff Nieters, and Rudy Flores to fill these vacancies. Information on the nominees is included below.
Nominations from the floor at the Annual Meeting are not allowed, however; a member not selected by the Nominating Committee may petition to be placed on the ballot. The petition process is explained below. The election is by mail ballot and therefore, it is not necessary to attend the Annual Meeting to vote. The election is determined by plurality vote and ballots will be sent to all members eligible to vote at least thirty days before the Annual Meeting. However, ballots will not be sent if the number of nominees equals the number of open positions.
Petition Process: To be placed on the ballot, a member must be over the age of sixteen as of the date of the Annual Meeting, obtain the signatures of at least fifty-six (56) members over the age of sixteen and submit a resume, statement of qualifications, biographical data, and a statement of willingness to serve as a director. Petitions may be obtained at the Credit Union. Completed petitions must be delivered to the address below no later than 5:00pm Friday February 9, 2024:
First Education Federal Credit Union
ATTN: Jim Yates
120 W Carlson St
Cheyenne, WY 82009
Petitions received after 5:00pm MST February 9, 2024 or lacking the required number of member signatures will not be eligible for this election cycle . If you have any questions, please contact James Yates at the Credit Union.
If you are interested in serving on the Board or being a volunteer, please contact Jim Yates at jyates@firstedfcu.com.
Information on the candidates:
Rudy Flores is a former employee of First Education FCU, where he worked as a teller from 2009 to 2015 as a high school/college student. Prior to being appointed as interim board member in July, Rudy was the Supervisory Committee Chair and had served on the Committee since 2017. He also is a board member for Holy Trinity’s Youth Education Trust.
Rudy is currently employed with HF Sinclair Corporation as a cost accountant for the Cheyenne renewable diesel plant. He and his wife of seven years, Amelia, have two sons.
Matt Hager has enjoyed working on the Credit Union Board since 2003. He is currently treasurer and seeking another term. He graduated from Angelo State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. For the last eighteen years, Matt has worked for the Wyoming Department of Health as the Medicaid Accounting Manager. Prior to this, he worked in the Department of Audit in the Mineral Audit Division as an auditor for eight years. He and his wife, Brandi, have been married for twenty-eight years and have three wonderful children.
Jeff Nieters is a graduate of the University of Wyoming with a master’s degree in public administration. In his career, Jeff was an Internal Auditor, Accounting Manager, and Assistant Director for the State Lands of Wyoming. He also served as Chief Financial Officer for the City of Green River and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne. Jeff has served on the board of three other credit unions, WYHY FCU, Tri-Parish FCU, and WyoChem FCU and several civic organizations, coached soccer, and taught ethics. He served on the Supervisory Committee before being elected to the board in 2021.
Jeff retired in 2020. He and Patty, his wife of 36 years, have 4 grown children, and six grandchildren. Jeff’s parents and most of his 7 siblings live in Cody Wyoming.
Dan Sawyer has been a member of the Credit Union since 1988 and has served on the board since 2011. He is currently board chair and is seeking another term on the Board of Directors. He received a bachelor’s degree with honors in Science from the University of Wyoming in 1992 and a Master of Science in 1998 from the University of Wyoming. Dan has been a teacher for LCSD1 for 22 years and currently teaches math at McCormick Junior High. He and his wife Belinda, realtor for RE/MAX, live in Cheyenne and have a blended family with five wonderful children.
