LATHAM>> Bruce Beaudette, retired Sunmark President/CEO, of Clifton Park, has been named one of the two New York Credit Union Association’s (CUANY) 2015 New York Credit Union Hall of Fame inductees.

“When Bruce retired as president/CEO, he left a legacy of 28 years of growth, community commitment, and industry excellence.  He was also one of the Capital Region’s longest serving CEOs,” said Sunmark Interim CEO Frank DeGraw.   “Bruce continues to be a wonderful mentor to this next generation of credit unionists and to the students at Van Corlaer School in Schenectady, where he has been a volunteer for years. This Hall of Fame honor is well-deserved and illustrative of Bruce’s commitment to the Capital Region community and his fundamental role in the growth of credit unions in New York.”

Beaudette led Sunmark in its growth from a single office of eight employees to 185 people and 10 branches throughout the Capital Region. Now the third largest credit union in the area, Sunmark has more than $470 million in assets and more than 48,000 members.

In addition to his leadership role in the Capital Region, Beaudette had been involved with the growth of the credit union movement and served in an advisory-role on related state and federal issues.  He was a part of the Credit Union Economics Group, which meets regularly with Federal Reserve banks nationwide and publishes credit union statistics and makes quarterly economic forecasts and has been a member of the Filene Institute National Research Council, the GE Credit Union Association, president of the Schenectady Chapter of the New York State Credit Union League, the treasurer of CUC Mortgage Corporation, a founding member of US Net- Shared Branching in New York and as president of Sunmark Financial Services, LLC.   Beaudette also served on the Board of Directors for Members United Federal Credit Union (formerly Empire Corporate in Albany, NY), a Chicago-based corporate credit union with more than $15 billion in assets for almost 20 years.

“’People helping people’ is at the very heart of what credit unions stand for and is such an strong part of my personal and business philosophies,” said Beaudette.  “There are so many successes that Sunmark has accomplished and one of the areas I’m most proud of is the way that we, as a company, have worked to make a significant impact on the lives of our members and throughout the area with our charitable giving and volunteer efforts.”

Throughout the years, Sunmark has built a robust program of giving back to the community including designating a non-profit recipient of the proceeds from an annual golf tournament, teaching through Junior Achievement in area schools, collecting toys and supporting Adopt-A-Family programs during the holidays and extending sponsorships for community festivals and business opportunities including the Sunmark Business Grant competition and running food drives for the Regional Food Bank of NENY.

Beaudette has sat on and served in leadership roles for various local non-profit Boards including the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, the Schenectady County Community College Foundation and the Kiwanis Foundation. He has been a volunteer in the Schenectady City School District, specifically at Van Corlaer School for more than 20 years, working with and mentoring first and second graders.

The New York Credit Union Hall of Fame was created in 1993 to honor individuals who devoted/have devoted their lives to the philosophy and success of the credit union movement and who have had a significant impact on credit unions at the local, state and/or national levels.

Beaudette was formally inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 2015 Annual Meeting & Convention in Saratoga on June 13.

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About Sunmark Federal Credit Union:

Since 1937, Sunmark Federal Credit Union ($470 million in assets; 48,000+ members) has been helping members in the greater Capital Region community improve their financial position by offering a full range of mortgages, insurance products, retirement accounts and of course, savings and checking.  Sunmark is committed to the financial health and well-being of each member by offering tools that educate and inform and products and services that make it easier to reach financial goals such as planning a budget, saving for a home, repairing  credit or getting out of debt. For more information, call 518-382-0605 or visit www.sunmarkfcu.org.

About the New York Credit Union Association:

Founded in 1917, NYCUA provides credit unions with a full range of services including education and training, advocacy, community outreach, human resources and compliance. The charitable arm of the Association, the New York Credit Union Foundation, serves credit unions, schools and community organizations through financial education programs, grants and special projects. NYCUA has served as the trade association for New York State’s credit unions for 96 years. New York credit unions have assets of more than $65 billion and serve 4.9 million members.