WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Truliant FCU CEO Marc Schaefer has been named "2016 Most Admired CEO" by Triad Business Journal.
Schaefer, who joined Truliant in 1995, was recognized for his leadership and contributions to Truliant"s growth, achievements, and building an innovative employee culture that aligns with the credit union"s mission to understand and improve members" lives.
"It"s an honor to be recognized by Triad Business Journal alongside the many distinguished leaders making a meaningful impact in our region and beyond," Schaefer said in a statement. "Most importantly, I"m proud of the work Truliant has done to truly improve the lives of our members, their families, and the communities we serve."
Among notable career achievements, Schaefer was instrumental in helping pass legislation in the late 1990s that preserved credit union membership availability nationally beyond single employee groups to many companies, communities and consumers. Schaefer was also behind an innovative visual representation of member awareness that they own the Credit Union in the form of a 64-foot obelisk at Truliant"s headquarters that"s topped by an ambient lighting system that can glow from bright blue to dull yellow based on a real-time survey of member satisfaction and engagement.
Additionally, Schaefer is a member of the TruTones, Truliant"s house band, one of his many efforts to engage with staff. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce and the Innovation Quarter Advisory Board. He also serves on the Boards of Directors for the Charlotte Chamber and Charlotte Regional Partnership.
Most recently, Schaefer has led the 64-year-old credit union"s Greater Charlotte expansion.
Meanwhile, Truliant FCU announced it is launching a financial education fund to provide schools with $200,000 for financial literacy education. The announcement coincides with the credit union reaching 200,000 members this year. It also recently surpassed $2 billion in assets.
"It"s wonderful that we"ve grown in membership and asset size since 1952, but what really matters is that we"ve helped our 200,000 members build stronger financial foundations to improve their lives," said Schaefer in a statement. "The metrics are a reflection of our members" acknowledgement of the value that we have provided to them and their families."
The new education commitment, called the Truliant Financial Education Fund, will offer grants to school systems in the credit union"s communities. That means teachers from Charlotte can submit funding requests for projects on financial literacy. Truliant will distribute funds to winning projects through 2020.
The credit union will open the application period for the first grant cycle on August 1.
