SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Golden 1 Credit Union is mourning the loss of longtime board director Donna L. Giles.
Elected to the board in 1978, for more than 30 years Giles has held nearly every position on The Golden 1 board. She was elected to serve a two-year term as board chair in both 1989 and 2003. She also served terms as vice chair and secretary/treasurer.
During her time as a board member, the credit union grew from $100 million in assets to more than $7 billion in assets.
“Donna's influence and wisdom played a vital role in The Golden 1's growth into California's leading credit union,” says Teresa A. Halleck, The Golden 1 president/CEO. “Her insights into the community and gracious leadership will be greatly missed.”
In addition to her service to the credit union, Giles donated her time to several other organizations, including the American Society of Public Administrators. Before working for the city of Sacramento, Giles worked for the state of California in the CalTrans, Health and Personnel Departments.
“Donna's many experiences allowed her to wear many different hats while serving on the credit union's board of directors,” added Halleck. “Her great impact on both The Golden 1 and the city of Sacramento will not be soon forgotten.”

CUSO Financial Hires
SchoolsFirst FCU Exec

SAN DIEGO — CUSO Financial Services LP has hired Sandra deChastain as its Western region program manager to help credit unions start and expand their investment programs.
DeChastain most recently served as vice president of investment services at $8 billion SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union.
In her new role, deChastain will be responsible for assisting credit unions from San Francisco to San Diego and in Hawaii in developing and growing their existing investment programs. She will also oversee the performance of CFS-registered representatives, and will help start-up investment programs get off the ground. Her first clients include USC Credit Union, Priority One Credit Union, L.A. Financial Credit Union and Credit Union of Southern California, according to CFS.
This is not the first time deChastain has worked with CFS. As the former president/CEO of Rockwell Credit Union Services Inc., she was employed by the CUSO in an office of supervisory jurisdiction capacity. SchoolsFirst FCU partnered with CFS for several years while deChastain was there.
“We're very excited to welcome Sandra as part of our program group,” said Kevin Mummau, executive vice president of CFS. “The programs she manages will receive direction from a true industry veteran who offers expertise and knowledge from both the broker-dealer and credit union perspectives.”
DeChastain is also chairman and one of the founders of the Credit Union Program Managers Association, a four-year old volunteer organization focused on raising professional standards for investment program managers through educational forums. She brings more than 20 years of investment, insurance, financial planning and program management experience to CFS, according to the broker-dealer and investment adviser.
CFS serves more than 120 credit unions through 325 representatives nationwide.