Darren Solanki was named chief information officer for the $421 million Dover Federal Credit Union in Dover, Del. He previously held IT positions with Hybrid Financial and NCP Northland Capital, and served as a corporate and reinsurance information security manager for Manualife Financial.

MIDWEST

The $975 million Hiway Federal Credit Union in St. Paul, Minn. hired Jeff Schuetz as vice president of payments. He previously served as vice president and senior product manager for a large financial institution in the Midwest.

The $3.8 billion Lake Michigan Credit Union in Grand Rapids hired Nick Simatos as vice president of commercial lending. He holds 10 years of experience in the financial services industry and commercial lending. The credit union also hired Linda Culotta as a senior mortgage loan originator. Culotta, who worked as a loan originator for 15 years, will serve the southwest Florida area from LMCU's Bonita Springs office.

SOUTH

The $8.7 billion Security Service Federal Credit Union in San Antonio promoted Thomas Martin to executive vice president, chief financial officer. Prior to joining Security Service in 2013, Martin served as president/CEO of the $248 million A.E.A. Federal Credit Union in Yuma, Ariz. Security Service FCU also promoted Yvonne Fernandez to vice president of commercial operations. She previously served as assistant vice president of commercial services.

The $21 million Etowah Valley Federal Credit Union in Cartersville, Ga. announced the retirement of President/CEO Veda Hilton. She joined the credit union in 1975 and became CEO in 1981. Hilton received the prestigious Moses C. Davis Professional of the Year award in 2001. She helped found, lead and direct the $2 billion Atlanta Postal Credit Union. Hilton was also instrumental in establishing the Georgia Credit Union League and numerous other credit unions throughout the Peach State.

WEST

Ofelia Valdez-Yeager was elected to chair the $1.1 billion Altura Credit Union board of directors, the first woman to hold that seat in the credit union's 58-year-history. Jacqueline Hall was elected the board vice chair, the second woman to hold that post after Valdez-Yeager. Jerry Rivera was elected treasurer and Gloria Perez was elected secretary. Valdez-Yeager has served on the board for the Riverside, Calif.-based cooperative since 1998.

The $1.2 billion Whitefish Credit Union hired Colleen Murphy as its operations senior vice president. She joined the Whitefish, Mont.-based cooperative after serving more than 25 years with the $419 million Missoula Federal Credit Union in Missoula, Mont., where she most recently served as vice president of home lending.

The $863 million CoastHills Credit Union in Lompoc, Calif. announced four new hires. Paul Cook was appointed senior vice president, chief information officer. He spent the past decade serving in similar roles with Heritage Oaks Bank, the $371 million Pioneer Federal Credit Union in Mountain Home, Idaho and Panhandle State Bank. Kristin Worthley was also hired as education manager. With more than 20 years of education experience, she previously served as a training manager for Southern California Edison. In addition, Kevin Hemme and Michael Johnson joined the credit union's wealth management department as financial advisors. Hemme previously owned and operated a business and worked 13 years in sales and marketing for a multi-national corporation. Johnson also operated his own business for more than 25 years.

The U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology named Pete Reicks, senior vice president of enterprise performance at the $1.5 billion Elevations Credit Union in Boulder, Colo., to the board of examiners for the 2015 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Examiners are responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the Baldrige Award, the nation's highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence. Elevations Credit Union was awarded this honor in 2014.

Editor's Note: Please email your People column news items to Peter Strozniak [email protected].