CU Times readers voted Dennis Dollar the credit union industry's most influential leader of the past 25 years. However, the former NCUA chairman's modest response to his CUTimes25 Final Four win was fitting for a man whose life has been devoted to public service.

"I was absolutely humbled and totally blown away to be voted this recognition by my colleagues in the credit union industry," Dollar told CU Times. "As a former regulator, I didn't really expect to get out of the early rounds, as the decisions a NCUA chairman has to make in that job are often not very popular and one, at best, has to settle for respect – rather than popularity – in the way the decisions were made and the approach taken in making the decisions."

But it was the decisions he made as an NCUA board member and later as chairman that gave rise to Dollar's standing in the credit union community. While he may be out of the regulatory limelight, his influence during the last several decades is still felt by credit unions today.