Longtime CEO of South Dakota’s Largest Credit Union to Retire

South Dakota’s largest credit union is looking for a new CEO after long-time President/CEO Roger Heacock of Black Hills Federal Credit Union said Thursday he plans to retire in January 2021.

Heacock joined the Rapid City-based BHFCU in 1978 and was promoted to president/CEO in 1983.

Under his executive leadership, the credit union grew from approximately $20 million in assets to $1.4 billion in assets at the end of 2019. In those same years, the credit union’s membership jumped from 11,000 to nearly 70,000.

“We have an amazing and dedicated team of employees and volunteers who have a passion for service and believe strongly in the credit union’s mission, ‘We Improve Lives,’” Heacock said. “Our mission defines who we are, directs our daily decisions and provides our employees with permission to go the extra mile.”

Heacock and his team went that extra mile, for example, when in 2012 BHFCU decided to merge with a failing credit union that served the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in central South Dakota, spanning two counties, one of which was ranked among the poorest in the nation at that time.

“It was the right thing to do,” Heacock recalled. “We’re here to provide financial services and improve lives.”

BHFCU continues to serve members in those counties.

Heacock also led the initiative to secure the credit union’s community charter, which also fueled its growth. BHFCU has continued to expand, now serving a rural district field of membership, encompassing 20 counties, many of which were underserved.

The BHFCU board of directors said a search for Heacock’s successor is underway.