Bill Smith
After more than five decades of volunteering on the Raleigh, N.C.-based Coastal Credit Union's board, Bill Smith announced his retirement on Monday.
According to the $4.7 billion Coastal Credit Union, Smith served on the board since 1970. During his 53 years, he served in various positions such as secretary/treasurer and served terms as vice chair and chair.
"Bill's commitment and contributions to Coastal Credit Union over the past 53 years have been invaluable," Board Chair Joan Nelson said. "He has played an integral role in the credit union's growth and success, and his passion for credit unions and their members is second to none. On behalf of the entire board, I want to thank Bill for his years of dedicated service, and wish him a happy and fulfilling retirement."
Smith was the board member, in 1974, who convinced other members to hire Coastal's first CEO, Larry Wilson, according to the credit union.
His decades-long dedication to credit unions allowed Smith to be very active in CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference and NAFCU's lobbying efforts. Smith also served on committees at NAFCU and the North Carolina Credit Union League, as well as becoming chairman of the League of IBM Credit Unions.
According to Coastal, the board appointed Supervisory Committee Chair A.J. Ramsey to fill Smith's vacancy until the next annual meeting.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
