Neil Ray Sommers, the CEO of Achieve Credit Union in Elyria, Ohio, has died. He was 74.
The $179 million-asset credit union said in a post on LinkedIn that Sommers died suddenly Oct. 2.
He took over management of the Lorain School Employees Credit Union in 1996 and guided the organization through a merger with the School Employees of Lorain County Credit Union in 2014.
In October 2014, Sommers was announced as the new CEO of the School Employees of Lorain County Credit Union, since renamed as Achieve Credit Union. He served as the credit union's leader up until his death.
Bret Fisher, who for the past three years was Achieve's director of operations, has been named CEO.
In 1968, Sommers enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. He was stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico. During his service, he completed a tour in Korea and two additional duty assignments in Germany.
Sommers received a bachelor's degree from Cleveland State University and a master's of business systems from Baldwin Wallace College. He began his banking career in 1973, serving in a variety of positions at Citizen's Home Savings, AmeriTrust and National City Bank before joining the credit union.
He is survived by his wife and five children.
