Peggy J. Bosma-LaMascus, president and CEO of Patriot Federal Credit Union, announced that she will retire after a 34-year career at the credit union.
Dennis Coons, board chairman of the Chambersburg, Pa.-based Patriot, said that Brad R. Warner, the credit union's chief strategy and marketing officer, was named interim president and CEO.
Bosma-LaMascus began her career in the credit union industry at WESTVASAMCO Federal Credit Union in West Virginia in 1970. She joined Patriot's predecessor, Letterkenny Federal Credit Union, in 1982, as CEO. (Letterkenny changed its name to Patriot in 1995).
At the time she took the helm at Letterkenny, the credit union had $26 million in assets, 29 employees, and served 14,250 members from 3 branch locations. Under her stewardship, the credit union has grown to more than $520 million in assets, serving more than 51,000 members in Franklin and Fulton Counties in Pennsylvania, the Borough of Shippensburg (Pa.), and Washington County (Maryland) through 8 branch locations.
Coons commented on Bosma-LaMascus: ""She's a true credit union leader and epitomizes the credit union philosophy of 'people helping people."
She has also held many other positions in the credit union movement, including serving on the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association Board of Directors from 1987 to 2001. She was also the recipient of the 2010 William Pratt Lifetime Achievement Award for Credit Union Professional of the Year, among other honorariums.
"It's been a wonderful career and an opportunity to help people," said Bosma-LaMascus. "Forty-six years ago, it was very difficult for the average person to get financing for anything. I recognized that credit unions were the best way to help people with their financial needs. Having a positive impact on peoples' lives and their families was, and still is, important to me. I fell in love with the credit union philosophy of 'Not for profit, Not for Charity, But for Service.'"
