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The League’s Convention always delivers great speakers and networking opportunities for Maine’s credit unions. It also provides time to recognize the exceptional work credit union employees do each and every day—including honoring one individual as the outstanding credit union employee of the year. This year’s winner of the Jeannette G. Morin Award is Bette Tomah, Senior VP of Internal Operations at Downeast CU. Bette was nominated by her peers for her longstanding commitment to serving her credit union and its members.
Since joining Downeast CU in September 1992, Bette has been a driving force in the organization’s success. The credit union now has eight branches, over $230 million in assets, and serves approximately 22,000 members—a significant increase in growth since she began her tenure there.
In addition to working in several roles at Downeast CU throughout the course of her career, Bette has been deeply committed to education. She has attained many certifications and special designations. Some of these include Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Specialist (BSACS), Credit Union Enterprise Risk Management Expert (CUERME), Credit Union Compliance Expert (CUCE), among others.
“Bette is so deserving of this award and was in awe to be recognized virtually at this year’s Convention award ceremony,” said Joseph Moses, MBA|CCUE|CUERME, President/CEO at Downeast CU. “Her dedicated commitment to serving the credit union movement is proven by her 28 years of service to Downeast Credit Union. We are all lucky to have her on our team!”
Bette directly manages four employees in the Internal Operations Department. Coaching her team to be the best that they can be is an important part of her job. She always is encouraging them to attend educational seminars and webinars, earn credit union designations, and work on projects that align with their passions. Bette also assists with the credit union’s fundraising efforts to support local community initiatives.
In her award nomination form, her peers stated, “You will not find a more dedicated worker than Bette. She often puts in extra hours on nights and weekends to meet the needs of the members, team, and projects to improve our products and services at Downeast CU. And, she does it all while being a great wife and mom to two great kids, Alex and Dennis….Bette has devoted so much of her life to serving the members of Downeast CU, our team of skilled workers, and the communities we serve.”
Outstanding efforts like Bette’s are inspiring to the entire credit union movement. The League extends our congratulations to her on this notable achievement.