John Radebaugh, the first president/CEO of the Carolinas Credit Union League, plans to retire on July 1, 2018.
“It wasn’t just a sudden decision. I’ve always wanted to retire while I’m still young,” Radebaugh told the CU Times Tuesday. “We’re going to stay where we live in Greensboro. I just want to spend more time with my family, my grandkids. I’ve traveled so much that I am looking forward to being home and enjoying that.”
Radebaugh will be 66 when he retires.
He became president/CEO of the North Carolina Credit Union League in 2003. Ten years later, when the North Carolina league merged with the South Carolina Credit Union, Radebaugh was named the first president/CEO of the Carolinas league that officially opened on Jan. 1, 2014.
“I think I am most proud of how smoothly our consolidation of the North and South Carolina leagues went,” Radebaugh reflected. “For years we had done a lot of things together and it was such a natural fit that it went very smoothly. I feel it’s been a great benefit for credit unions in both states.”
Before he moved to Greensboro, N.C., he served for three and a half years as president/CEO of the New Mexico Credit Union League. Prior to that, he worked for more than six years as the educational director and vice president of association services at the former Kansas Credit Union Association, which is now the Heartland Credit Union Association.
While serving in the U.S. Air Force, Radebaugh got involved in the credit union movement when he was named to the board of directors for the $33.7 million Freedom 1st Federal Credit Union at the McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas. He retired from the USAF as a senior master sergeant after 21 years of service.
“I’ve had two careers. I enjoyed my career in the Air Force, and I truly enjoyed being in the credit union movement,” Radebaugh said. “I think it is the best industry in the country. I will always be a credit union member, and I will always have a special place in my heart for the industry.”
The board of directors for Carolinas league has hired Credit Union Resources in Houston, Texas to conduct a national search for the new president/CEO of the Carolinas league.
