Call Federal's Roger Ball Recognized with League's 2017 Farley Award of Excellence

Roger Ball (pictured left), CEO of Richmond-based Call Federal Credit Union, was honored April 27 with the Eugene H. Farley Jr. Award of Excellence. The award is given annually by the Virginia Credit Union League to a credit union professional or volunteer who exemplifies credit unions' 'People Helping People' philosophy, while providing leadership that advances their credit union or the credit union movement. Presenting the award is League President Rick Pillow.

CONTACT:
Lewis Wood
Vice President
Virginia Credit Union League
800.768.3344, ext. 629
lwood@vacul.org 

“I’ve always appreciated that quote by Churchill: ‘We will not be remembered by what we do, but by what we give,’” says Roger Ball, CEO of Richmond-based Call Federal Credit Union and the 2017 recipient of the Virginia Credit Union League’s Eugene H. Farley Jr. Award of Excellence.

“I feel blessed to have had a wonderful career that’s allowed me to be a part of so many peoples’ stories,” says Ball. “Working in credit unions, you have the opportunity to share in your members’ lives. You share in their heartaches, their joys, their needs and their wants. You become part of the family. That’s what I’ve always found so rewarding.”

The Eugene H. Farley Jr. Award of Excellence is presented to a credit union professional or volunteer official in recognition of his or her outstanding contributions to an individual credit union or to the credit union movement. In particular, the award seeks to recognize achievements that exemplify credit unions’ ‘People Helping People’ philosophy. It is named in honor of the late Gene Farley, who served the League and Virginia’s credit unions for more than 40 years.

This year’s award was presented April 27 at the Virginia Credit Union League’s 83^rd Annual Meeting in Roanoke, Va.

“Roger has not only served his own credit union and its members incredibly well, but much like the late Gene Farley, he’s also been a wonderful ambassador for the credit union system as a whole,” says Rick Pillow, president of the Virginia Credit Union League. “He has a big heart, a ready laugh and a passion for helping people succeed.”   

Ball got his start in credit unions in 1979 after working for a Richmond-based savings and loan. One of the first S&Ls to convert from a mutual structure in which the customers “owned” the institution to a stockholder-owned model, Ball said he found the change in culture internally and the S&L’s new focus on profits disheartening.

“Everything changed. It was no longer about helping the customer; it was more about earning profits for the stockholders, including most of the bank officers,” says Ball.

He joined Chesterfield Federal Credit Union in 1979 as the general manager.

“Appropriate, I think, that my first credit union was one organized by Gene Farley,” says Ball. “It was back to my comfort level at Chesterfield; where the needs of the members were the focus. To this day, I’ve never lost sight of the fact that we’re here to serve our members. They pay our salaries, they make our benefits possible, so it should always be about how to best serve them.”

In 1983, he joined Call Federal Credit Union as the assistant manager. Today, he leads the $400 million member-owned financial cooperative, which serves 30,000 members.

“Here, the member comes first in everything we do,” says Ball. “We consider lots of good ideas, but they may or may not be implemented based on whether or not they deliver greater value or service to the member. The business and analytical side of running a credit union is obviously important, but I never underestimate the importance of understanding what the member feels.”

Throughout his career, Ball has made volunteer service a priority. For 20 years, he volunteered with the nonprofit Consumer Credit Counseling Service, now Clearpoint Financial Solutions. He says he appreciated the value and service the organization afforded consumers, providing assistance in managing debt, budgeting and personal finance basics. He also taught credit union courses at two Richmond-based community colleges for five years in the 1980s.

“That was quite an honor, having the opportunity to share the ‘Credit Union Difference’ while also introducing people to the basics of managing a credit union,” says Ball.

His service as a champion for the credit union system didn’t end there, however. For decades, he has served on various committees and task forces for the Virginia Credit Union League, the trade association that works to promote and protect the commonwealth’s credit unions.

Currently, he chairs the League’s Governance Committee, which considers candidates for the League’s volunteer Board of Directors and assists in preparing updates to the League’s Articles of Incorporation and bylaws. He has served on the Credit Unions Care Foundation of Virginia since its founding in 2009, and currently chairs the organization’s volunteer board. The Foundation is a nonprofit organized by the League and Virginia-based credit unions to further credit unions’ social mission, including the promotion of financial education initiatives and charitable giving.

“Anyone who knows me knows I like to laugh. I operate under that ‘giggle approach’ to life. You can always count on me to get things done, but I also think we would all be better off if we recognized the humor in life,” says Ball. “If laughter is the best medicine, I plan to make the most of it. If one minute of laughter brings an extra minute of life, I plan to live until I’m 150.”

ABOUT CALL FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
Call Federal is a not-for-profit financial cooperative with 30,000 members, $400 million in assets, with branches located in the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico and the city of Richmond. Learn more online at https://www.callfederal.org.

ABOUT THE VIRGINIA CREDIT UNION LEAGUE
The state trade association for 139 Virginia-based credit unions, the Virginia Credit Union League provides legislative, regulatory, media, and consumer advocacy; compliance assistance and consulting services; development opportunities for credit union professionals and volunteers; communications; and products and services that empower credit unions to better serve their members. The League maintains offices in Richmond and Lynchburg, Virginia. Learn more online at http://www.vacul.org.