Story by Blue FCU
Kylee Sara is the Business Development Manager at Blue Federal Credit Union. A tenured pro that is well known in her field and well versed in all things business development. Member success, especially in the credit union world, is nothing new, its expected. The only way to rise above this expectation is to foster genuine relationships with the people that make up the business and do so with consistency. Working across two states, and in 11 very different communities, coming up with a strategy to communicate how Blue can be a value add, is daunting. With her three direct reports, Kylee meets this challenge head on and produces spectacular results. This year marked a step up in her trajectory, from one who does good work, to having that work noticed on a national platform.
It is worth saying at the start that there are awards for practically everything these days. ‘Best Of’ lists carpet the internet ranking everything from National Parks to rest stops. In a world where everything can seemingly be ranked, sorted, and judged, it is hard to cut through the noise and find or do something remarkable. Kylee did just that.
“We won. Not just a prestigious Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Diamond Award, an accomplishment in and of itself, but we won the Best in Category designation for Business Development efforts. We beat out other organizations that were many times bigger than Blue with a lot more firepower”, says Sara. “We did this by focusing on relationships. I have always believed that people do business with people they know, like, and trust. Investing in and with our business partners is what sets Blue apart.”
This award isn’t the first for Blue or even Kylee’s team, it was one of 5 won in one night and the second time the BD team received national accolades. Added to the almost dozen other awards the credit union has received over the past 2 years, whether for having upstanding ethics or responses to state wide crises, Blue being there for their membership and the community is central into the work that happens day in and day out.
After the celebration, Kylee helped bring this point home by saying, “It is just what we do, only this time it was noticed. Winning awards is always appreciated, to be recognized by others in the industry is always a big accomplishment. However, the focus has been and will continue to be on our members and winning for them, everyday.”
To discover if you are eligible for membership with an award winning credit union visit their website.
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