Longtime FAST Credit Union's Paula Lehn recently honored by national credit union association as CEO of the Year

Lehn, who attended Lemoore’s Kings Christian High School, ended up graduating from Hanford High. She accepted the credit union job and began to excel, prompting the credit union’s top officials in 1987 to offer her a new job: credit union operations manager.

A mere five years later, Lehn – still in her twenties – became the credit union’s chief executive officer, a position she’s held since 1992. Making her responsible for credit unions in Hanford (main branch) and branches in Lemoore, and Avenal, all of which continue to prosper.

Her longevity and excellence prompted the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) to honor her as the CEO of the Year. This award is highly sought after by over 5,000 federally insured credit unions in the United States.

The award also recognized Lehn’s consistent dedication to FAST, its amazing members, staff, board of directors, supervisory committee, and the communities in which it serves.

How has she managed to stay so long in one job? “I don’t know,” she wondered. “It’s home, I guess. It’s a community. It’s a purpose, and it’s a great place to be.”

How did she find out about the honor?

“I wasn’t involved in any of this,” she said. “They made this huge announcement. They actually announced to me earlier in August, but it wasn’t formally announced until recently by NAFCU.”

The award is highly sought after by over 5,000 federally insured Credit Unions in America. The nationally recognized award reflects Lehn's consistent dedication to FAST’s members, staff, board of directors, supervisory committee, and Kings County’s communities.

The success of FAST is indeed remarkable. According to Lehn, FAST was initially organized on December 16, 1953, when seven local educators gave five dollars each, and a credit union was born with $35.

“We’re now $250 million in assets,” said proudly.

Lehn doesn’t take all of the credit for her recent award.  She says she’s managed to remain at FAST due to the credit union’s employees, and of course, its customers.

She refers to her job as a great place to work.  “It’s home. It’s a community, it’s a purpose, and it’s a great place to be.”

She had nothing but praise for the credit union’s board of directors and employees. “They’re awesome. We work really hard to create a good working space.”

Eventually, success comes down to a company’s customers and how they feel about their credit union. “We work hard every day to live out our purpose, which is to make a difference in our lives and the community,” said Lehn.