March 26, 2009 (Olympia, WA) –  Washington State Employees Credit Union announced today that Ben Morales, Senior Vice President/Chief Information Officer of Washington State Employees Credit Union, has been awarded the 2009 IT Executive of the Year as part of the Trailblazer Awards by the Credit Union Times. The Trailblazer Awards is a competition that recognizes excellence, leadership and creativity within credit unions.

Morales has been in the credit union industry for 25 years, 5 of those with WSECU, and has helped lead the credit union in times of great change and growth. His achievements include the leadership and implementation of a million dollar phone system upgrade that affected over 22 locations in the state, led the internal creation of a payday lending software solution that’s saved the Credit Union’s members nearly $2 million in fees since 2004, and led the transformation of his staff into a customer driven team.  

“Ben has grown our IT operation into a sophisticated, leading-edge workgroup that embraced the best of what technology has to offer in order to provide world-class service to our members” said Sharon Whitehead, WSECU Senior Vice President of Administration.

Currently he is overseeing the construction of the new headquarters building and parking garage in Olympia and researching how to bring together the different product delivery channels and move members from one line of business to another without leaving the confines of the credit union.

“One way to understand Ben is to think of him as the Wikipedia for credit union technology and professionals” said Jim Morrell, Senior Vice President of Support Services and Chief Information Officer of iQ Credit Union in Vancouver, Washington. For a full copy of the 2009 Credit Union Times profile of Morales, visit cutimes.com.