A Note from Our President
Dear members,
It is my privilege to serve you, our member-owners, as The Summit Federal Credit Union’s new President and CEO. All of us here at The Summit work for you and are dedicated to you, and we’re excited to carry on our mission to make your lives better and help you reach your financial goals.
Your needs are the guideposts we use to make every decision and action. We listen closely so that we can continually provide a positive experience for you. Our priority is to earn your trust each day, bringing you the most up-to-date, relevant services and products, and providing the friendly, personal attention for which we are known.
If you are not yet a member of The Summit, please take a look at our website to learn more about us, call our Member Services at (585) 453-7000 or (800) 836-7328, or come into any branch and speak to one of us in person. Or join today.
Thank you for being a member of our family, and for the opportunity to serve you.
Laurie Baker
President and CEO
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is a diverse team of volunteers who live and work throughout New York State from Buffalo to Syracuse and everywhere in between. They are lawyers, professors, agency presidents and community members. They provide knowledge and leadership to keep us focused on our members and our mission.
Current Board Members
EXECUTIVE
Mollene Benison, Vice Chair
Kofi Appiah Okyere, Treasurer
Clarence “Chip” Turner, Secretary
DIRECTORS
ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Pamela Crocker
EMERITUS
William A. Reifsteck
Board Election News 2023
Each year, the terms of several Summit Board Members expire and a Nominating Committee, comprised of Summit members, is formed to nominate members for the Board of Directors. This year, the Committee has nominated the following individuals:
Chris Modesti
Mr. Modesti was elected to the Board of Directors in 2013. He is presently Chair of the Board of Directors. In addition, he has proudly served the credit union on the Supervisory Committee for over 4 years, and has also been the Chairman of that committee. He is Executive Vice President of DeJoy, Knauf & Blood, a CPA firm located in Rochester. Chris has been in that role since September 2021. He was formerly Executive Vice President of Sweeteners Plus, LLC and President of Biomaxx, Inc. Mr. Modesti has also held senior management level positions at Superior Energy, Energy East Corporation and Energetix, Inc. Mr. Modesti has a B.S. degree in Business Management and Marketing from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester. Chris is a Trustee of the University of Rochester Newman Interfaith Chapel. He resides in Geneva, New York with his wife Lisa and has three sons.
Kate Sweeney
Ms. Sweeney has been a Summit Board member since 2018 and is also a member of the Governance and Investments Committees. She previously was a member of the Supervisory Committee and served as an Associate Board member from 2016 – 2018. She is currently employed as the Assistant Vice President for Finance and Budget for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Prior to joining RIT, Kate held Financial Analyst and External Reporting Accountant positions with Paychex, Inc. Ms. Sweeney has a B.S. in Business Administration from Nazareth College, and a M.B.A. from Rochester Institute of Technology.
Clarence “Chip” Turner
Mr. Turner was elected to the Board of Directors in 2010. He has proudly served the credit union on the Board and Supervisory Committee for over 20 years. He is employed at the Rochester Institute of Technology as senior budget analyst. He has over 20 years of experience in financial analyses, forecasting and information systems. Mr. Turner is also active in the Rochester community. He has coached youth sports in the Gates-Chili and Greece area. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organization Youth For Christ. In addition, he is active leading various outreach and care programs through The Father’s House Church. He and his wife are happily married and have three children. They reside in the town of Chili, New York.
Daryl Wolf
Mr. Wolf was elected to the Board of Directors in 2013, and currently serves as Board Vice Chair. He has been an active volunteer since 1985. During that time, he served 10 years on the Nominating Committee (3 as Chairman) and 1 year on the Supervisory Committee. He currently is serving on the Executive Committee and as Chair of the Benefits and Pension Committee, for the past 3 years. He was Vice President of Construction for Wegmans Food Markets Inc. where he was employed for over 25 years, and retired in 2020. Prior to working at Wegmans, he was Project Manager and Estimator for a local general contractor for 12 years and a Structural Designer for 7 years. Mr. Wolf has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Syracuse University. He has been active in the Greece and Hilton community as a coach and volunteer for many baseball and basketball organizations. He has also been active with many church-related activities with St. Mark’s Church. He is active in many Rochester community activities as well as Syracuse University initiatives. He and his wife Julie live in Greece, New York. They have three sons Carl (Buffalo), Mitchell (Colorado/Rochester), and Brian (Connecticut).
Volunteer Nomination Certificate and Petition Guidelines
Under guidelines specified by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), members interested in petitioning to run for a volunteer position on the Board of Directors may do so by complying with these procedures:
1. A petition must be signed by 1% of our membership (at least 500) members. Signatures must be legible and include the member’s account number.
2. Included with your petition must be a statement of qualification and a biography with information about your current job, related credit union or financial experience and any other committee involvement.
3. The deadline for petitions was February 13, 2023.
4. The election will not be conducted by ballot and there will be no nomination from the floor when the number of nominees equals the number of positions filled.
Supervisory Committee
The Supervisory Committee is a five-member committee of volunteer members who are appointed by The Summit Federal Credit Union’s Board of Directors. The committee works independently of the credit union’s management overseeing the work of internal and external auditors, and is responsible for ensuring that member assets are adequately safeguarded, accurate records are maintained, and proper business practices are followed.
In addition, reviewing and resolving member complaints that cannot be rectified through normal channels is another responsibility of the Supervisory Committee. However, most issues can be resolved efficiently by credit union staff in the branches, or through email at mservice@summitfcu.org or at (585) 453-7000 or (800) 836-SFCU.
If you are unable to resolve an issue or discrepancy in your account through normal channels, you may contact the Supervisory Committee at PO Box 26477, Rochester, NY 14626, Attn: Supervisory Committee.
Annual Reports
For more insight on our operations, feel free to review our current and past Annual Reports.
