The meeting took place virtually on
Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
- Advanced registration is required.
- Registration is open from January 1 – February 5, 2024.
- At the end of February, information regarding how to join the meeting and other meeting information will be provided via email to all members that have registered to attend the meeting.
- We encourage asking questions prior to the meeting by emailing annualmeeting@bellco.org.
- The incumbent board members that have been nominated for re-election are listed below.
Registration
Board of Directors Nomination Information
Every year, Bellco’s Board of Directors selects a nominating committee that nominates candidates for election to the board. The members of the board ensure that the credit union is following federal and state credit union laws and any other applicable government regulations and that the credit union adheres to the organization’s bylaws. The board also maintains Bellco’s financial stability by following good business practices, and it sets the general direction of the credit union.
There are three (3) seats up for nomination in 2024, and the nominating committee has nominated three (3) incumbents for these seats. The incumbent board members who have been nominated are:
Douglas Ferraro
Board member since 1991
Doug has been president/CEO of Bellco Credit Union since 1991. He serves on the boards of Open Technology Solutions, NISCUE Foundation, and S3 Shared Service Solutions. He has previously served on the boards of CO-OP Financial Services and the Colorado Division of Financial Services. Doug formerly served on the Kansas City Federal Reserve Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council and the Thrift Institutions Advisory Council to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank. He was the chief financial officer of Vystar Credit Union, in Jacksonville, Florida. Doug is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).
Laura Sonderup
Board member since 2014
Laura is the managing director at Heinrich Marketing, Inc., a full-service advertising agency headquartered in Denver, Colorado. She is a nationally recognized multicultural marketing expert, published author, and cultural–competency trainer. Laura’s background in diversity, equity, and inclusion allows her to contribute unique insights pertinent to the rapidly evolving business environment. In addition to her responsibilities with Bellco, Laura serves her community as a member of the Denver Art Museum’s Latino Alliance and the Colorado Task Force on Drunk and Impaired Driving. Numerous organizations have recognized her community leadership, including the Colorado Rockies Hispanic Leadership Award and the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Award. She is also a recipient of the Dr. Robert E. Weltzer Outstanding Dedication to Traffic Safety award, presented by MADD and the Colorado Department of Transportation, and is an Appointee to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Behavioral Traffic Safety Program Panel.
Pete Kirchhof
Board member since 2021
Pete recently retired but was the founder and president of Kirchhof Group, Inc., which provided professional consulting services to clients who need assistance with regulatory, legislative, and political issues. His clients have included over 120 Colorado CEOs, credit unions, gaming/daily fantasy sports/sports betting companies, rural and satellite broadband providers, plumbing and mechanical contractors, an economic development corporation, and business leaders for education reform. Pete previously served as senior vice president of government affairs for the Credit Union Associations of Colorado and Wyoming. He worked for Qwest/US West/Mountain Bell for more than 23 years, focusing on regulatory and government affairs. Pete has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Western State College.
If you are interested in being nominated for a position on Bellco’s Board of Directors, you may do so by petition. The election will not be conducted by ballot, and there will be no nominations from the floor when there is only one nominee for each position to be filled. Please send any questions regarding the nomination process to nominatingcommittee@bellco.org.
Your nomination by petition must include the following: (1) signatures of members in good standing that make up at least one percent (1%; 3,649 signatures as of October 31, 2023) of all Bellco members, as well as their addresses and daytime phone numbers; (2) a signed certificate from the nominee or nominees stating that they are agreeable to nomination and will serve if elected to office; and (3) a 50-word statement of qualifications and biographical data from each nominee.
Send this information to the following address via U.S. mail: Bellco Credit Union, Nominating Committee, P.O. Box 6611, Greenwood Village, CO 80155-6611. Nominations by petition must be received no later than 5 p.m. on February 5, 2024.
