Courtesy Photo Andrew Augustyn, left, shakes Ann Boyk's hand in front of Alpena Community Credit Union. Boyk retired this month, and Augustyn took the helm as the new CEO.

ALPENA — Longtime Alpena Community Credit Union CEO Ann Boyk recently retired, and Andrew Augustyn moved up to the CEO position.

Boyk worked at the credit union for 47 years, and will remain on as executive advisor for one year.

She said she has enjoyed working at ACCU, helping credit union members with their financial needs.

“It started as a part-time position,” Boyk said of her employment with ACCU. “I had graduated from high school in the fall. I had planned to go away to college and was going to be going into the medical field.”

Her plan did not pan out the way she expected, but she’s happy that she stayed at the credit union.

“I had to wait a year, so I was looking for work in the meantime, and I was told there was an offering at the credit union,” she said. “So, as you can see, someone else had other plans for me.”

After starting out doing paperwork, she became a teller, then a loan officer, then assistant manager, then she went back to part-time to raise a family. Then, she worked her way back up to assistant manager before taking the reins as CEO in 2017.

She explained what led her into the banking industry.

“I would never have termed myself as a people person, but that opened up a side of me I never knew existed,” Boyk said. “I love people and love the interaction with people and the credit union philosophy is really built on people helping people … every person that walks through this door has a story to tell and it is our job to listen to what their story is and then to see what we can do to help them.”

She said interacting with members and the public is very rewarding.

“No two people have the same story to tell, and so much of how we relate to money is based on emotions,” Boyk said. “We don’t learn finance by osmosis. Somebody has to teach us. I’m very passionate about financial education and taking that time with each member, so for me it was that one-on-one and watching generations.”

Over the years, she has seen many children grow up and gotten to know their entire family as credit union members.

“We want to make a difference in peoples lives,” Boyk said. “You have to take time to help them and teach them. It’s especially confusing if you’re not in the industry. There’s a lot of paperwork.”

Augustyn hired in at ACCU about a year ago as chief operations officer.

“He has worked closely with me,” Boyk said.

She officially retired on May 28, and Augustyn took over as CEO on May 29.

“It was our annual meeting and we just felt that was perfect timing,” Boyk said. “I will remain on as an executive advisor for one year just to make sure that the transition in leadership goes smoothly.”

In retirement, Boyk plans to volunteer and spend time with her grandchildren.

Augustyn is looking forward to learning and growing in his new leadership role.

“Having Ann as a mentor has been instrumental to my growth,” he said. “With the new role, I’m going to have many new challenges. I’ve been really excited to take it all on. It’s something new, something exciting, and I’m always ready for a challenge and very self-motivated to figure things out.”

He said he looks forward to building upon the strong foundation that Boyk built.

“This is a great opportunity,” Augustyn said.

He lives in Alpena with his wife, Hayley, and their two young children.

Reach News Community Editor Darby Hinkley at 989-358-5691 or dhinkley@TheAlpenaNews.com.