Ascend Federal Credit Union has promoted Matt Jernigan to executive vice president.
“Matt has made critical contributions which have furthered Ascend’s success and has excelled in his tenure at the credit union,” Gabriel said. “In his new position, he will assume more responsibility and continue to play a key role in helping lead the Ascend team toward its strategic goals. We look forward to the many successes we know he will achieve in his new position.”
Jernigan has been with Ascend since 2005 serving as internal auditor, vice president of operations and, most recently, senior vice president/chief operations officer where he has been responsible for the credit union’s branch operations, lending, information technology, and facilities support services.
Jernigan has been a significant driving force in creating new and innovative solutions for Ascend during his tenure. He streamlined the mortgage process for Ascend employees and members by championing the addition of mortgage experts in each of the credit union’s financial centers. He also oversaw the implementation of leading edge technology which resulted in significant enhancements to member service across numerous delivery channels, including spearheading Ascend’s interactive teller technology enabling members to interact remotely with tellers located at the credit union’s Corporate Headquarters in Tullahoma.
Jernigan earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Middle Tennessee State University and is a licensed certified public accountant in the state of Tennessee.
Ascend is also pleased to announce the promotion of Rachel Carrick to Assistant Vice President of Marketing.
Carrick joined Ascend in 2004 as a part-time teller in the credit union’s branch at 1250 W. Clark Blvd. in Murfreesboro. Since that time, she has served the credit union in several different capacities including Marketing Coordinator, Marketing Specialist, and most recently, Marketing Manager.
“Rachel has proven she is more than capable to take on additional responsibility,” Ascend’s President and CEO Caren Gabriel said. “We wish her many successes in this new role and look forward to the next chapter.”
In her new role, Carrick is responsible for the creation and implementation of all the credit union’s marketing efforts.
“I’ve always been passionate about the credit union movement,” Carrick said. “And I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to continue to share our credit union’s strategic vision and make a difference in the lives of our members – both current and potential.”
Carrick received her bachelor of science degree in Public Relations from Middle Tennessee State University in 2006. She currently resides in Beechgrove.
With more than $2 billion in assets and more than 170,000 members, Ascend is the largest credit union in Middle Tennessee and one of the largest federally chartered credit unions in the United States. The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) selected Ascend as the 2015 Federal Credit Union of the Year. Ascend is federally insured by the NCUA.
