NACHA Recognizes Outstanding Leadership

 and Excellence at PAYMENTS 2007

by

Mary J. Yerkes, Communications Manager & Staff Writer

NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association

NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association honored several individuals with awards at its PAYMENTS 2007 conference, held in Chicago, Illinois, April 15-18, 2007. Paul W. Finch, Sr. and George Thomas received the 2007 Payments Systems Awards in recognition of their outstanding leadership, commitment, and contributions to the payments industry. Also presented with awards at this year’s conference were Rich Oliver, Dale Dooley, Susan Robertson, and Rossana Salaris.

The 2007 Payments Awards

The Payments Awards Luncheon was packed Tuesday, April 17, 2007, as Elliott C. McEntee, NACHA’s President and Chief Executive Officer, took the stage to recognize outstanding achievement and commitment to excellence with two awards—the George Mitchell Payments System Excellence Award and the Kevin O’Brien ACH Quality Award.

Cynthia Murray (left), 2007 George Mitchell Payments Systems Excellence Award Recipient Paul Finch (center) and Elliott C. McEntee (right)

The George Mitchell Payments Systems Excellence Award, presented annually to an individual, company, or organization that has demonstrated superior leadership in the development, implementation, or advancement of electronic payments, went to Paul W. Finch, Sr.

Paul, an early advocate of check truncation using the ACH Network, pioneered the vision that captured the attention of the ACH community and led to the formation of the Electronic Check Council and the development of RCK, POP, ARC, and the recently implemented rules for the Back Office Conversion (BOC) application.

McEntee credited Finch with laying the “groundwork for the success and growth of the ACH Network.”

Elliott C. McEntee (left), 2007 Kevin O'Brien ACH Quality Award Recipient George Thomas (middle), Cynthia Murray (right)

George Thomas, also recognized during the awards luncheon, was the recipient of this year’s Kevin O’Brien ACH Quality Award, named in honor of the late Kevin O’Brien, former NACHA chairperson and proponent of ACH Network quality. The award is presented in recognition of best practices in ACH participants’ efforts to maintain and improve the quality of ACH services and the integrity and reliability of the ACH Network.

McEntee cited Thomas’ “commitment to ACH Network quality, excellence, and risk management during his 25 years of service to the financial services industry.”

Thomas served in a number of key positions during his tenure at The Clearing House, where he developed the platforms for EPN and CHIPS, which operate at 99.999% reliability. Under Thomas’ leadership, EPN implemented the all-electronic ACH in 1989, and he made EPN an integral part of NACHA’s original ACH Quality initiative in 2000.

Pete Yeatrakas (left) awards Rich Oliver (right) the Russell L. Fenwick Award for Outstanding Leadership to the payments industry

Rich Oliver Recognized for Outstanding Leadership to the Payments Industry

Pete Yeatrakas, at a private awards ceremony held during the Chairman’s Reception, sponsored by the Western Payments Alliance (WesPAY), awarded Rich Oliver the Russell L. Fenwick Award for Outstanding Leadership to the payments industry. The award, presented on behalf of the WesPay Board of Directors and membership, recognized Rich’s career contribution to the payments industry.

“Rich’s entire career at the Fed has been about payments,” said Yeatrakas. “Since his appointment as the manager of the Federal Reserve Banks’ Retail Payments Office, he is responsible for oversight of ACH and checks.” Yeatrakas joked, “We like to think of Rich as a favorite son.” 

Yeatrakas recognized Oliver’s influence in the payments industry, saying, “Though your efforts, our members, other regional payments associations, the financial community and other interested stakeholders have been able to build new products and services to lower costs for exchanging payments through the ACH Network.”

Distinguished Service Award Recipients

Elliott McEntee (left) presents David Dooley (right) with a Distinguished Service Awards for his career leadership and service to the payments industry.

Elliott McEntee (center) congratulates 2007 Distinguished Service Award Recipients Rosanna Salaris (left) and Susan Robertson (right).

Also honored at the Chairman’s Reception with Distinguished Service Awards were Dale Dooley, former President & CEO, SHAZAM, Inc. (retired); Rossana Salaris, Senior Vice President, EPN; and Susan Robertson, Associate Vice President, Federal Reserve.

Dale Dooley, former President and CEO of SHAZAM, Inc., and ITS, Inc., which operates the SHAZAM Network, received a Distinguished Service Award for his “career leadership and service to the payments industry.” Dooley retired in 2004 after 28 years with SHAZAM.

Susan Robertson of the Federal Reserve and Rossana Salaris of EPN were recognized for their leadership and accomplishments in national ACH marketing. Representing the ACH Operators and serving the ACH community as a whole, Robertson and Salaris are the key leaders of NACHA’s Marketing Management Group. The ACH Network received national and international exposure when media giants CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CNBC, and top markets ran the Group’s public service and video/audio announcements, resulting in nearly 6.7 billion impressions, a $5.7 million ad equivalency.

NACHA would like to express its gratitude to this year’s award recipients for their unswerving dedication and commitment to excellence in the ACH Network and the payments industry as a whole as well as to the many unnamed individuals who work day in and day out to improve the payments network.