Annual Member Meeting and Election Notice

Raiz FCU will hold its Annual Member Meeting on Saturday, May 3, 2025. The Annual Member Meeting will be held in person and through a virtual method, where members will have the capability to interact through Q&A functionality. Further notification regarding the registration instructions for the virtual method will be made later.

This year, three positions are open for election on the Board of Directors.  After careful review, the Nominating Committee, appointed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, has nominated one member for each Board position to be filled.  The term for the following positions is three years:

Rene Chavez (incumbent), Greg Lucas (incumbent), and Armando Novoa (incumbent)

A brief statement of qualifications and biographical data for each of the nominees is included with this notice.

Further nominations may be made by official petition signed by 500 eligible members.  Official petitions and the rules and instructions for the completion of the official petition may be obtained by contacting Mr. Max Villaronga, President/CEO, at the Credit Union office, which is located at 12020 Rojas Drive, El Paso, Texas 79936, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Official petitions must be completed in full compliance with the election rules as set forth in the rules and instructions for the completion of the official petition and must include each signer’s signature and printed name, the last 4 digits of the signer’s member number, and the signer’s complete address and telephone number.  Members who are 18 years of age or older and who meet certain requirements under the Federal Credit Union Act are eligible for election.  Official petitions must be accompanied by a signed certificate from the nominee that he or she is agreeable to the nomination and will accept office if elected and should also include a brief statement of qualifications and biographical data.  Elected officials are legally responsible for the fiscal integrity of the Credit Union and for compliance with State and Federal laws.

Official petitions must be filed with the Secretary of the Board of Directors at the Credit Union office, which is located at 12020 Rojas Drive, El Paso, Texas 79936, by 5:00 p.m. on March 24, 2025, which is the closing date for receiving nominations by petition.  If no official petitions are received by 5:00 p.m. on March 24, 2025, there will be no election by ballot and no nominations from the floor.  When only one member is nominated for each position to be filled, each nominee shall be deemed elected by general consent or acclamation.  If there is more than one nominee for any position to be filled, the election will be conducted by an in-person election at the Annual Meeting.  In such an event, the election shall be determined by a plurality vote.

Rene Chavez

For Board of Directors – Three-Year Term

Rene Chavez has served on the Credit Union’s Board of Directors since 2016. He has been a member of Raiz for over 30 years and served on the credit union’s Supervisory Committee from July 2007 to October 2015 before becoming a Board Member. Mr. Chavez attended UTEP and the University of Phoenix and has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s in Organizational Management. He worked for Socorro ISD from 1997 to 2010, where he served as a Compensation Officer, Payroll Manager, and for eight years as a Director of Human Resources.

In August of 2010, Mr. Chavez was named the Director of Human Resources for Clint ISD, and in 2017 he was named Chief Human Resources Officer for Clint ISD. He continues to work in this capacity today. He has also taught business management and organizational behavior courses at the University of Phoenix. He currently serves as the Treasurer for the Raiz FCU Board of Directors.

For Board of Directors – Three-Year Term

Gregory Lucas began serving on the Board of Directors in 2010. For the first five years, he served as Secretary and was a member of the ALCO committee for Golden Key FCU’s Board of Directors. In 2015, he joined TFCU’s Board of Directors, now known as Raiz. He has over 18 years of experience in the retail grocery business industry from Safeway Foods, Inc. and Furr’s, Inc. He then began working for Frito-Lay, Inc. and retired from them in 2020 after 28 years of service as a District Manager. Currently, he and his wife are self-employed and have their own business.

Armando Novoa

For Board of Directors – Three-Year Term

Armando Novoa has served on the Credit Union’s Board of Directors since 2015. He joined the Raiz Board after serving over 15 years with the Board of Directors for Golden Key FCU, with the last five years serving as Chairman. Mr. Novoa worked for Safeway for 25 years and at Montana Beverage for five years. For 15 years, Mr. Novoa worked in the automotive customer service industry. He is currently retired.

Mr. Novoa is very involved in the community. He has served on the Curriculum Advisory Board at David L. Carrasco Job Corps for three years and as part of the Head and Neck Cancer support group at Providence Outpatient Hospital. He currently serves as the Secretary for the Raiz FCU Board of Directors.