Empowering Growth & Leadership Through the Community Support of CFDD
Heidi Lindgren-Boyce, CCE
On Wednesday, June 12, at the CFDD Annual Awards & Business Meeting held in conjunction with NACM’s 128th Annual Credit Congress, I stepped into the role of CFDD National Chair. After greeting my dear friends, esteemed colleagues, mentors, and cherished guests who were in attendance, I expressed how deeply honored I am to have been elected to serve as your CFDD National Chair for the 2024-2025 term.
One does not accomplish moving into leadership roles without first being surrounded by great people, mentors, friends and family. To everyone’s surprise, I unrolled a list (that was at least 10 feet long) and thanked a few people for their pivotal roles in shaping my professional journey.
My ‘gratitude list’ is very real and includes family, friends, colleagues, and emotional support peeps who have come into and through my life and who have been instrumental in shaping my career as well as who I am today. My list represents those who not only made me feel encouraged, supported but helped me believe in a successful career in credit management. My list continues to grow every year.
Dr. Maya Angelou once said that:
“People will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did
but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
When I joined the CFDD National Board as an Area Director, I was asked to answer the following question: “What has CFDD done for me?” As I thought through my response, I initially thought of education, scholarships, and networking along with the things NACM also provides. I then realized that CFDD has uniquely helped me develop my leadership skills, improve my self-confidence as a credit manager, and overcome my gripping death fear of public speaking.
CFDD is a supportive community of emerging, developing, and experienced legacy leaders who support and share their ‘collective wisdom’ with everyone. As I reflected on how I became involved, I remembered fondly that I was introduced to CFDD by Bobbi Whisler, CCE. Bobbi personified everything I wanted to be: Bobbi was confident, professional, and had a smile that would light up a room. Her eyes even had that special twinkle that you just knew you wanted to be a part of. Bobbi was my biggest cheerleader inspiring me to achieve my CBA and CBF designations. Although Bobbi passed away before I earned my CCE designation, Bobbi’s husband gave me her CCE pin, which I proudly wear close to my heart today. I know that Bobbi is smiling down on me with her extra sparkly eyes.
Since then, working with other talented credit professionals, moving from working on committees to chairing them, stepping up as a director and then into officer roles, and learning to control my fear of public speaking are the reasons I stayed involved in CFDD.
In 2018, Brett Hanft, CBA, and I had been discussing how to create a ‘Virtual CFDD Presence’. We envisioned that a virtual format could allow CFDD to produce a monthly program, available to all CFDD members. We talked about the cost of an online presence and what it would take to get cameras and microphones, and we just didn’t quite know how to put this concept together. Fast forwarding to 2020,
when Teams and Zoom became normal office buzzwords. NACM and CFDD pivoted quickly and began to hold meetings and seminars online, and, the nexus of CFDD’s virtual presence was born.
As Chair, starting this Fall, I plan to help CFDD National produce quarterly complimentary webinar programs for all CFDD members, covering content such as current technologies, AI, professional and personal self-care, and best practices discussions. I will also work to develop an easy-to-use Program Flier and newsletter template, using a “plug & play” concept.
CFDD enables individual and collective success, encourages its members to engage actively and develop skills, and supports one another. Together, we can achieve remarkable growth and overcome challenges. I encourage everyone to get involved in CFDD to achieve their own professional growth and success, help others do the same.
I want to remind everyone about what Jimmy Buffet said:
Bubbles up
They will point you towards home
No matter how deep or how far you roam
Just know that you are loved.
I encourage everyone to continue to support each other on this incredible professional journey in credit management.
Heidi Lindgren-Boyce, CCE, is Senior Credit Manager at Star Rentals, Inc. in Kent, Washington. She currently serves as CFDD’s 2024-2025 National Chair. Heidi also serves as a Director on the NACM National Board. She is a proud member of the CFDD Seattle Chapter.