To say the University of the Fraser Valley has changed since Gus Hartl was a student in the late 1970s would be an understatement.

For one thing, it was known as Fraser Valley College back then, and his classes were held in the old Marshall Road campus and the occasional church basement.

And he was one of only six members in the second graduating class from the business management and administration diploma program in 1980. This past June, UFV conferred more than 100 business degrees and diplomas.

There was no option of laddering his diploma into a degree in those days, so Hartl began working in the financial services field, starting with the Bank of Nova Scotia on a path that would eventually lead to his current position as chief executive officer of the Aldergrove Credit Union.

It’s for the leadership he has shown in his field that he was recognized this year as the winner of the UFV Distinguished Alumni Award.

“A key part of UFV’s mission is to educate the citizens of the Fraser Valley locally so that they can take on leadership positions in our communities,” says UFV president Skip Bassford. “Gus is a wonderful of example of that objective turned into reality.”

“Gus is the perfect example of an UFV alumnus making a difference,” says UFV Alumni Association chair Stacey Irwin.

Hartl didn’t have a specific goal in mind when he enrolled in his first-year courses. He was only 16, having graduated from Abbotsford Secondary at a young age, and it was his parents who encouraged him to try business studies.

He remembers small class sizes, but also a degree of independence that he hadn’t had in high school.

“We were a varied bunch of students, from those straight out of high school like myself, to people who were already working but came back to hone their business skills,” he recalls.

“Those of us who stuck it out for the whole two years really assisted each other and worked closely together.”

He enjoyed learning from motivated and youthful mentors like marketing instructor Blake Wight, but also from business professionals who would teach on the side at night.

Hartl is the youngest of six boys. The eldest had pursued a financial career and the rest followed their dad into the RCMP. Hartl considered doing so as well and was accepted into the force, but when he found himself 500th on the waiting list for training, he decided to try other career options.

At the age of 18 he was accepted into the management training stream at the Bank of Nova Scotia, and spent two years learning the business by rotating through departments on the customer service side.

He found out that he preferred smaller communities after being posted to downtown Vancouver by the bank, and he wanted to learn the lending and credit side of the financial sector, so he joined finance company Trans Canada Credit for two years.

“In those days, the customer service and lending functions of banking were very separate, and I really wanted to get to know all aspects of the financial services sector,” he says.

Hartl’s career really took off when he joined First Heritage Credit Union (now Envision Financial) in 1985. He stayed with them and gained experience until 2001, when he was invited to join Aldergrove Credit Union to open and manage a new branch in Mt. Lehman.

“It wasn’t easy to leave First Heritage as they had been very good to me but this new opportunity allowed me to venture to the next level of management.”

He became operations manager for all five branches in 2003. By 2007 he was chief executive officer of Aldergrove Credit Union, replacing longtime CEO Neil Ranson.

ACU serves more than 20,000 members through its five credit union branches, three insurance offices, and financial planning division, and has more than $420 million in assets.

The relatively small size of the Aldergrove Credit Union and its community focus suits Hartl’s preference for a small-town, customer-oriented approach to business.

“I really identify with the personal touch and so do our customers. They like that we have enough tellers on duty so they’re not pushed to use the machine if they don’t want to, and that we answer our own phones.”

His position also allows him to stay local, in the communities he has called home since 1973, and where he and his wife Brenda have raised their daughters. Jessica attended UFV for a couple of years and captained the soccer team. Meagan also took courses here in 2007.

“We moved around a lot with the RCMP when I was a kid so I know there are a lot of beautiful places in Canada, but it’s hard to beat the Fraser Valley,” he says.

Along the way, he has continued to be active in the community. He’s a charter member of the Aldergrove Rotary Club, vice chair of a credit union association, a men’s slo-pitch enthusiast and organizer, a past director with the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the BC Children’s Hospital fundraising committee.

Throughout his career, Hartl has continued his education through specialized financial and customer service courses and on-the-job training, but he credits his two-year business diploma for opening the doors to a fulfilling career.

“Education opens doors and textbook-based studying is important, but you need to combine what you’ve learned with experience in the workplace,” he notes. “I’ve been fortunate for my whole career. You have to do your job well and put yourself in a position to succeed, but in my case I also had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time.”

As for being named the 2008 Distinguished Alumni award winner, Hartl says he’s both honoured and humbled.

“I was surprised by the award because it was a long time ago that I was a student, but I’m also proud to be a Fraser Valley graduate and grateful to the Alumni Association for the recognition.”