2024 Annual Meeting

The 2024 Annual meeting of FiCare Federal Credit Union will be held in a hybrid environment on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at 12:00pm EST.

This year's meeting will be held online using Microsoft Teams (log-in instructions will be emailed in advance or you can request from a Representative). You may use your computer's audio for the meeting, or call-in directly. You can also choose to visit us in person at St. Joseph’s Hospital North, Garden Classroom A or FiCare’s Gainesville location.

Attending the meeting gives you the chance to exercise your rights as a member-owner of the Credit Union. In addition to showcasing the Credit Union’s 2023 financial performance, accomplishments, and featured products; we will be electing Four (4) Board Members. You must be a member of the credit union to participate. Please click here to place your vote.

For information on procedures for the nomination and election of officials, click here.

Click here to review the 2023 Annual Meeting Minutes.

Nomination and Election Procedures

For information to all members concerned, procedures for the nomination and election of officials as prescribed in Article VI, Sections 1&2 of our current Bylaws are as follows:

At least forty (40) days prior to each annual meeting, the chairperson shall appoint a nominating committee. It shall be the duty of the nominating committee to nominate at least one member for each vacancy, including any unexpired term vacancy, for which elections are being held at the annual meeting and file its nominations with the secretary of the credit union at least thirty (30) days prior to the annual meeting. The secretary shall cause such nominations to be posted in a conspicuous place in each credit union office at least twenty (20) days prior to the annual meeting. Prior to the filing of such nominations with the secretary, the nominating committee shall determine that the members nominated are agreeable to the placing of their names in nomination and will accept office if elected.

Nominations for vacancies may also be made by petition signed by at least one-hundred (100) members or five (5) percent of the membership, whichever is greater. To be effective, such nominations shall be accompanied by a certificate from the nominee(s) stating that they are agreeable to nomination and will serve if elected to office; such nominations shall be filed with the secretary of the credit union at least fifteen (15) days prior to the annual meeting and the secretary shall review and verify that the nominee(s) are members in good standing and cause such nominations to be posted in a conspicuous place in the credit union office at least ten (10) days prior to the annual meeting.

All elections shall be determined by plurality vote and shall be by ballot except where there is only one nominee for the office. No nominations shall be made from the floor unless sufficient nominations have not been made by the nominating committee or by petition to provide at least one nominee for each position to be filled. When nominations are closed, tellers shall be appointed by the chairperson; ballots shall be distributed; the vote shall be taken and tallied by the tellers and the results announced.

Board of Director Election Vote

The nominating committee has recommended and selected the following individuals for positions on the Board of Directors of FiCare Federal Credit Union.

Tom Garthwaite (Incumbent): Tom Garthwaite is the President of Winter Haven Hospital. Prior to this role, Tom spent 3 years as the president of St Joseph’s Hospital North in Lutz and 5 years as the Director of Operations for St Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa. Prior to joining BayCare, Tom worked at Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, Florida and served as an Administrator and service line leader for the health system. Tom serves as the board chairman for the FiCare Credit Union, and Treasurer for the Suncoast Hospice. He is now a member of the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Council. Tom and his wife Kelly, live in Winter Haven and they have 5 grown children living in Florida and Georgia.

Sara Dodds (Incumbent): Sara Dodds is the President of St. Joseph’s Hospital North in Lutz. In 2021, Sara was named to Tampa Bay Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list honoring 40 young professionals in the local area under the age of 40. Sara is a Leadership Tampa graduate, serves on the Florida Orchestra board, and is a member of the Philanthropic Women of St. Joseph’s. Sara has a 12-year-old son, Colin, who plays bass and shares the same love for music.

Patricia Shepherd (Incumbent): Patricia Shepherd worked as a Registered Nurse in the United States Air Force for twenty years. After retiring from the Air Force, she worked for St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital for thirteen years as a unit based educator on the High Risk Obstetrics unit. During that time, she shared her expertise in OB, disaster preparedness and regulatory compliance with the senior leaders by sitting on committees and actively participating in improvements. As a believer that quality is in everything we do, she earned her certification in healthcare quality in 2016. She then served as the Quality Manager for Morton Plant North Bay Hospital from 2018 – 2022. She left BayCare in 2022, to become a full-time caregiver for her mother-in-law. She has been the Supervisory Committee Chair for FiCare since 2020, and a board member for three years, where her attention to detail continues to be an asset to both.

Eileen Hanberg (Incumbent): Eileen Handberg has been a resident of Gainesville since 1981. She joined the credit union in 1981 when she began work at Alachua General Hospital as a new graduate nurse. She completed her Master and PhD and works at the University Florida and is the Director of CLinical Research for the College of Medicine and the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. She is also a small business owner. She started and ran Florida TeamCheer, an allstar cheerleading gym for 14 years.  She is also an owner/manager of a short term vacation rental company that offers homes on Little Gasparilla Island which is a bridgeless, barrier island near Englewood Florida (south of Sarasota). She started on the Board as a Gainesville Credit Union Member and agreed to stay on board as the merger took place to be part of the FiCare Credit Union Board.

Place Your Vote

Online votes will not be accepted after the annual meeting on Thursday, March 28, 2024.