The focus of all credit unions is “people helping people,” so it’s no surprise that Kraig Blahoski has spent his career helping people.  As Dakota West’s Chief Operations Officer, he guides the services that our members see and experience every day.

From his first job providing originating and second mortgages at People’s Community Credit Union in Hopkins, Minnesota, his goal of helping others was right there in the name.  He grew in experience and accepted opportunities to grow and mentor others when he began supervising tellers.  From the beginning, he recalls, “I liked it because I was able to help people.”

His guidance and leadership skills brought him to Dakota West, and over time, his family has followed.  He finally hosted the majority of his family under one roof here in North Dakota this Thanksgiving.   Now Watford City feels even more like home.

In addition to providing development and growth for Dakota West employees, including Khadero Taylor, with whom he partnered to develop a close-knit team at our New Town branch, he enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for Dakota West products, such as shared branching and rewards checking, with new employees encouraging them to, “be extraordinary.”  It’s the perfect way to describe Kraig: extraordinary.