CHEYENNE – On Friday, the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce announced Tanya Keller as the recipient of its 2024 Women’s Leadership Award.
Keller is a real estate salesperson for Coldwell Banker The Property Exchange and current chair of the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce.
Before Keller received the award, the 2023 recipient, Brittany Wilson, introduced the new winner.
“Today, we come together to celebrate an extraordinary individual whose unwavering dedication to excellence has made a profound impact on both professional and community landscapes,” Wilson said. “This year’s winner is a leader in so many areas of our community that it’s a wonder how she finds time to sleep. From the United Way to the Chamber of Commerce to the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, she exemplifies servant leadership and selfless service to her community.”
Upon accepting the award, Keller spoke of the importance of being involved in the community.
“My husband and I moved here 14 years ago, and our love for this community grew in direct proportion to our involvement and our commitment to this community, volunteering and being active,” Keller said. “I want to encourage anybody, if you struggle with not loving where you are, get involved. … The more you’re involved with your community, the more you can see just how wonderful it is and all it has to give back to you.”
The annual award recognizes women leaders in the area. This year, the Chamber received 19 nominations and selected one winner out of five finalists.
The other finalists were:
* Andrea Allen, principal officer for the Cowboy Cole Memorial Foundation and project development engineer for the Wyoming Department of Transportation
* Jane France, a civil defense and public utilities attorney and partner at Sundahl, Powers, Kapp & Martin, LLC
* Katye Ames, a partner at Woodhouse Roden Ames & Brennan, LLC with expertise in corporate defense, criminal defense and civil litigation
* Cindy Bradley, a mortgage consultant for Wallick & Volk
At the award presentation, the Chamber hosted Blue Federal Credit Union President and CEO Stephanie Propps as the keynote speaker.
Propps spoke about how to create a legacy through intentional choices, rather than letting it be a distant dream.
“One of my favorite parts about Cheyenne is the multiple seasons that we have here. I’ve always talked a lot about that, but we get the pleasure of enjoying four full seasons,” Propps said. “So, I really thought about that and how that reflects back on my life and my career, and I can see that my career has gone through multiple seasons.”
She spoke about her roots in her “spring” season, when she was living in Laramie and working for a bank to pay her way through school.
After graduating from college, she tried other jobs in other areas and learned what she liked and didn’t like. She returned to the bank in Laramie for 18 months and eventually became the president of a small credit union in Casper.
“I really began to see how community makes a difference in who we are and what we do,” she said. “Collaboration, mentorship; this is what success is for leaders. I also made a lot of mistakes at that time, all of which have been essential to my growth and learning, ultimately influencing the leader I am today.”
Eventually, Propps took a job with Warren Federal Credit Union, now Blue Federal Credit Union, in Cheyenne, which had 50 employees and around 25,000 members at the time. In 2005, she was appointed as CEO.
She described her “summer” season as one of rapid growth professionally and for the credit union. By her “autumn” season, Propps said she had a well-established career and began to assume a different role in her job.
“I found myself having the opportunity to contribute to the growth of others and thrive in their own careers, to be a supporter instead of the supported, to be a mentor instead of the mentee, to help others reach their potential instead of others helping me see my potential,” she said.
Now, she said, she sees herself in the “winter” season of her career, where she can step back and let others in their “spring” season thrive.
Today, Blue has finished its second merger with a credit union in southern Colorado and has 27 branch locations across Colorado and Wyoming. She said the company has $2 billion in assets, 160,000 members and almost 400 employees.
“When we empower others to shine, we are not dimming our own light,” Propps said. “Instead, when we navigate our seasons of growth and leadership, we’re creating a legacy. Our legacy isn’t what we leave for people, it’s what we leave in people.”