On a recent Monday afternoon, Senior Vice President of Complex Community Federal Credit Union Lisa Wyman could be found in a large group of volunteers packing food for the Odessa College and West Texas food banks.

This is what Wyman does. She doesn’t like the spotlight, but she recently got it as she was recognized as the Odessa College Honors Outstanding Individual.

A portion of the 21,000 meals packed Nov. 15 were set for the Wrangler and West Texas food banks.

They were expecting between 60 and 75 volunteers, but more than that turned out.

“We’re running six lines. We have about 10 people per line and then it takes another 10 or 12 just to keep the lines moving,” Wyman said.”We’re packing food, so food’s got to be refilled into the containers.”

“We’re double counting all the boxes, strapping, taping, labeling, and all that kind of thing. So it’s not just about packing the food. We have to label it with expiration dates and all those things. We have to label all of the boxes so that when it goes to the food bank, or to the Wrangler Pantry, they understand what’s in the box and what the expiration dates are on that,” Wyman added.

Wyman moved to Odessa in 1991.

“I’m a Navy brat. My dad was actually part of the original nuclear Navy. I’m very proud of that. And kind of lived all over the country; lived overseas for a little bit. And when I graduated from college at Southwest Texas State, my parents had just moved to Carlsbad, New Mexico. My dad had retired. I went and spent the summer with them and just decided I was tired of living so far away from family. So I woke up one day and said I’m going to go to Midland-Odessa and see if I can find a job and I did,” Wyman said.

Not too long after that, Wyman met her husband, Paul, and made Odessa home. The couple has a son, Philip, who recently passed the Bar Exam.

She and Paul also had a daughter who passed away at age 3.

Her parents are Philip and June Porter. Wyman had an older brother, who served in the military and passed away several years ago.

Wyman has a business degree with an emphasis in marketing from Southwest Texas State, now Texas State University.

She went through Southwest CUNA Management School.

“It’s a three-year school that’s very much like a master’s. But it’s very much focused on the credit union industry, so you learn everything from financials to marketing to a little bit of human resources to strategic planning and those types of things. I had fallen in love with the credit union and really felt like it was going to be my long-term home, so I took advantage of that program and graduated from that …,” Wyman said.

Complex Community serves 40,000 members in Midland, Odessa, Monahans, Andrews and Big Spring.

“In January, we will be opening a new branch in Lubbock; very excited about that. … I work with the architects and the builders as we’re building new facilities … so that’s a lot of fun. I think, outside of the educational piece, that’s probably the most fun thing I get to do,” Wyman said.

Along with the credit union, Wyman is very involved with Ector County ISD, Odessa College and University of Texas Permian Basin.

She also has given her time to the Education Foundation, Samaritan Counseling Center and many others through the years.

Odessa College President Gregory Williams, left, presents Lisa Wyman with an Outstanding Individual award at 2021 Odessa College Honors Luncheon Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021, at the Odessa Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. (Jacob Ford|Odessa American)

Growing up, Wyman said, they didn’t have a lot of financial means. Her mom would sometimes work in a soup kitchen and she would bring Wyman and her brother along. This shaped her work ethic and showed her the importance of volunteering.

“… I didn’t know it was because we were hungry. But she would serve so that at the end of the night whenever they were cleaning up, we could eat and we (could) take food back home. It wasn’t because my dad wasn’t working hard. But when you’re on a ship in the middle of the ocean, way back in the day, there’s no such thing as direct deposit. You get the check when you get the check and so I never knew we were hungry. Looking back now, I knew that we were, but my mother was teaching us work ethic. She was teaching us that you have to do good things in order to get good things in life. It was just part of my DNA,” she said.

Wyman said the credit union and its CEO Jason Berridge are helping to continue this tradition in her life. They believe they have an obligation to do good things in the communities that they serve.

“So whether it’s your classroom, your campus, your community, your neighborhood, your place of employment, we should all be paying forward the gifts and talents that have been given to us into those organizations. I like to do what I can to pay it forward, whether it’s with a nonprofit, or my workplace, or an organization that I’m serving. I want to take those things that I’ve learned over time, those gifts and talents that have been shared with me, or given to me, and use those for the good of the organization, the community that I’m serving. That was a really long way of saying paying it forward is really important.”

She added that it’s a game changer.

“If you can get enough people in a community, or a school, or workplace to really care, to really drink the Kool-Aid, you can do anything,” she said.

“Odessa College is really a perfect example of that. They have built such a strong culture and you see it everywhere you go. You see it and hear it when you’re talking to the students and to the staff and to the faculty. They’ve done an amazing job of building that culture. They may not call it paying it forward, but they’re paying it forward in our community in a huge way because they’re turning out kids that are work ready. … They’re turning like kids that are welders and can weld today and (nursing) assistants and all these; kids that are really primed and well prepared for a four-year university. They’re doing it right here …,” Wyman added.

Education has also been a huge part of her life. She always expected she would go to college.

“… From the time I was very small, I can remember having conversations about going back to Texas and going to college in Texas no matter where my parents were living at the time, because they knew that education is a game changer. I was really fortunate that I knew that growing up; not everybody does. And I think working in the financial industry has helped me to really understand there are a lot of really good people out there that have made catastrophic decisions because they just didn’t have good information,” Wyman said.

“I believe that I have been given opportunities, certain gifts, and that my obligation is to share those in order to make wherever I’m planted bloom …,” she added.

Wyman was told she’d been chosen as the OC Honors Outstanding Individual when she got a call from Jacqui Gore, vice president of advancement and business and governmental relations at OC.

At first, she got very quiet wanting to process the news, partly because she felt there were other more deserving people.

“I’m humbled, truly humbled. I know that just sounds so cliche, but I really am because every single day of my life I get to stand on the shoulders of giants. Every single day. I work with people that challenge me, that encourage me, that share the same passions,” she said.

Kristi Clemmer, director of student support services at OC, said she knows Wyman from the United Way board.

She added that Wyman is a servant leader who is friendly and easy to relate to.

“I’ve … had her on the campus in different activities that the credit union has provided OC with. She is always active in the community … and she’s always the first in line to show up. We had an event this summer and she was serving hamburgers. She’s always assisting, helping serve the community in any way that she can,” Clemmer said.

Gore said Wyman has made a huge impact on Odessa in the time she has lived here. She added that she has considered Wyman a great friend.

“… She’s very humble. She (doesn’t) feel comfortable with the attention. Much of what Lisa does is behind the scenes and many don’t even realize what she’s involved with, so we here at Odessa College we’re thrilled to honor her,” Gore said.