CUNA’s GAC is the credit union movement’s premier political event and its largest national conference, each year providing more than 4,000 credit union executives and board members an opportunity to hear influential leaders from Congress, the Administration and the federal regulatory agencies.  Capitol Hill visits, when attendees meet face-to-face with their members of Congress and staff to discuss issues that concern the credit union movement, will take place the afternoon of Wednesday, March 21, and the morning of Thursday, March 22.

“This year’s GAC theme, Powerful Cause.  Positive Effect, sums up precisely what the Governmental Affairs Conference is all about,” said Bill Cheney, President and CEO of CUNA.  “Our powerful cause, backed by 93 million working Americans who rely on credit unions every day, needs grassroots representation in Washington.  At the GAC, credit union leaders from around the country will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with their members of Congress and effect positive change for the credit union movement.  We need the support of every credit union leader in the movement to accomplish our political goals in the year ahead, to champion the credit union issues of today and usher in a brighter future for credit unions tomorrow.”

Recognized as the key conference to attend for political impact, credit union networking and industry updates, the GAC also offers a wide array of educational breakout sessions, the industry’s largest exhibitor showcase, guest/family programs to tour Washington’s sights, and special entertainment including an opening concert and the closing Gala Reception and Dance.

CUNA’s 2012 GAC Keynote Speakers

Condoleezza Rice

As one of the most prominent members of President George W. Bush’s Cabinet, Condoleezza Rice became a political and academic figure who has won enormous respect both in the United States and worldwide.  Before serving as America’s 66th US secretary of state, Rice served as assistant to the president for national security affairs from January 2001 to 2005.  Outside of Washington, Rice has led an impressive academic career, joining the Stanford University faculty as a professor of political science in 1981 and serving as Stanford University’s provost from 1993 to 1999. She currently teaches Political Economy in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are the game-changing American journalists responsible for breaking the Watergate scandal, later chronicled in their book and subsequent movie, “All the President’s Men.”  They are reuniting on the speaking stage to mark the 40^thanniversary of their first shared Watergate byline.  Beginning with thatWashington Post story in June 1972, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein set a new standard for Washington journalism and in-depth, behind-the-scenes reporting on the American presidency. Together, Woodward and Bernstein will tell the stories behind their newspaper work and books, offering a unique, riveting and personal tour of politics and Washington.

Addressing the weaknesses and strengths of eight presidents, their presentation will provide a vivid lesson in leadership.  They will explore the impact and methods of the modern media from their own police-beat-style reporting to the radical changes brought by the internet, cable news and social networking tools and sound off on the future of reporting.   Following their remarks,  they will do a book signing session for GAC attendees.

Additional speakers and session topics will be announced in the weeks to come.  For more information and to register, please go to gac.cuna.org.

The third Thursday every October has marked International Credit Union Day each year since 1948. On this day, credit unions around the world celebrate their impact locally and abroad as not-for-profit financial cooperatives.

Why do they do this? Because credit unions from Philadelphia to the Philippines participate in a global financial cooperative movement with a unique structure and shared principles. With these, credit unions have the power to change people’s lives and are set apart from all other financial institutions.

It’s important for credit unions to celebrate this credit union difference during International Credit Union Day, especially during the current economic climate. Doing so reaffirms the positive impact of people helping people and introduces why credit unions are different from other financial institutions to those unfamiliar.

Service 1st Federal Credit Union in Danville, PA planned a full week of community service projects to celebrate 2010’s International Credit Union Week.

CUNA is proud to promote International Credit Union Day and support credit union celebrations–both large and small–across the United States. There are many examples of how credit unions have shared this event with their members and their community and dozens of ideas for how to host your own celebration.

For example, a recent News Now article highlighted the 2011 plans for South Dakota’s East River FCU and Stage Employees FCU in Las Vegas.

Stage Employees FCU members service representative Colleen Hermann shared in the article how even a tight budget won’t stop her credit union from using signage and small giveaways to tie her credit union to the larger cooperative celebration.

Mechelle Johnson, President/CEO of East River FCU explained in the article how they plan to use International Credit Union Day as an opportunity to thank members with a shred-it day and an open house, communicate the credit union difference with activity books and t-shirt giveaways, and help their community through a canned food drive.

We want to know: how does your credit union plan to celebrate?

Share your celebration plans by September 30 by either commenting on this post, posting to the ICU Day Facebook page or send your plans to ICUDay@cuna.coop and you’ll be entered to win a free ICU Day Celebration kit, a $198 value! Remember to include copies of promotional materials and photos of decorations and staff in their ICU Day finest.

Celebration Kit Includes:

ICU Day 2011 promo materials

• Large posters (5) to decorate the branch
• Stuffer/brochures (500) to explain the credit union difference and introduce 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC)
• Skittles (1 case of 250 packets) to treat members on Oct. 20
• Tattoos (1 bundle of 200) to reward young ones making deposits during Oct. and the 2012 IYC

The winner will be announced Oct. 4 on Facebook and Oct. 5 in the free ICU Day Update e-newsletter (sign up today)

If you’ve already shared your plans…GREAT! Then you’re already entered.

Thank you for helping to show credit union members around the country how credit unions build a better world!

Oregon Community CU in Eugene, Ore., won in the Sales & Service Management category for its 360 Training: Excelling in a Sales Culture program that includes:

• Organization wide training
• Product knowledge workshops
• Incentives program

As a result of the credit union’s efforts, loan growth increased by 8.5% and deposit growth by 3.15%, exceeding all goals.

Travis CU in Vacaville, Calif., won in the Sales & Service Management category for creating, cultivating and sustaining a sales and service culture. Their strategy includes:

• Creation of Retail Sales Managers to ensure service standards accountability
• Development of a formal sales training program
• Creation of Travis Intelligence to analyze sales efforts

Success can be seen in both the number of new direct members and the increase in wallet share, both of which are expected to exceed goal.

SouthPoint FCU in Sleepyeye, Minn., also won in the Sales & Service Management category for their Service Points of Excellence Program that includes:

• Bi-weekly coaching sessions
• Member and staff surveys

In addition to positive feedback from member surveys, success can be seen in the increase in overall cross sells.

WestStar CU in Las Vegas, Nev., won in the Miscellaneous category for hosting two job fairs for their members. Their strategy includes:

• Holding the fairs in Las Vegas and Reno,  two economically hard hit areas
• Allowing participating employers with open positions only
• Giving priority entrance to WestStar CU members

With 4,300 jobseekers, twenty-three employers (WestStar SEG groups), and over 1,000 jobs , the fairs helped more than 70 people gain employment and garnered the credit union  local and national attention.

FedChoice FCU in Lanham, Md., also won in the Miscellaneous category for their creation of Member Councils to gain insight on:

• Financial pain points
• Preferred communication methods
• Product and service awareness

Nine meetings were held over a three month period. FedChoice has implemented numerous suggestions made during these meetings with additional changes in progress.

The OpSS Council Best Practice Awards were created to identify, recognize, and share new approaches and solutions with universal application in the credit union movement. Winners were chosen, without regard to credit union asset size, based on strategy, process, application, and results.

Additional information about the awards and winning entries are available online atwww.cunaopsscouncil.org - select the “Best Practices Awards” link contained in the “Events” pull down menu.

(L-R) Cary Tonne, vice president information technology, Affinity Plus FCU, Saint Paul, Minn.; Dan McGowan, senior vice president, chief information officer, Pioneer West Virginia FCU, Charleston, W. Va.; Chris McGee, manager/assistant information technology, Pen Air FCU, Pensacola, Fla.

The CUNA Technology Council award recognizes outstanding approaches to technology challenges with potential for universal application across the credit union movement. The winners for 2011 are:

• Affinity Plus FCU in Saint Paul, Minn., won for their creation and implementation of an e-contract workflow process that allows for business contracts to be easily located, accessed and stored.
• Pen Air FCU in Pensacola, Fla., won for their business continuity plan and failover site development. With the minimal investment they were able to provide Pen Air and its member’s greater security that their systems would be available when they needed them.
• Pioneer West Virginia FCU in Charleston, W. Va., won for developing a daily dashboard with key metrics to proactively identify potential business risks and opportunities.

A panel comprised of CUNA Technology Council members selected the winners, based on strategy, process, application, and results, without regard to credit union asset size.

Additional information about the awards and winning entries are available online at www.cunatechnologycouncil.org, select the “Best Practices” link contained in the “Events” pull down menu.

Rudy Pereira, senior vice president of operations and technology for Alliant CU in Chicago will step down as chair but will remain on the executive committee. Heather Moshier, executive vice president, information technology, San Diego County CU in San Diego, Calif. will become the new executive committee chair.  Jeff Johnson, senior vice president, information technology, Baxter CU in Vernon Hills, Ill. will become vice-chair.  Chad Graves, senior vice president, information technology, Ent FCU, Colorado Spring, Colo. will become the 2^nd vice-chair.

During the recent elections for four seats, incumbents Robert Reh, chief information officer for Nassau Financial FCU in Westbury, N.Y., Heather Moshier and John Best, chief technology officer, Wescom CU in Pasadena, Calif. were re-elected. Todd Dauchy, CIO, Corning FCU, Corning, NY was elected to his first 3-year term replacing Tom Gessel, senior vice president technology officer, TruWest CU in Scottsdale, Ariz. who did not seek re-election.

The Technology Council’s executive committee also includes:

• Jennifer Weiss, vice president, information technology, Sandia Laboratory FCU in Albuquerque, N.M.
• Belinda Caillouet, vice president, information technology, Spokane Teachers Credit Union, Spokane, Wash.
• John Drago,Vice President of Information Technology, California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues
• Butch Leonardson, senior vice president, chief information officer, BECU, Seattle, Wash.

Sue Douglas, senior vice president e-delivery and risk management, State ECU, Raleigh, N.C. will become chair of the executive committee replacing Jennifer Lehn, executive vice president, Numerica CU, Spokane Valley, Wash who will be stepping down after completing her full term. Steve Langley, vice president, sales/service/training, Travis CU, Vacaville, Calif. will become vice chair.

• During the recent elections for three seats, incumbents Sue Douglas and Debbie Baumann, vice president operations/chief operations officer, Mazuma CU, Kansas City, Mo. were re-elected. Greg Inman, senior vice president, Neighbors FCU, Baton Rouge, La. was elected to his first 3-year term.
• Steve Stryker, chief operations officer, Scott CU, Collinsville, Ill. was appointed to replace Tina McMinn, vice president/operations, Stanford FCU, Palo Alto, Calif. who stepped down.

The CUNA OpSS Council executive committee also includes:

• Dave Tate, vice president branch operations for Anheuser-Busch Employees’ CU in St. Louis, Mo
• Robb Keith, senior vice president retail services, Members 1^st FCU, Mechanicsburg, Pa.
• Becky Davis, vice president branch operations, Delta Community CU, Atlanta, Ga.
• Patsy Gayda, vice president of branches, Spokane Teachers CU, Liberty Lake, Wash.

There are some e-services virtually every credit union offers. Online banking, bill pay, mobile banking, and member access to low-cost or free ATMs are must-haves.

The right e-services for your credit union depend on your organizational goals. Some credit unions have branding as a top strategy and add e-services to further their brand. Often this is a strategy to attract Gen Y members by enhancing the credit union’s image as tech savvy and forward-thinking. Others might be looking to attract small business members.

Ideally, a credit union should develop an organization-wide strategic plan, with sub-plans at the functional level listing projects that align with organizational goals. The e-services plan, like the others, should support the credit union’s overall goals.

This white paper for the CUNA Operations, Sales & Services Council (OpSS) discusses how credit unions are delivering and managing e-services, and likely future e-services trends. It also includes six case studies of credit unions with sophisticated, effective e-services solutions.

The paper covers:

• Credit unions’ e-services offerings
• Strategic planning for and management of e-services
• Compliance and security considerations
• Balancing member needs with credit union efficiencies
• Upcoming e-services trends

The paper is available online in the white paper section of www.cunacouncils.org – select the “OpSS” tab.

Press can contact Jenny Jackson at jjackson@cuna.coop for a copy of the whitepaper.

The offer is part of CUNA’s commitment to help credit unions provide excellent staff training on the latest updates and regulations in the financial world at a price they can afford.  Credit unions can purchase CUNA Training Bundle from now until January 15, 2012.

CUNA Training Bundle offers participating credit unions unlimited access to hundreds of audio conferences, webinars, eSchools and recordings of these events.  With highly rated content, CUNA Training Bundle features professional, in-depth training on topics such as: compliance, marketing, lending, finance, human resources, training, security, operations, volunteer topics and a variety of other credit union specific topics.  Participating credit unions realize significant savings versus ala carte purchasing.  CUNA offers two packages:  six month for $2,499 or one year for $3,999.  Discounted pricing is available for CUNA CPDOnline members and small credit unions with less than $20 million in assets.

“We hear from our credit union members that when times are financially tight, training budgets get severely reduced.  It can be a tremendous challenge to keep employees motivated and up-to-date on regulations and skills without good training tools,” said Marlo Foltz, director of blended learning at CUNA.  “Our CUNA Training Bundle allows credit unions to keep quality training a priority at an affordable price.”

For more information, visit training.cuna.org/trainingbundle.  For questions, call 800-356-9655, ext. 4249 or e-mail training@cuna.coop.

MADISON, Wis. (September 22, 2011) – CUNA’s Experience Learning Live! Conference announced today its final speaker lineup.  Experience Learning Live!, which will take place October 16-19 in Las Vegas, is a supercharged environment designed to provide training professionals hands on experience they can use to motivate staff and jumpstart credit unions.  This year’s conference features training leaders at the forefront of innovations to maximize staff energy, motivate the dedication of credit union volunteers and increase the knowledge level of credit union members.

Keynote Speakers:

Becky Pike Pluth – 101 Movie Clips That Teach & Train

Becky will utilize movie clips to spice up training programs.  She’ll demonstrate how effective movie scenes can help grab classroom interest immediately and discover how to follow the clips with questions that garner solid discussion and teach topics in a memorable way.

Jon Aleckson – Mind Meld: Micro Collaboration – Collaboration Between Designers & Subject Matter Experts

Jon has logged more than 30 years of leadership experience in the educational media industry.  His presentation will focus on ways to engage subject matter experts in training project through techniques to “mindmeld” and share expertise.

Juli Lynch – Pushing the Limits on What You Know & Do

Juli will tie how success in today’s market requires that people – and their training departments – push themselves to the limit.  She’ll talk about how leadership lessons gained during training with Navy SEALS in expedition-length endurance races can apply to training departments and credit unions as a whole.  Juli will work with the issues and challenges that credit union staff from reaching their potential and demonstrate how to push credit unions to increase sales, improve service and boost performance while still keeping motivation and commitment levels high above the competition.

Lance Dublin – The New “Blended” Learning

Lance will share highlights from his interviews with 25 learning leaders and organizations for the Chief Learning Officer Magazine.  He’ll discuss how these leaders define what blended learning was and what it is today.  Lance will present a guided tour filled with specific examples that are working and detail lessons learned from those that are not.  His session will explain what blended learning design is and how to evaluate what will work best for credit unions.

Robert Richman – How Can Training Revolutionize Your Organization?

Rob will unravel the secrets behind the Zappos phenomenon.  From Zappos Insights, their corporate learning center, he will share what they are doing right and how to bring a little Zappos back to credit unions.

Tom Kuhlmann – Design Good Courses With the Resources at Hand

Author of the widely popular “Rapid e-Learning Blog,” this “rock star of e-learning” receives hundreds of questions from readers who are on a limited budget.  They want to know about free tools that they can use to build their e-learning courses.   A self-proclaimed “junky” for all of the free stuff online, he will share his best finds and the latest technology.  His hands-on lab will give attendees new ideas, techniques, tactics and strategies to use right away to build better courses.

For more information on CUNA’s 2011 Experience Learning Live!, visit training.cuna.org/ell. For questions, call 800-356-9655, ext. 4249 or e-mail training.cuna.coop.

“After the meltdown of the banking industry in 2008, the majority of bank advertising focused on portraying an image of a customer-focused, trustworthy institution,” says Jon Haller, director of corporate and market research at CUNA. “Credit unions did banks one better. With their additional focus on helping their members meet their financial goals, credit unions fared better than banks.”

Credit unions reported higher scores than banks on satisfaction levels, sustaining member loyalty and generating business from member loyalty. The Report found that 71% of all respondents who use credit unions claimed to be “very satisfied” with their credit union, slightly higher than the 66% of nonmember bank respondents who were “very satisfied” with their banks.

Loyal credit union promoters had more checking accounts, more loans, higher loan balances, and a higher average number of products/services than their loyal bank counterparts.

“These kinds of findings are very important for credit unions to know—in the credit union industry, loyalty really does translate into increased usage of services,” continues Haller. “This is the kind of information that is useful not only in the board room, but on the front line where employees interact with members. There are many opportunities to make a positive impression on members.”

The Survey of Potential Members Report also sheds light on other important developments in non-member growth. Value, trust and appreciation ranked among the top categories where credit unions had a heavy advantage over banks. Furthermore, the survey revealed that youth and Hispanic markets offer significant growth opportunities.

With the information provided by the Report, credit unions can better understand the current trends relating to non-members’ financial behavior and act on these trends in order to increase their member base and improve loyalty for continued growth.

For more information about CUNA’s 2011-2012 Survey of Potential Members Report, visit CUNA’s Member Research Resources page.