Annual Conference
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Sunday General Sessions
Credit Unions Face the Economy Side by Side
Your wizard: James D. Likens, PhD
A long list of questions continues to dominate every credit union board and management conversation. What is the outlook for the economy? How will credit unions be impacted? Is the worldwide crisis improving? Is the U.S. recession coming to an end? When will unemployment fall? Why is deflation more dangerous than inflation, and has the fear of deflation been abated? Should credit unions be concerned about the possibility of inflation? Does the economic outlook vary from state to state?
Learning objectives:
- Understand the powerful effect that the economy will continue to exert on credit union prospects.
- Clarify the opportunities and risks facing credit unions.
Your wizards: NCUA board (invited) and conference attendees
We've invited the NCUA board to join us at Sunday's general session. As this announcement went to press, it was too early to confirm their calendar. But we feel strongly that cooperation between credit unions and their regulators, as well as among individual credit unions, is vital.
We hope to discuss with the NCUA board questions such as: What is the future direction of the credit union movement? What is NCUA looking at? What are our concerns and problems? How can we cooperate to achieve the best for credit unions and their members?
Learning objectives:
- Establish a dialogue between the NCUA board and ECUC membership.
- Increase NCUA awareness of credit union concerns.
- Identify what the NCUA board sees as the future direction of credit unions.
Monday General Sessions
All Together Now! Strategies for Credit Unions in Austere Times
Your wizard: David Pearce Snyder, Consulting Futurist
At a time when we are all preoccupied with our short-term economic circumstances, it is important not to lose sight of the long–term demographic, econometric and technologic trends and developments that will predictably determine the markets for consumer finance over the next 5 to 10 years.
In this lively illustrated program, futurist David Pearce Snyder details the forecastable realties that will shape members' needs for credit union services in a time of economic austerity, social change and technologic innovation.
Learning objectives:
- Understand simple criteria for distinguishing between reliable and unreliable forecasts.
- Grasp three inevitable trends that will substantially alter both the market for consumer finance and the credit union operating environment.
- Master four marketing strategies for credit unions, based on predictable changes in their operating environment.
Your wizard: Remar Sutton, Remar Sutton Associates
Sure, you spend time and a lot of money on financial education efforts for your members. But here's a tough fact: many member education efforts are a waste of time. The problem, according to Remar? Your staff-and most of your members-don't think your efforts are valuable, and most don't even know about your efforts.
That's where Clint Eastwood enters the picture, but that's for Remar to explain in his fast-moving presentation on making your current member education efforts pay off.
Learning objectives:
- How to evaluate the value of your current member education efforts.
- How to bring accountability and ‘metrics' to the member education effort.
Tuesday General Sessions
The Next Generation of High Performance Organization
Your wizard: James Harris, Generational Pundit and Radio Talk Show Host
America is in the 21st century, yet businesses and non-profit organizations in our country continue to spend inordinate amounts of time and resources trying to overcome performance and directional challenges that have been defined for over fifty years. Why?
Could it be the fundamentals are sometimes overlooked in favor of pursuing "sophisticated" techniques that are the trendy "solution?" Those fundamentals mean understanding how your people receive, process, and transmit information. They also mean understanding how different generations have been molded by their societal circumstances.
Learning objectives:
- Reframe root issues of performance challenges for organizations that want to continue to be the best.
- Bring home the strategic implications of societal changes.
- Provide a fresh perspective on improving the outcomes of strategic planning retreats, executive team meetings, business plans and competitive positions.
Your wizard: Tom Glatt, Realtors FCU
Change is a natural element in life - all living things change. In 1960, the world body of knowledge doubled every 20 years. Today, the world body of knowledge doubles every 4 to 5 years. Soon the world body of knowledge will double every 10 days. Today is probably the slowest pace of change your credit union will experience for the rest of its existence.
Are you ready to manage the change process or will failure to change and manage change be the death knell of your credit union?
Learning objectives:
- Review organizational and personal reactions to mismanaged change.
- Understand the characteristics of change.
- Discover how to manage the human side of change.
- Grasp how to manage the organizational side of change.
- Avoid common mistakes in managing change.
Sunday Breakout Sessions
Together On the Horns of a Dilemma
Your wizard: James D. Likens, PhD
Some industry leaders see opportunity in the troubled economy. They remind us that credit unions were founded to help members during times of economic trouble. Credit unions should be aggressive in expanding services to their members. Be there for the members. Credit unions have lots of capital. Capital is for a rainy day, and it is raining. Let's show the world that credit unions stand ready to help members during troubled economic times.
Other experts see danger. They counsel us to hunker down and preserve our capital. How can credit unions make real estate loans if they don't know the value of houses? What is the utility of a high credit score for members who have just become unemployed? We don't know how long the current economic crisis will last. Loan chargeoffs can wipe out precious capital. Our duty to members is to make sure their credit union survives.
Learning objectives:
- Understand how to think about this dilemma.
- Learn the difference between risk and uncertainty and how to plan for both.
- Find out how to assess and plan for the opportunities and dangers at your credit union.
Your wizard: Ed Baranowski, Topics Unlimited
Individuals and organizations survive due to a mixture of wise management and luck. In these critical financial times, focus must be on purpose and philosophy. Senior Life columnist and veteran of credit union management Ed Baranowski shares his observations and experiences.
Learning objectives:
- Compare the success factors of centenarians and cooperative organizations.
- Apply success factors to strategic plans for the future of credit unions.
- Examine the challenges of surviving in the next century.
- Lay the ground work for innovative solutions.
Your wizard: Ron Parker, CPA
Understanding financial statements and reports is vital for appropriate oversight and governance. However, many non-financial officials and employees do not always fully grasp the nature of financial statement accounts, relationships between accounts and the importance of critical financial statement elements. This course makes financial statements understandable to non-financial officials and will allow them to focus on key data. Financial reports, ratios, other financial information and critical risk areas will be reviewed and discussed.
Learning objectives:
- Understand the uniqueness of credit unions and related financial information.
- Examine fundamental accounting concepts in financial reporting.
- Identify and relate key financial accounts and ratios.
- Examine areas of regulatory focus and assessment.
- Recognize key risk areas and assess management's monitoring and measuring of risk.
Your wizards: Truman Baird, Carol Wagner and Amy Wisilosky
Successful ideas-and lessons learned in implementing them-will be shared by our own ECUC credit union professionals. Have you thought about creating a ‘money camp" for your student members? Offered creative business lending programs? Achieved success in building relationships with the schools you serve? Together you can benefit from what others have done – and others can gain from your experiences.
Learning objectives:
- Tap into proven ideas from other credit unions.
- Discuss how to actually implement those ideas.
- Take advantage of credit unions' willingness to work together.
Sunday Open Forums
Open Forum for the University Credit Unions-Magic on Campus
Forum facilitator: Tom Ness, USF FCU
University credit unions see every day what attracts today's young members, and what educators are doing to reach the minds and interests of those members. How can we, as credit unions, benefit from some of the magic taking place on campuses? Who dreamed a student would be able to go online to get the professor's notes from a lecture they missed. Or that expensive textbooks would be available by powering up a laptop. Let's share what we're seeing, and discuss what it means to us.
Learning objectives:
- Swap views on what seems to be attracting today's young members.
- Discuss what today's campus experience will mean to credit unions in the future.
- Identify what university credit unions can do to benefit from all this change.
Forum facilitator: Ed Baranowski, Topics Unlimited
Too often management only learns from peers and mentors. University degrees and certification programs are good preparation, but so much can be learned outside the business environment.
Learning objectives:
- Evaluate the benefits of learning from experienced leaders outside the credit union industry.
- Recognize the value in non-traditional management resources and programs.
- Apply lessons learned from competitive and commercial sailors.
- Prepare to set sail on rough seas in an every-changing environment.
Forum facilitator: Ron Parker, CPA
In a troubled economic environment, an essential role of credit union boards is to understand the risk profile of their credit union and how that risk is being monitored and measured by management. Risk oversight is a basic function of a credit union board and directors have an ongoing duty to ensure that an effective reporting system is in place.
In today's particularly difficult environment, the board may also consider the need for additional risk analysis including special risk reviews. This presentation will highlight some of the key issues relating to risk management that boards should consider as they seek to ensure the survival-and subsequent success-of their credit unions.
Learning objectives:
- Understand the risk profile of a credit union.
- Recognize risk monitoring and measuring methodologies currently being used.
- Identify key risk areas and assess management's monitoring and measuring of risk.
- Examine areas of regulatory focus and assessment.
Monday Morning Breakout Sessions
All Together Now! Part II. Time for your Questions, Answers and Exchange
Your wizard: David Pearce Snyder, Consulting Futurist
This will be a chance to follow up on David Pearce Snyder's earlier presentation. It will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions stemming from his previous session, and to raise additional issues.
Learning objectives:
- Clarify and expand on topics from the previous session.
- Continue raising awareness of the future of credit unions.
Your wizard: Dan Clark, Dan Clark Associates
Financial institutions of all kinds prize their customer/member relationships. To build and preserve the client's connection with the organization, many use bundled services, relationship pricing and customer service strategies. Some focus on "share of wallet" while others concentrate on "market share." Solid, loyal relationships are the holy grail of all strategies.
One relationship-building, one-on-one service is credit counseling. At the other end of the spectrum, many depository institutions provide investment advisory services. Between those two offerings is a wide plateau where members fend for themselves. Bridging the gap between these two extremes is a new idea-financial coaching. Learn how those three differ and yet complement each other. See how they seamlessly accommodate members at any stage of their financial development and status.
Learning objectives:
- Distinguish between counseling, coaching, and advising.
- Realize how these three complimentary relationship-services can create client loyalty and lasting profitability.
- Identify various ways to include all three and optimize overhead.
- Realize how these relationship services prove their practicality to members and the CU.
- See credit counseling and financial coaching as solutions to families of low to modest means.
- Appreciate that financial coaching, if adopted early, represents a "blue ocean" strategy with positive financial consequences.
Your wizard: Ed Baranowski, Topics Unlimited
In any period of distress, turmoil, or crisis there are opportunities for future successes. Learn how to use the cooperative principles as you "elaborate" and "collaborate."
Learning objectives:
- Identify how joint ventures, alliances, and CUSO structures create success.
- Evaluate methods used to "collaborate" with other like-minded organizations.
- Recognize how to "elaborate" through wise use of technology and human relationships.
Your wizard: Nancy Lee Whitecavage, CFE FCU
It's no secret that education-based credit unions seek to forge relationships with schools in their communities. But sometimes it takes supernatural powers to get in the door in the first place. This session provides an overview of one credit union's creative approach to developing lasting and meaningful connections with schools from the administration level down to individual classrooms.
Learning objectives:
- Discover unconventional strategies.
- Identify specific tactics to ensure everyone lives happily ever after.
Monday Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Enchanting Collaborations That Result in Marketing Magic
Your wizard: Suzanne Dusch, CFE FCU
It takes more than eye of newt and some pixie dust to conjure up effective marketing programs for your credit union. Today's marketing wizards build collaborations with community stakeholders that result in successful campaigns and initiatives.
Learning objectives:
- Identify potential collaboration partners.
- Build successful campaigns.
- Enhance the credit union's image in the community and beyond.
Your wizard: Dan Clark, Dan Clark Associates
The last twelve to 18 months have been a handful, not only for the finance staff, but what about human resources staff? What have the people in HR been facing from incumbent and new staff? What pressures and incidents have they encountered that you need to know about? What issues could blow up in HR that would alter your existing course and existing business options?
This session is a briefing on those questions so you can return to your credit union with an appreciation of the issues, the right level of empathy, and ideas on helping HR staff through these difficult times.
Learning objectives:
- Appreciate how current economic conditions have impacted staff and thereby your human resource professionals.
- Spot trends in stress, family finances, and other pressures as effects of the economy.
- Recognize how a board and top management can respond to and support their HR professionals.
Your wizard: Brent Dixon, Open Source CU (blog)
Are you ready for the Conversation Age? This session provides an in-depth look at the new technologies every marketer should have in their media mix. Through case studies from inside and outside ?nancial services, Brent Dixon will show you how to use emerging conversation platforms-including RSS, blogging, social networks, and consumer-generated content-to engage consumers and grow your business.
Learning objectives:
- Understand how to use tools like RSS and real-time search to keep up with what's being said about their brand.
- Learn to utilize consumer-generated content for more engaging and sincere marketing.
- Understand how to moderate and react to negative feedback found on the web.
- Be introduced to best practices and tools for blogging, podcasting, and online video.
Your wizards: Will deHoo, Etc., FoolProof Financial Education Systems, Inc.
FoolProof is a prize-winning, comprehensive, consumer-oriented suite of programs designed to teach consumers of all ages about money, financial responsibility and the realities of the free enterprise system. FoolProof now offers your credit union five separate financial literacy programs for use by high schools and community groups, parents, college-age students, young adults and adults.
FoolProof uses highly interactive online “modules” and dynamic websites to reach members and non-members alike. It’s all turnkey, and starts at your credit union home page. This presentation now includes a "case study" of credit unions sharing successful ways of using FoolProof.
Learning objectives:
- Use member education to drive membership.
- Stir your members to use your educational tools.
Tuesday Breakout Sessions
Reading, Writing & Relevance—Establishing Successful School Financial Literacy Partnerships
Your wizard: William J. Sweeney, ESM-NS FCU
Schools want their curriculum to be relevant to students’ lives. Credit unions want their members to be knowledgeable about personal finance, and want the credit union to be viewed as a trusted financial advisor in the community. Learn how the ESM-NS Federal Credit Union initiated and developed a comprehensive student financial literacy program partnership with a local school district that addressed both needs. From student-run high school branches, to elementary banking programs, to adult education seminars, to media coverage, this 21st century learning program truly passes the test.
Learning objectives:
- Learn how to approach and engage a school district in taking part in a cooperative financial literacy partnership with your credit union.
- Learn the “do’s and don’ts” of establishing school banking programs, focusing on legal, operational, compliance and public relations issues.
- Learn how these financial literacy partnerships can benefit the school, the credit union, and the broader community they both serve.
Your wizard: James Harris, Generational Pundit and Radio Talk Show Host
Let’s face it, we’re all different. Like a mosaic, the workplace is filled with a variety of personalities and cultural differences. How can you learn to handle conflict and build better teams in your workplace and in your life despite differences? History provides insight and answers about different cultural norms and offers a framework to improve understanding and create good working relationships.
Learning objectives:
- Become comfortable with different cultures.
- Realize what diversity means to the credit union.
- Develop ways to improve teamwork.
Your wizard: Tom Glatt, Realtors FCU
Asset-Liability Management (ALM) is the task of planning and controlling the quality and quantity of the credit union's assets and liabilities; most specifically, the funds it takes in and the funds it invests. ALM is the single most important strategy to the credit union's long-term viability and success. While complexity of the credit union balance sheet has increased dramatically in recent years, management of the balance sheet still rests on a few simple principles.
Learning objectives:
- Determine strategic direction.
- Set goals for a successful asset/liability management program.
- Identify key factors impacting ALM.
- Appreciate risks and risk management.
- Use ALM tools.
Your wizards: Ray Cromer, Jr. and Robbie Wright
Most credit unions look at their IT department as a cost center that has a difficult time being meaningful to members. Will that new database really increase member satisfaction?
Robbie Wright of Nexcentric IT CUSO of Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union will discuss how credit unions can transform their IT department into a business unit that will succeed for years to come. Both the shared IT cost model and the IT CUSO model will be discussed, with examples of each.
Ray Cromer, Jr., Envision CU president/CEO, will explain how a CUSO can be a great way to continue the credit union philosophy of collaboration and cooperation. It starts with the right kind of charter, and Cromer will discuss the various forms of charter and owner/investor options that make the most sense.
Learning objectives:
- Realize possibilities for turning IT into a profit center.
- Learn steps to avoid minefields in CUSO charter options.
- Identify an IT CUSO as an example of credit union cooperation.
- Appreciate risks and risk management.
General Info | Schedule | Hotel | Travel | Sessions | Spouse/Guest Tours | Extra Tour | Registration | Golf Tournament Registration | Download Conference Information