Advocacy Update

​Annual Fall Hike the Hill is planned with just a few spots remaining. Scholarships are available through the Roger Heacock GAC Scholarship fund. 

by Amy Kleinschmit, Chief Compliance Officer

Fall Legislative and Regulatory Hike the Hill
The Dakota Credit Union Association will once again be leading a Legislative and Regulatory Hike the Hill this fall on September 12 and 13, to Washington, DC. With the exception of two years during Covid, when we had to go virtual just like everything else, Dakota credit union professionals have made the quick trip to Washington DC every fall since 2011!

Continuing the conversation with our elected officials and regulatory friends is paramount to maintain a favorable operating environment for credit unions. As credit unions are well aware, the regulatory environment has been constantly changing and putting more and more burdens on credit unions.

Tentatively, we will be meeting with representatives from NCUA and CFPB on Tuesday and then Hill visits on Wednesday with our elected officials.

The group for this fall event is kept small so that attendees are able to engage in meaningful dialogue with our regulators and elected officials. We have just a few spots remaining for this trip and scholarship opportunities are available through the Roger Heacock GAC-HTH Scholarship fund to assist with travel expenses.

We hope you will consider joining us for this very important event. It is vital that Dakota credit unions continue to voice their concerns and issues to our regulators and elected officials. Bringing the stories of how the decisions made in Washington impact your members is needed for a strong advocacy front.

Please contact Amy Kleinschmit at [email protected] if you are interested in joining this event or if you have any questions.
 
Silent Auction to Support Roger Heacock GAC-HTH Scholarship
As referenced above, the Roger Heacock GAC-HTH Scholarship is available to DakCU member credit unions that wish to attend the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) or the DakCU Legislative/Regulatory Hike the Hill (HTH). This fund was created to honor Roger Heacock’s servant leadership and longtime commitment to credit union advocacy and grassroots engagement. Since 2008, 83 scholarships have been awarded for a total of $63,500!
You have an opportunity to support this Scholarship program at next week’s DakCU Summit, thus giving credit unions of all asset sizes an opportunity to be an advocate for the industry at events such as the upcoming Legislative and Regulatory HTH.

Support the scholarship by donating an item for the silent auction and/or then by bidding generously to win one (or more) of the donated items. Many great items have already been donated, thank you to all the credit unions that got their items in early! Check out the many options – such as the Solo Stove Smokeless Fire Pits (that’s right there are two).  Don’t forget Mother’s Day is coming up – if you need a fun gift, there are multiple gift baskets, wine baskets, handbags, NFL Gnomes for those football fans, a portable speaker and GPA rangefinder. (Father’s Day is soon too!)
If you haven’t already, please submit your donation in advance using the easy form found following the link. If you have any issues submitting your donation information online, please reach out to Lindsey Hefta at [email protected] or 701-250-3968.

Register to Bid!!
CLICK HERE to register in advance, explore available auction items, and enter your payment source. Note – even if you registered in prior years for the silent auction you will need to do so again. Lots of things going on at Summit – we recommend you register for the silent auction now so you can start bidding right away when the auction opens on Tuesday, May 9.
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Winners will automatically be notified through the ClickBid site. If you are on location, you will be able to retrieve your prize and take it home with you. If you need assistance with registering reach out to Amy Kleinschmit at 701.250.3964 or Lindsey Hefta – or find us at the Summit, see you next week!