DakCU News & Notes

Happy Memorial Day! Mohr retires after 42 years; Join your state’s PAC golf outing and help support our advocacy efforts; and a FREE webinar on planning your retirement. 

Happy Memorial Day!
DakCU offices will be closed on Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day. Please have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend. Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States honoring U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces. Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial beginning of summer in the United States.
 
FREE Holiday Signs
DakCU has an assortment of messages for upcoming 2025-2026 federal holidays FREE for your use on your credit union branch doors, websites, and social media. The signs can be downloaded here. If you need a different size and/or format, don’t hesitate to contact Lindsey Hefta at 701.250.3968.
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Longtime United Savings CU Employee Retires
After 42 years with United Savings Credit Union, Bonnie Mohr retired on May 16, 2025. Bonnie started with the credit union in 1983 as a part-time teller, but quickly took over many back-office duties, including GL posting (by hand!), share drafts, insurance tracking, and much more before moving into a loan officer position. In 1999, Bonnie was promoted to Vice President, a position she has held since. Bonnie’s willingness to learn and to help others contributed to her professional growth and to the continued success of United Savings through branch additions and several mergers.

Bonnie truly cared about those around her, especially our members. She has made many lifelong friendships during her time with the credit union and her wealth of knowledge will be greatly missed! Current CEO Jim Schaefbauer added, “We will never be able to replace Bonnie. Her 42 years of experience and knowledge of our members, systems, and processes she shared with us will forever be appreciated and admired. We will do our best to carry on the example she provided, and we wish her the best in her next chapter.”
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Congratulations on your retirement, Bonnie! It is well deserved!

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PAC Golf Outings
Support your state’s GAC committees by attending one of the upcoming golf outings. Both events are to generate funds for the corresponding state’s PAC. South Dakota’s Par for the PAC is scheduled for Thursday, July 10, at River Ridge Golf Course in Garretson, SD. The North Dakota event takes place on Thursday, September 18, at Memorial Park Country Club in Lamoure, ND. Please contact John Alexander (ND) or Chesney Garnos (SD) with any questions. Your support will help advance our advocacy efforts towards a more favorable legislative and regulatory environment for credit unions.  
  
Free Webinar – Planning for Retirement
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is hosting a free webinar on May 28 in recognition of Older Americans Month. The webinar will focus on the importance of preparing for retirement and how credit unions are helping their members get ready. Online registration for this webinar is now open. This webinar is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. (CT) and is expected to run for one hour.
 
A representative from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration will outline the retirement resources they have available that can help credit union members prepare. Also, representatives from AmeriCU Credit Union in Rome, New York, will discuss their approach and the types of resources their credit union has available to help their members plan for retirement.
 
SE605 Chapter Annual Golf Tournament
The Southeast 605 Chapter of Credit Unions is holding their 23rd Annual Charity Golf Tournament on Thursday, June 26th, at Elmwood Golf Course in Sioux Falls. This event benefits Feeding South Dakota. Please register and remit payment here no later than June 1. For more information click here.
All proceeds support local charitable initiatives, making your day on the green even more meaningful.
 
Resources for small credit unions
Last month, America’s Credit Unions introduced several valuable resources for small credit unions, including the Small Credit Union Organizational Charts & Staffing Strategies Guide—an 84-page PDF featuring proven business strategies from small credit unions across the country. They also re-released the Small Credit Union Succession Planning Guide, now accompanied by a newly rebranded Workbook and Checklist, all available in the Small Credit Union Community. Don’t forget to explore these tools along with the widely-used Blueprints for Small Credit Union Success.
 
SalesCU Training
2025 dates are now available for SalesCU workshops! SalesCU training offers practical and proven sales techniques and strategies that actually work in a credit union setting to bring affordable and convenient sales training to our Dakota credit unions. If you want to develop employees who know how to sell in a way that adds value to the member, and sales leaders who are empowered to drive results through developmental coaching and meaningful accountability, we have an award-winning solution for you! Additional information on upcoming sessions available here or contact George McDonald, Senior VP/Chief Officer Partnerships & Engagement at 701.250.3942.
 
SWAP Contributors – FREE Job Postings on Try a Credit Union
Contributing SWAP members have access to FREE job postings on the Try A Credit Union website! To have a job posted, contact Lindsey Hefta with your job description and she will be happy to assist you. The successful results we are seeing with our state-wide awareness program (SWAP) means we are increasing credit union awareness and consideration of credit unions as a better financial services option for consumers all across the Dakotas! It’s not too late to get on board for 2025. Contact Lindsey to find out how SWAP can reach more consumers in your area.
 
Leadership Development
Our iLead@11 DakCU Emerging Leader Program is designed specifically for credit union professionals in the credit union industry interested in enhancing their careers for advancement. Based on the popular Leadership@11 program designed by Eleven Performance Group, it is an ongoing program that allows participants to start whenever they want and determine their own pace. For a limited time, reduced pricing of just $1,999 per person and scholarships are also available! Learn more here.
 
Share Updates and Help Us Stay Connected with Your Team
We want to ensure your employees are staying informed and connected! Help us keep your staff in the loop by confirming they’re receiving The Memo and are included in our database for important updates. Our goal is to provide you with the latest on advocacy, compliance, networking, educational opportunities, and more. Are all your credit union team members receiving this information? If not, please share the names, titles, and email addresses of any new employees.

We also encourage you to share your news with us! Whether it’s employee promotions, awards, new products or services, community involvement and recognition, or job openings—we’d love to highlight your updates.

Submit your staff updates or news to Annie Elhard. Let’s keep the communication flowing!