Legislative Update with Chesney

​Stack the PAC brings advocacy to the forefront of the Summit! Plus, the silent auction fundraiser is a huge success with more than $10K raised!

Photo above: Jeff Olson, Chesney Garnos, and John Alexander host DakCU's first "Stack the PAC" social. 

by Chesney Garnos, Director of Political & Grassroots Affairs
Advocacy at our Annual Summit
The 2024 Annual Summit kicked off last week on Tuesday May 14th. It was a week filled with a fun, packed schedule with multiple learning opportunities for our credit union members in the Dakotas. This year, we even added a new advocacy event to add to the annual Summit. On Tuesday night, the day we kicked things off, our advocacy team hosted our first-ever “Stack the PAC” social and recognition event to honor those who have contributed to our credit union PACs in the Dakotas. These credit union PACs are used to support state and federal level candidates who support a favorable environment for credit unions. I could not have imagined a better way to kick off the evening, with nearly 100 attendees gathering for this social!

Trey Hawkins, Head of Political Affairs at America's Credit Unions, addresses the crowd at Stack the PAC.

Thank You Silent Auction Donors!
This year, our team brought back our silent auction! Thank you to all of our credit unions in North and South Dakota for contributing wonderful items for our fundraiser. With nearly 40 silent auction items available to bid on, you all assisted in raising a grand total of $10,299.80 for the Roger Heacock Scholarship fund. This would not have been possible without our credit unions who donated these packages and those who bid on the items!
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In case you are wondering what packages went over well, it is first important to note that every package received a bid – so thank you to all of our bidders who made this possible! Some of the top “fought over” packages for this year’s silent auction included the multiple whiskey packages, the Nespresso Machine, and the Coach purse and clutch set! It was fun watching people’s competitive spirit come out as they made their bids.  

Some of the fabulous Silent Auction items on display during Summit.

Over the past several years, this auction has generated over $60,000 in revenue. This scholarship was created to honor Roger Heacock’s servant leadership and longtime commitment to credit union advocacy and grassroots engagement by providing financial assistance to credit union professionals who are members of the Dakota Credit Union Association (DakCU) and wish to attend the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) or the DakCU Legislative/Regulatory Hike the Hill (HTH). Assistance varies each year and is based on the number of qualified applicants and funds available. Scholarship monies allocated to applicants may reach, but not exceed, the cost of attending the conference or event. Since 2008, 88 scholarships have been awarded for a total of $70,000!
Looking into the Future:
There are multiple ways to get involved in advocacy events with us in the near future. Check them out below!
 
July

• July 18th - Par for the PAC SD CU Advocacy Golf Classic in Lead/Deadwood at Lead Country Club.

 September

• September 9th -12th - Fall Hike the Hill in Washington, DC.
• September 19th – Pints & Politics event in Webster at The Gallery Bar and Grill. 

 October

• October 3rd – Pints & Politics Event in Rapid City, location TBD.

• October 9th - Pints & Politics Event Pierre, luncheon at Oahe FCU.  
• October 15th - Pints & Politics Event in Huron, location TBD.
• October 16 - Pints & Politics Event in Yankton at Ben’s Brewing Co.
• October 17th - Pints & Politics Event in Sioux Falls at JJ's Bar.

 
We will also be adding a date in Gregory, SD. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any advocacy questions or concerns. We look forward to your involvement in our upcoming advocacy events!