Legislative Update with Jay Kruse

​Special recognition planned for CUPAC/CULAC Awards at Summit.  Plus, it’s not too late to donate an item for our Silent Auction fundraiser. 

Good Morning!

It’s hard to believe the 2021 DakCU Annual Summit is less than a week away!  I am looking forward to connecting with many of you next week in person and catching up on some lost time.  I have had the opportunity to visit a few credit unions over the last couple weeks and it is definitely feeling like things are getting back to normal here in the Dakotas.

I am very excited to have the opportunity to provide everyone with an advocacy/legislative update on the main stage next week in Fargo and announce the winners of our CUPAC/CULAC Champion Awards!  We will be recognizing the credit union that surpassed their annual fundraising goal by the largest percentage, and also the credit union that donated the most dollars to CUPAC/CULAC in 2020.  

I want to extend my sincere gratitude and a big “Thank You” to all the credit unions and individual donors that contributed to CUPAC/CULAC last year.  Large and small, we appreciate them all and couldn’t continue our annual fundraising success without your ongoing support.  We are also planning a big Summit announcement regarding our Hike the Hill Scholarship Program, so there’s much to look forward to at this year’s event.

It’s Never Too Late To Donate An Item
It’s not too late to submit a donation item for our Summit Silent Auction which benefits our GACs’ Hike the Hill Scholarship Program.  Also, if we have any vendors or system partners that would like to donate an item that would be great.  Head over to our ClickBid website at https://dakcu.cbo.io for a preview of all the items that have already been submitted.  The total market value of all items donated so far is just under $5,000 so we are looking forward to another successful fundraiser this year!  

There is an online form on the website to submit your donations, or you can send your item info to me and I will enter it for you.  If anyone is planning to purchase a last-minute item on your trip to the conference that is perfectly fine – we can add your item to the auction at the Summit registration desk.  Some of the big-ticket items already submitted include:

• Kate Spade Handbag
• A Vincero Watch
• Ring Doorbells
• Amazon Echo Dot
• Two Oculus Quest Virtual Reality Headsets
• Apple AirPods Pro
• Blackstone 28” Griddle Cooking Station
• And the list goes on – so be sure to visit the website to see all the items!

Quiet Week in Washington DC
We are expecting a quiet week for Congress in Washington.  The House of Representatives will not be considering any legislation on the floor.  The Senate will be considering some more executive branch nominations.

As always, be sure to contact me with any advocacy questions or comments.