The President's Perspective

by Jeff Olson, President/CEO 

​Some interesting Super Bowl Facts! Plus, congratulations to two Dakota credit unions honored during CUNA’s Virtual Award Celebration. 

Happy Super Bowl Monday! Perhaps it is time to make the day after the big game a national holiday. Why not?

I came across these interesting “Super Bowl Facts” recently. Based on extrapolations of U.S. workforce data, an estimated 11 million people schedule time off from work on the day after the Super Bowl. The same report also estimated that 5 million people would call in sick the day after the big game, thus giving the day after the moniker of “Super Sick Monday.” According to the New York Post, more than 17 million called in sick after the big game in 2019 and 2020. However, we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, and it is cold and flu season to boot, so we’ll give folks a pass today if they are feeling a bit under the weather and need to stay home.

Perhaps it is not even a post-Super Bowl hangover we are facing after all, but the desire to stay home and hunkered down by a cozy fire due to the Polar Vortex that is blanketing the region. It is minus 21 degrees as am writing this blog! Oh well, as poet Robert Frost once said, “You can’t get too much winter in winter.” (Not sure I agree with that.) But author John Steinbeck wrote, “What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” So, as we look forward to warmer temperatures – hopefully soon, stay warm and safe out there!

Dakota Credit Unions Recognized During CUNA’s Virtual Award Broadcast.
If it were a “normal” year we would be polishing our shoes, pressing shirts, and packing up and heading to Washington, D.C. for CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC), where we would properly celebrate and recognize our credit union movement’s accomplishments. Well, circumstances today certainly are not we what would consider normal. So, we are all engaging with the tools at our disposal.

Last week, CUNA hosted a virtual award celebration where East River FCU (Madison, SD) was honored with the First Place Dora Maxwell Award in their asset category! First Community CU (Jamestown, ND) was also recognized with a Second Place Dora Maxwell Award in their asset category. The prestigious Dora Maxwell Award is presented to credit unions for outstanding social responsibility projects in their communities, and our Dakota credit unions certainly earned this honor.

2020 was a year unlike any other, but all the award winners found ways to keep local businesses afloat, created financial literacy programs for vulnerable populations, and stepped up the fight against abusive lenders. Please join me in congratulating Tonya Hobson and her team at East River, as well as Steve Schmitz and his crew at First Community for their dedication in the face of adversity. You can review all the 2020 CUNA Award winners here.

New Website Launched!
Our brand-new DakCU website has now been live for one week. We hope you have perused the enhanced navigation and search options and are becoming familiar with the new features.

Starting today, portions of our website and certain Memo articles will be locked down and only visible to members with their user login and password. We will be providing ongoing training in the weeks ahead which will offer a visual guide for getting the most from our new site, so stay tuned.

Registration Opens Today for Ctrl+Alt+Innovate.
I am pleased to announce that registration is officially open for Ctrl+Alt+Innovate – an exciting new virtual event designed to position your credit union for the future. Your association has been collaborating with a team of eight Midwest credit union leagues and associations to bring this opportunity to you in the most direct, convenient way possible as we continue to navigate the challenges of the pandemic. Be sure to check out the related story in today’s Memo or click here for more details.

DakCU Advocacy in Full Swing
The legislative sessions are in full swing in both states now, and our advocacy team is carefully watching all bills that may affect Dakota credit unions and our members. We have “kicked up” our advocacy social media posts and are using #DakCUAdvocacy so you can easily reference all posts that are advocacy related. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay abreast of the latest developments.
 
Summit Planned in Fargo
We are moving ahead with our Annual Summit which will be held in Fargo on May 3 – 4. This will be a live, in-person event and I am looking forward to seeing many of you there, and I think it is safe to say that our staff is anxious to meet up with old friends as well. Details will be released soon – but please save the date.

CUNA’s First Quarter Economic Update.
Be sure to check out CUNA’s January Economic Update. The video highlights the five major concerns for credit unions heading into the year as well as the first month’s “Hits and Misses” and a strategic blunder that could jeopardize your credit union’s success in 2021. ​
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Have a great week, and stay safe and warm out there!


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Jeff Olson
President/CEO
Dakota Credit Union Association 

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