The President’s Perspective

​Buckle up for another rollercoaster weather ride across the Dakotas! Plus, some Summit housekeeping notes, and a new Filene study looking at small credit unions. 

Greetings and Happy Monday!

It appears our rollercoaster of weather is ready to take another plunge, as a huge system is moving into the Dakotas starting tomorrow morning through Thursday. I hope you are all buckled up and ready for this storm, as all indications are that it is going to be a major dump of snow plus windy conditions. While the moisture will definitely be appreciated, these late storms are always difficult, especially for farmers and ranchers. Stay safe – and keep an eye on the forecast before heading out anywhere this week. Our local Missouri Chapter has already postponed their event that was scheduled for tomorrow evening. Better safe than sorry!

We are now just four short weeks away from our signature event, The Summit! There are a few items related to our big event that you will want to consider.

Summit Give Back project planned.
Each year at the Dakota Credit Union Association’s Annual Summit, we organize a “Give Back” project to benefit an organization within the community where our event is being held. This year in Rapid City, SD, we have chosen the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Monument Health. After consulting with the Monument Health Foundation, it was determined that prepaid gift cards in increments of $25 would be greatly appreciated and allow their foundation the flexibility to distribute to families in need at their discretion.

We are asking each credit union in attendance to bring prepaid cash cards in $25 increments for our project. This also allows each credit union to determine their level of giving, AND your credit union’s own branding can be used on the donated cards, if desired. For those credit unions without a prepaid card program, we ask that you purchase a prepaid card (or cards) in advance and bring with you to Rapid City. Alternately, DakCU will accept your cash/check donations and purchase cards on your behalf; however, we need to know the number of cards to purchase, so please contact Karla Clark with your desired number of cards today as we must order in advance. 

Each gift card will be presented to the Monument Health Foundation along with a postcard style greeting containing the message “Compliments of Dakota’s credit unions” and additional information about the benefits of belonging to a credit union. Your donation will go a long way in supporting a family experiencing a medical hardship, and as always, we thank you for your support.

Silent Auction Items Requested
Our Dakota GAC Committees are also seeking donations for our Silent Auction which raises money for our Roger Heacock Scholarship Fund. These scholarships provide financial assistance to our Dakota credit union professionals who attend the CUNA GAC and our fall Hike the Hill advocacy events. We are asking each credit union to donate an item valued between $75 and $100 (or more.) If you have any questions or need some ideas for your donations, please contact Jay Kruse.
 
Summit Crashers announced today!
Today, we are very excited to announce the names of the 13 individuals who have been selected as 2022 Summit Crashers. These young professionals will be attending all general sessions, as well as specialized sessions exclusive to their group, all led by Christopher Morris, CUNA’s Midwest Engagement Consultant. This program is made possible in part by our friends at Millennium Corporate Credit Union, and we appreciate their support! Crashers should come prepared to be inspired and invigorated in their knowledge and enthusiasm for the industry, and I hope you will join me in making them feel welcome in Rapid City, SD May 10 – 11. See you soon!
 
Filene Small CU Study Kicking Off
I wanted to make you aware of the new Filene Small CU Study that is just kicking off. This came about during the Filene quarterly Zoom call last fall, when it was suggested Filene look at the small CU research coming out of the great recession to see what we can learn given the current dynamics of the pandemic, great resignation/succession planning, economic conditions, DEI, etc.

CUNA Mutual agreed to fund this effort as a cross-system collaboration; it was also talked about at the recent Filene quarterly Zoom call with many league presidents. The project is unfolding in three phases: a scan of current research on small CUs considering factors mentioned above; a financial review using Callahan data on the “state of the state” of small credit unions; and listening sessions with various stakeholder groups, including small CUs themselves as well as organizations and associations focused on small CUs. 

The hope is to have 3-5 case studies from small CUs that are thriving in addition to the research paper itself. There is already a league group in the listening session lists, and Tom Sakash, CUNA’s Manager of Small Credit Union Initiatives is helping to facilitate the sessions, drawing on his primary contacts across the league system, including our own George McDonald, Chief Officer of Strategic Initiatives. If any of our small credit unions would like to participate in the listening sessions, or if you have any questions, be sure to contact me or George.

Economic Update discusses CU Financial Well-Being impact.
The recent Economic Update Video with CUNA Chief Economist Mike Schenk describes financial well-being metrics gathered and summarized via CUNA research, confirming that credit unions are not only consumers’ “best financial partner, but they also advance the communities they serve.” The research shows that credit union members have substantially greater financial resilience than consumers who do not use credit unions; are more likely to use financial education and counseling services and are more likely to engage in behaviors that improve financial well-being! You can find the video here.
 
Congratulations to Dawn Van Ash.
Finally, I want to send a shout out to Dawn Van Ash, CEO of Oahe FCU (Pierre, SD) on her 35 years of service at the credit union. Since 1987, she has been a fierce credit union advocate, helping those in her community to succeed! She has also been a dedicated DakCU board member since 2020, and we sincerely appreciate her service. Thanks for all you do, Dawn!
 
Have a great week,

DakCU President/CEO