The President’s Perspective

​DakCU board supports America’s Credit Unions
with official proclamation; celebrating five years of
​CU Awareness; and last chance for New Ideas early bird discount! 

Greetings! I hope you all enjoyed a long Labor Day weekend with family and friends and were able to take advantage of the beautiful weather. While this holiday marks the beginning of the end of summer, I am confident we will have a few more sunny and warm days ahead before fall season sets in. However, I did notice some of the leaves beginning to turn in some areas over the weekend.

DakCU Board Approves Proclamation of Support for America’s Credit Unions.
It truly is a special moment in credit history. Voting to approve the prospective merger between Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) into a new, combined organization, America’s Credit Unions, is officially underway. By now you should all have received your voting packet and materials. Members can cast their ballot at any time; please note voting closes on November 1
at 5:00 p.m. (ET).

This merger will make our movement more strategic, decisive, and nimble. Both of our national organizations 100 percent believe that – or wouldn’t have taken the steps to be here today.

Last week, the DakCU Board of Directors approved a proclamation of unanimous support for the proposed merger. We firmly believe that the strategic long-term benefits of the proposed merger will have a positive impact on Dakota credit unions and the credit union system. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Update on CUNA-NAFCU merger – “Meet & Greet” planned in Sioux Falls.
For Sioux Falls and other credit unions in the area, there will be a merger Q & A and a “Meet & Greet” event with CUNA field representative, Christopher Morris, on Wednesday, October 25th starting at 9:00 a.m. (CT).
The event will be hosted by Service First Federal Credit Union at their main branch location at 3901 E 10th Street. I plan to participate and would encourage area credit union leaders to join us. We will provide an update on the proposed CUNA-NAFCU merger, as well as an open roundtable discussion and Q&A session. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP here.

Five Years of CU Awareness!
It’s hard to believe that we are approaching the five year anniversary of our nationwide CU awareness initiative Your Money Further at the end of this year. Thanks to your tremendous support and participation, we have had amazing success and have even taken our awareness efforts local with our State-Wide Awareness Program (SWAP). Our efforts have included Gas Station TV (GSTV) ads across both states for a good portion of the past two summers. We have also utilized both stationary and electronic billboards, online and printed newspapers, in addition to laser-focused digital geofencing ads in areas where we have participating credit unions. If you have any questions about our awareness efforts, or would like to provide feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact Lindsey Hefta.

WCCU begins search for next CEO.
Due to the upcoming retirement of Melanie Stillwell, Western Cooperative CU has announced they have begun their search for the next CEO. Melanie has been a strong supporter of the credit union industry not just in her region, but state-wide, and nationally, serving on the board of DakCU, and on CUNA’s Examination & Supervision Subcommittee. She is a friend and an ally to many of our credit union leaders, including myself, and she will most definitely be missed. We wish her the best as she prepares for this next chapter of her life.

Last chance for New Ideas early bird discount!
Finally, be sure to take advantage of the early bird discount on our upcoming New Ideas Conference, as the reduced pricing ends this week on Thursday, September 7. You can save $50 per person if you register before then! This year, we are heading to Cadillac Jacks in scenic Deadwood, SD on October 10 – 11. Check out the great lineup of presenters and topics we will be exploring, and register here today. Remember, this conference is for everyone from front line staff to CEOs!

Have a great week,

DakCU President/CEO