The President’s Perspective

​DakCU staff members attending AACUL Winter Meeting this week, Year-End CEO Town Hall coming up, and reminders for sweepstakes and MonDak Conference registration.

DakCU Team attending the AACUL annual meetings
Several members of the Dakota Credit Union Association staff are in Dana Point, CA for the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL) Annual Winter Meeting and Conference.  Over 200 league staff members from across the country are here participating, along with National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Director Harper and Vice Chairman Hauptman, as well as our Region Director Cherrie Freed, who I met with this morning in a special roundtable meeting for region five members.
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I have had the privilege to serve as the chair of the AACUL Executive Board the last two years. My term as chair expires at the end our annual meeting on Thursday.  

We will also hear from Terence Williams, the new CEO of TruStage, our one true system partner (formerly known as CUNA Mutal Group). The CUNA Board is also here as they will hold their final-ever board meeting on Friday. Members of America’s Credit Union transition board are also on hand to discuss and share information on the association transition moving forward.

AACUL, for those of you that are not familiar with that acronym, or even the organization, is the national association for the state and regional credit union leagues/associations throughout the country. The mission at AACUL is to cultivate success of individual leagues as well as the collective League System by supporting league/association efforts to advocate, communicate, collaborate, and influence policy on behalf of credit unions nationwide.

The conference theme this week is “Connecting Ideas, Vision, and Impact,” with all discussion sessions revolving around this theme. We’re excited about AACUL’s evolution as we move forward as a united credit union movement and our strategic initiatives for 2024 and beyond will focus our efforts around three strategic pillars:

• Advocacy Support and Impact
• Collaboration and Professional Development; and
• Connection with America’s Credit Unions

Other topics areas this week include credit union awareness initiatives, approaches for league strategic planning, support for new credit union CEOs, attracting and retaining league staff, and any other issues.

Year-End CEO Town Hall Tuesday scheduled on December 12
Our year-end virtual CEO Town Hall is scheduled for next Tuesday, December 12th at 3:00 p.m. CT (2:00 p.m. MT). We are looking forward to touching base next week and sharing several important updates and information on our current legislative priorities, regulatory initiatives, as well as providing you updates on association activities and educational events. The meeting invite and link to the Town Hall was sent in an email invite to credit union leaders. If you need the Town Hall virtual meeting link, please let me know at [email protected] and I’ll send it you directly.

CUPAC/CULAC Holiday Sweepstakes ends this week on Friday
You still have a chance to get in on the CUPAC/CULAC Holiday Sweepstakes and win some Christmas cash while supporting our political action funds!

The sweepstakes will remain open until Friday, December 8 at 5:00 p.m. (CT) and the drawing will be held on Monday, December 11 at 3:00 p.m. (CT). We sincerely hope this allows ample time for everyone who wishes to contribute and enter the drawing. If you have any questions about the sweepstakes, please contact Chesney Garnos or John Alexander. 

We sincerely appreciate your support of our political action fundraising activities.

Final Push for MonDak CEO and Volunteer Roundtable Conference in Vegas!
Who doesn’t want to escape the Dakotas in the middle of January? It’s not too late to make plans to join, as the 2024 event will once again offer an exciting, fast-paced two-day schedule of unique sessions for both CEOs and volunteer board members in sunny and warm Las Vegas, January 17-18, 2024. MonDak is an amazing educational opportunity for regional credit union leaders to collaborate and share ideas as they are guided by a professional lineup of top industry thought leaders. I hope to see many of you there. Register today!
Have a great week.

​Jeff Olson
DakCU President/CEO