The President’s Perspective

​A Halloween from the past carries a “punch,” get your GAC housing locked down soon; and a special invitation to CEOs attending MonDak in Las Vegas. 

​Happy Halloween Dakota credit union friends! I hope the early snowfall and chilly winter weather doesn’t spoil your trick-or-treating today. I’m looking forward to seeing your credit union social media posts of your best Halloween costumes! In honor of Halloween, I’m posting a long-ago costume when I dressed as the WBA Light Heavy Weight Boxing Champion. 

Well, the truth is, that’s not actually a Halloween costume; I wanted to post this old picture I had of Olympic medalist and five time boxing world champion, Virgil Hill. This, in honor of his induction as the 48th North Dakotan into the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Hall of Fame yesterday. I first met Virgil when he was still in high school in Grand Forks before he moved to Williston. Later, I had the privilege to spend some time with him in my early broadcasting career as he was training for a champion bout in Las Vegas. He even let me wear his WBA light heavyweight champion belt. (For the record, I was never a light heavyweight.)

The Rough Rider Award is presented by the governor, and it’s North Dakota’s highest honor. The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Hall of Fame is in the lower level of the North Dakota Capitol.  

GAC Rooms are going fast.
We’ve heard that GAC housing rooms are at a premium and registration is at a record-setting attendance pace!  We do have a Dakota room block reserved at the Courtyard Marriott Convention Center (same as previous years). We also know that our block is sold out for those arriving on Saturday. March 2. Please know that we do still have rooms available for those arriving on Sunday, March 3. We are working with our partners to add more rooms for Saturday night, but since rooms are at a premium, we recommend that you register and reserve your rooms as soon as possible. If you need a room for Saturday, please reach out to Paige Langhoff and we’ll get you on a list. 

The GAC is the credit union industries’ largest event, and with the launching of the all-new America’s Credit Unions in 2024, we’re expecting a record turnout. You can learn more and register from our DakCU GAC "One Stop" link.
We do have the Heacock HTH scholarships available for those that would like to go and need financial assistance; feel free to contact me with any questions.

GAC Crasher opportunity!
Once again, Filene and the Cooperative Trust is selecting a group of young credit union professionals to attend the Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) with free registration as GAC Crashers! I truly believe the best way to ensure the continued success of our movement is to capture the attention, dedication, and enthusiasm of future leaders, and the Crasher program does just that. It also provides a way for these up-and-comers to expand their industry network – making connections, and gaining confidence and insight that can benefit them for years to come. If you are building a career in the industry – OR if you have a member of your staff that would appreciate this experience, we encourage you to submit an application now. If you are selected, DakCU will provide an additional $1,000 scholarship to help defray travel expenses. The deadline is November 20.
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CUNA and DakCU host CU Town Hall in Sioux Falls.
Last week, our new advocacy team members, Chesney Garnos, John Alexander, and I joined Christopher Morris from CUNA in a Credit Union Town Hall in Sioux Falls. The event was hosted by Service First FCU. The Town Hall dialogue covered many topics including updates on the CUNA-NAFCU Merger as well as updates on urgent advocacy and regulatory issues impacting credit unions today. We appreciate the efforts of Service First in coordinating this event. 

Christopher Morris, CUNA Field Rep; Travis Kasten, President/CEO, Service First FCU; and Jeff Olson.

DakCU Awards recognize credit unions and individuals.   
As a reminder, DakCU Awards nominations are officially open. Categories include Marketing and Communications, Social Impact, Professional of the Year, Emerging Leader, Volunteer of the Year, Chapter of the Year, and of course, our Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Award. Nomination forms and additional information available here.
Dakota credit unions and many accomplished credit union professionals have gone above and beyond for our industry, and they deserve to be formally recognized. Please consider submitting a nomination (or nominations) today.

Join us for a special Dakota CEO Dialogue at MonDak in January.
The MonDak Roundtable is being held January 17-18, 2024, in warm and sunny Las Vegas, Nevada! This particular event is exclusively for senior management, CEOs, and volunteer board members. 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.

For those planning on attending the MonDak in January, we have added an exclusive, free Dakota CEO Dialogue on Wednesday, January 17 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino. If you already registered for the MonDak, please RSVP for this invitation-only event to Paige Langhoff as soon as possible. Once we have a list of attendees, we will collect topics and/or questions that you would like to address. Be sure to register by November 22 to take advantage of best pricing.  

Movers & Shakers
Last week, SIOUXFALLS.BUSINESS listed our new director of political grassroots affairs, Chesney Garnos, as a “Mover & Shaker” in their list of top executives and organizations. We are very pleased to have Chesney on our team; her experience in government relations, nonprofit advocacy and executive relationship-building will undoubtedly be an asset to DakCU and our member credit unions. You can review the story here.
​Congratulations Chesney!

Have a great week, 

DakCU President/CEO