The President's Perspective

Jeff is preparing to kick off our MonDak meetings this week in Las Vegas! Plus, a special Q1 CEO Town Hall meeting guest is announced!

Greetings and Happy Monday,

I hope that you all are staying warm and safe. It’s been a brutal few weeks with cold, snow and ice across the Dakotas and no end in sight (for now). So, I’m enjoying a little respite from the frigid temps at the MonDak Roundtable meetings in sunny (and warmer) Las Vegas. The expected high today will be in the upper 60s – much more temperate than back home! I love the timing of our event this year – after all, who doesn’t want to get out of the Dakota cold for a few days?

This would have been our sixth annual MonDak meeting if not for our COIVD cancelation last year. I’m excited to participate in this high-level learning opportunity with 105 Dakota and Montana Credit Union CEOs and volunteer members who are here for two days of dialogue, sharing and networking. The general sessions take place on Wednesday and will be led by industry leaders, focused on techniques and trends that can help credit unions grow and remain relevant with their members. This should definitely be on your radar in 2023 for events to consider attending!

The DakCU Board of Directors is also here using this time to plan and will spend most of today reviewing and discussing our strategic initiatives for the next few years. We will also be finalizing and sharing details for our annual Summit set for May 10 – 11 in Rapid City, SD. Look for registration details and vendor exhibit space information on our website later this week and be sure to save those dates.

Congratulations to our Dakota GAC Crashers
Last week, the 2022 GAC Crashers were announced, and we were very pleased to see two Dakota credit union professionals on the list: Chelsea Gleich, Senior Communications & Digital Services Specialist at Town & Country CU (Minot, ND); and Andy Kronaizl, VP of Lending at Vermillion FCU (Vermillion, SD).
 
Fifty-one individuals were selected this year from 150 applications, so being chosen to represent us at the biggest credit union event of the year is quite an honor. They will be carrying their respective state’s flag during the opening ceremonies in Washington, DC. Be sure to check out the full story in today’s Memo.
 
Special Q1 CEO Town Hall Guest
I am very pleased to share that Gigi Hyland, Executive Director for the National Credit Union Foundation, will be joining us for our first CEO Town Hall of 2022 on Tuesday, February 22nd at 3:00 p.m. (CT). As the National Foundation, your association, as well as the Dakota Credit Union Foundation begin to ramp up our new focus of “Financial Well-Being for All” (FWB), Gigi will share how the new direction will help support not only our movement’s mission, but how FWB will become a powerful advocacy tool. We will also introduce you to our association’s new FWB website page with resources and tools being added now! A Zoom invite to the Town Hall will be coming to CEOs via email soon.
 
Financial Well-Being for All is “People Helping People”
Speaking of financial well-being, last week, Gigi Hyland once again grabbed our attention with a well-written article in CUInsight. In her writing, she explains how financial well-being goes beyond financial education, or what we have commonly referred to as financial literacy. She even mentions Roger Heacock, former CEO of Black Hills FCU (and soon to be Wegner Award recipient) as an example of putting words into action. It’s worth a read, and you can find it here.
 
Pactola Offering Lender Education Class
Pactola is offering a new online education platform! The first class is “Introduction to Agricultural Lending” which is a four-part series that begins on February 23rd. The class will help develop a foundation of understanding agricultural credit for the lender to build on throughout their career. Click here to learn more or to register.
 
GAC Virtual Option
Last week, CUNA announced a limited content, virtual option to attend the GAC this year. Dubbing it “CUNA GAC On-Air”, the available sessions will include Jim Nussle’s speech, the ED talk with Mick Ebeling, an economic update with CUNA Chief Economist Mike Schenk, and more. Interested participants can register for the virtual option on the CUNA GAC website or find the link here on DakCU’s GAC page. Those who have already registered for the in-person CUNA GAC and wish to transfer to the virtual option should contact hello@cuna.coop for assistance.
Have a great week, and thanks for all you do!  

DakCU President/CEO