The President’s Perspective

​Honoring our veterans; a trip to D.C. educates and energizes our advocacy team; and MonDak early bird discount has been extended to December 1. 

I hope you all took some time over the holiday weekend to honor those who have served our country in the armed forces. Because the holiday fell on a Saturday this year, those that follow the Fed calendar received Friday off from work. While the extra day off is always appreciated, it is important to remember why we support our military personnel, and pay homage.

Those who choose to serve their country not only make tremendous sacrifices (and so do their families), but they pledge to literally put their own lives on the line to protect our country. This is a commitment unlike any other.

Credit unions also make and keep a commitment, with a long and proud history of service to military communities, and meeting the unique needs of our military members. It is interesting to note that nearly half of military households are credit union members! Still, they are often financially stressed due to repeated relocations, deployments, in addition to emotional costs, and fixed limited incomes. We can and do make a real difference in military households. Let’s continue to strive to make the #CUDifference evident, demonstrating that first and foremost, we truly want financial well-being for all.

Enhancing the credit union operating environment through effective advocacy.
I have said it repeatedly: Advocacy is at the heart of the Dakota Credit Union Association’s purpose and is our top priority. I truly believe that over time, advocacy will be our greatest contribution to industry sustainability and relevancy. The most effective advocacy model for credit unions is one that intentionally connects local, state, and national advocacy efforts.

Advocacy is the pursuit of influencing outcomes, either in the form of support or opposition, including public policy within political, economic, and social systems, and institutions. With the assistance of credit union leaders, we work daily with elected official s and policymakers to ensure that credit unions continue to have a healthy operating environment and remain competitive and relevant in the financial service marketplace in our two states.
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This past week, I accompanied our two new advocacy directors, Chesney Garnos and John Alexander, to Washington, D.C, for two days of advocacy training and credit union onboarding with our partners at the Credit Union National Association.  We also spent a day getting to know our Dakota congressional legislative staffers. The training trip to D.C. came after three weeks of intense credit union indoctrination for our new advocacy leaders back here in the Dakotas. The timing of our visits also provided our team the opportunity to discuss and share the urgent regulatory concerns impacting Dakota credit unions to our two Senators (Rounds and Cramer) on the Senate Banking Committee prior to their oversight hearing with NCUA Chaiman Harper later this week. 

Our approach to credit union advocacy is about defining the debate on our terms. We know that decisions are going to be made by legislative leaders and policy makers that will have an impact on our credit unions. If we are not advocating for our position, for our membership, for our institutions, someone else will. Our new advocacy team is energized, informed, connected, and prepared to face every challenge head on! 

​North Star CCU goes above and beyond for veterans.
One story that came to our attention over Veterans Day weekend was in KXNET – featuring North Star Community Credit Union (Maddock, ND) and their recognition of veterans at their Minot Airforce Base location. There, they have a “Wall of Honor” to celebrate veterans, both living and deceased. The credit union also does an annual project dubbed “Operation Thank You,” where all branches collect personal hygiene items for homeless veterans. This year alone, they collected 8,000 items! Thank you to Bob Herrington and his entire staff at North Star for going above and beyond in showing their appreciation for our service men and women. 

 ViClarity – your new compliance solution!
As we shared during our CEO Town Hall virtual meeting in late October, the Dakota Credit Union Association has entered a partnership with ViClarity, a compliance and regulatory consulting firm that is partnered with 9 credit union leagues covering 16 states and serving more than 1,000 credit unions across the US. To make the transition as smooth as possible for our members who rely on us for their compliance support, we will be holding an introductory webinar very soon. Watch for a special email invite coming this week.  

Early Bird extended for MonDak.
The early bird discount has been extended for our popular MonDak Rountable in Las Vegas! Due to a payments system glitch that is beyond our control, we want to ensure that every attendee has the chance to save $50! If you want to register now, simply choose to be billed later. If you register by Friday, December 1, you will still pay just $399 per person! (Starting December 2, registration fee will be $449.) I hope to see many of you there.
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Have a great week! 

DakCU President/CEO