The President's Perspective

​Jeff Olson wraps up his tenure as Chair of AACUL Board. Plus, a Q & A session with the new CEO of TruStage; an outstanding GAC Crasher response, and more! 

​This past week, I wrapped my two-year tenure as Chair of the American Association of Credit Unions Leagues (AACUL) at our annual winter meetings in Dana Point, CA. AACUL is the national organization for the state and regional credit union league system. Since AACUL doesn’t directly engage with credit unions, most are unaware of the organization or how it fits in to the system.    

System Evolution Panel during AACUL meetings last week: Jeff Olson with Jim Nussle, President-CEO, America’s Credit Unions; Brian Schools, President/CEO, Chartway FCU and Chair-elect of the America’s Credit Unions Board of Directors; Brad Miller, AACUL President; Diana Dykstra, President-CEO of California & Nevada Credit Union Leagues; and Lori Herrick, President/CEO, Manchester Municipal FCU and member of the America’s Credit Unions Transition Board of Directors.

DakCU Staff attending AACUL meetings last week included John Alexander, George McDonald, Chesney Garnos, Jeff Olson, and Lindsey Hefta.

​Founded in 1942, AACUL has been a partner with the Credit Union National Association. I often say, it really is “where the sausage is made.”  Their mission is to cultivate the success of individual leagues as well as the collective League system by advocating, collaborating, and influencing policy on behalf of credit unions.

Little did I know that during my time as chair, there would be league consolidation, or a unification of two national credit union associations. Over the last two years, we had some difficult conversations around consolidation, an evolving financial service industry, and the credit union movement relevance moving forward. Given the societal challenges, public policy threats, as well as changing expectations from policy makers, how will leagues continue to advance and support credit unions in an ever-evolving operational environment?

After months of calculated discussions and dialogue, AACUL put into place a strategic initiative for 2024 and beyond that is focused around three strategic pillars:

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

DakCU’s active engagement in AACUL and with our peer leagues and associations makes us a better organization, and our team members better professionals in our efforts to bring value and support to our members. 

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Jeff Olson visits with Terrance Williams during last week's AACUL meetings.

Meet Terrence Williams, President & CEO of TruStage
The year has certainly had its share of historic transactions. While CUNA and NAFCU were deep into merger discussion, CUNA Mutual Group launched the TruStage brand early this year. By June, they also had named a new leader, Terrance Williams, to take the helm and lead TruStage into a new era. I had the privilege to visit on stage with Terrance last week at the AACUL winter meetings, and below is a bit of our dialogue.
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Q: Over the past six months, you’ve immersed yourself in the world of credit unions and explored every facet of TruStage. What are your overall thoughts about the impact and health of the credit union system, and what role can TruStage play in expanding impact and relevance?

A: “We’ve committed direct financial support - $152M over the past five years, including CUNA’s awareness campaign and Inclusiv’s efforts to expand reach to underserved populations. We’re an advocacy partner, in statehouses, on Capitol Hill, with regulators. We’re continuing to develop innovative solutions that meet your members’ rapidly evolving needs, particularly digital tools. We support a robust fintech ecosystem, connecting credit unions with providers that can deliver game-changing tools. We’re bringing greater focus to our efforts – tech must be an enabler for embedded insurance making financial solutions easier for members to buy and credit unions to deliver.”

Q: TruStage has had a strong relationship with the Leagues and broader CU System through the years. What’s going to be your approach to that relationship … and I should couch that within the question on a lot of people’s minds here: What changes do you expect?

A: “I wasn’t brought in to make a left turn – I’m here to build on the legacy that Bob and others have built. I’ll start with what’s not changing: Commitment to credit unions, to our B2B2C model, to innovation, and to DEI as a business imperative. Our Executive Team recently took part in an intense strategy review and emerged with a vision for our company that should sound and feel familiar: We want to be the most trusted and accessible provider of financial protection to middle-market consumers through our B2B2C business model. My job is to ensure TruStage remains relevant. Only 52 companies on Fortune 500 were there 70 years ago. Can’t just do what you’ve always done. Need to evolve to meet members’ needs.

Focus #1: attract tech-savvy members. Need to win over younger people like Tre who demand integrated digital solutions – all interactions are part of one continuous experience. Provide best-in-class digital platforms and align products/solutions within and across customer journeys.

Focus #2: accessibility. Central word in that vision and in our purpose of making a brighter future accessible – making it easier to find, obtain and afford solutions through their CU. Emphasis on expanding access for multicultural consumers.”

Q: How is TruStage approaching the pending merger between CUNA and NAFCU?
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A: “As you know, we have significant partnerships with both CUNA and NAFCU. We’re in favor of any arrangement that best helps credit unions serve current and prospective members. Because again, we value our heritage and believe that a strong credit union system is essential to our purpose of making brighter financial futures accessible to everyone. We are going to support the decision of each membership to merge, and we’ll continue to build on our strong relationships with the unified organization.”

Holiday Sweepstakes is wrap as winners announced!
We wrapped up our 14th CUPAC-CULAC Holiday Sweepstakes year-end fundraiser last week. Check to see if you were a winner – you can click here to review the list of winners and the video of the prize drawings.  
Since 2010, this annual fundraiser has generated nearly $210,000 which is used to support state and federal pro-credit union legislators and candidates. Congratulations to all the winners and we sincerely appreciate your continued support and engagement in this important event.  

Outstanding GAC Crasher response!
I am thrilled to share that we have NINE candidates between our two states who applied to be GAC Crashers for the 2024 Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, DC. Each candidate is worthy of being selected, but as you know, only one from each state will be chosen each year. The final decision rests with the fine folks at Filene and the Cooperative Trust. For those who are not selected this year, please be sure to apply again next year, and we thank you for your efforts.

Town & Country CU recognized by Fargo Forum
Town & Country Credit Union was recently named Best Credit Union in the Red River Valley by the Fargo Forum. Each year, this publication recognizes the best businesses and nonprofits across the Fargo-Moorhead metro area, from retailers, restaurants, financial institutions and more. Congratulations to Brad Houle, CEO; Jake Klobuchar, Fargo Market President; and the entire staff on this outstanding recognition.

Town Hall Tuesday – today at 3:00 p.m. central time
One final reminder – we will be hosting our final CEO Town Hall Tuesday today at 3:00 p.m. (CT). Topics will include an update on the CUNA National Award Winners; reaffiliation details; upcoming events, and political affairs/GAC information. I hope to see many of you there. The meeting invite was sent out several weeks ago, but please contact me ASAP if you need the Zoom link.

Have a great week! 

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DakCU President/CEO