MYSTIC, Conn.–The Credit Union League of Connecticut held its Leadership Conference with a three-day event focused on the theme “Mission Possible.”
“It is our mission to be a valued partner in making Connecticut’s Credit Unions successful,” said Jill Nowacki, president/CEO of the league. “As our signature education event, it is inspiring to see credit unions come together in fellowship, focusing on how we can move our industry forward to a place of greater success.”
Among the meeting highlights:
- A Senior Executive Roundtable was hosted by Nick Moalli, vice president of credit union services at the league.
- A session on Board Financial Training was led by Bob Powers, manager of special projects at the League.
- PSCU CEO Chuck Fagan offered remarks themed “The Learning Never Stops,” during which he discussed embracing change, lifelong learning, and encouraged attendees to acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their lives and their work.
- The second day of the conference included split sessions allowing attendees to get BSA training from Judy Britt, director of compliance for the league, or to learn about prize-linked savings program Save to Win from Chris Whalen, communication and public relations manager for the league.
- Tansley Stearns, chief impact officer at the Filene Research Institute, shared the framework for building a culture of innovation that transforms ideas into action. Stearns also discussed how credit unions could build discipline into the innovation cycle without killing creativity and presented ideas for fitting innovation into an already busy day. Real-life examples of how executed innovation actually works within credit unions were shared with attendees.
- Randy Thompson, CEO and founder of TCT Risk Solutions examined the key components of risk and how they are most effectively managed. He reviewed how to utilize risk based pricing to account for variable risk patterns. Thompson also discussed how to identify early warning signs of deteriorating credit and accompanying trends to help lenders take early action to minimize loss and its impact on earnings. After his program, Thompson met one-on-one with pre-registered credit unions for a free financial risk analysis.
- A session on “Insights for 2016 Planning” was presented by Nowacki. The session reviewed key facts and issues highlighted in the CUNA Environmental Scan Report for the upcoming year.
- The conference keynote speaker was John Tippets, author of Hearts of Courage. Tippets, a longtime credit union CEO, told the inspirational lessons learned by sharing parts of the account of the legendary Gillam plane crash in Alaska in 1943 and his father, Joseph Tippets, who journeyed through the Alaskan wilderness in an attempt to find help and rescue for his fellow passengers.
- During a CUNA Mutual Group-hosted reception and awards dinner the winners of the 2015 Credit Union National Association state-level awards were named. The winners for the Dora Maxwell Award were Greenwich Municipal EFCU ($20-$50 million), Seasons FCU ($100-$200 million), and Connex CU ($200-$500 million). The Louise Herring Award winners were Hartford Healthcare FCU (less than $50 million), Seasons FCU ($50-$250 million), and Connex CU ($250 million to $1 billion). The final award for the evening was the Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award, which went to Connex CU in the $150-$500 million category.