OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) has concluded its 2023 Midwest Sub-Council Conference.
This year’s conference, co-hosted by Frontier Community CU, focused on important topics including speaking military, advocacy and industry updates, cybersecurity, financial management systems, and DCUC’s vision for the future, the organization said.
According to DCUC, its Midwest Sub-Council was first formed in 1972 and has a long-standing tradition of being a close-knit group of credit union leaders gathering to share their continued dedication to serving military and veteran communities.
“Many Sub-Council members serve installations far from population centers, aka ‘flyover’ country,” DCUC said. “These often-underserved communities present a different set of challenges to the credit unions serving them and make gathering to discuss best practices and lessons learned important to their continued success.”
Added Michael Augustine, president and CEO of Frontier Community CU, “On behalf of Frontier Community Credit Union, we are very excited to cohost this year’s DCUC Midwest Conference. Each year, this conference provides another opportunity for credit unions to gain additional insights from industry leaders on topics that in turn help us better serve our members.”
Above, from left, DCUC President/CEO Anthony Hernandez, Rep. Chris Croft; Michael Augustine, president/CEO of Frontier Community CU; and Michael Murray, executive director at Kansas Credit Union Association.
Speakers and guests at the event included Rep. Chris Croft, House majority leader, Kansas; Col. Duane L. Mosier, garrison commander of Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; Frank Farone, managing director, Darling Consulting Group; Roy Ross, CISO with OMNICOMMANDER; Julie Murray, administrator, Kansas Department of Credit Unions; and Anthony Demangone, EVP/COO with NAFCU.
In addition to speaker presentations, DCUC said this year’s Midwest Conference featured an advocacy panel with DCUC President/CEO Anthony Hernandez and John McKechnie, a CU advocate in Washington. Afterward, Scott Duszynski, VP of member engagement, and Ann Morsch, VP-member services & operations, Armed Forces Financial Network (AFFN), informed the group of recent AFFN updates and industry news.
“This year’s conference, cohosted with Frontier Community Credit Union, was no exception to another successful event for our members,” said Hernandez. “There were many valuable discussions on both current and upcoming advocacy issues as well as great information to help credit unions grow their impact and service to our nation’s military and veterans.”
The conference concluded with the Midwest Sub-Council Meeting where Joye Conklin, president/CEO R-G FCU, announced she would be stepping down as Chair of the Midwest Sub-Council's board.