CU*Answers, a 100% credit union-owned CUSO, held their 2019 Annual Leadership Conference and Stockholders Meeting on June 19th at the JW Marriott Hotel in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event brought together credit union leadership from across the country for a briefing on the organization’s overall direction and major projects for the coming year.
This year’s conference theme was “Unique, Not Original.” CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes was joined on stage by long-time industry icon Chip Filson for a discussion around the question, “can we be transformative pioneers for our futures?” Said Karnes as he introduced the conference theme to the group, “Every credit union and person in our network is unique. For our cooperative to be strong, every organization’s creativity and need to be unique must be honored and fostered by our collective.” Karnes explained today’s credit union leaders are connected to the original concepts, organizations, and individuals from our industry’s history who proved that consumer-owners could succeed. “This connection should embolden us to take on the future, based on our unique qualities in the here and now,” said Karnes. “As those leaders were the pioneers of the past, you should see yourselves as pioneers of the future.”
The day-long conference was attended by 203 leaders from 104 credit unions, along with 48 representatives from 26 vendors and 32 internal staff. Other topics included, “Can we spark a credit union retailing revolution?,” “What is the future of the ‘It’s Me 247’ suite?,” and “Defining teller platforms for our future.”
At a separate session that evening, CU*Answers Stockholders met for the annual board member election and to hear a recap of the CUSO’s financial position and projections for the fiscal year.