FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK ENHANCE YOUR CU KNOWLEDGE, PASSION WITH NAFCU By B. Dan Berger, NAFCU President and CEO Learning is a lifelong endeavor. Regardless of age or position, it’s important to continually seek out new information, consider different points of view, and learn about the latest trends—all in pursuit of growth and being the best version of ourselves that we can be. Learning keeps us motivated and uncovers—or strengthens—our passions. I’m deeply passionate about the credit union industry and the work you all do as the White Hats of financial services. The commitment you have to your members and communities is truly inspiring. From safe, secure, and reliable products and services to financial literacy programs, counseling and more, you go above and beyond to help them reach their financial dreams and thrive. We at NAFCU do all we can to support your efforts by providing the industry’s best ACE—advocacy, compliance, and education. While we were founded to serve as credit unions’ voice in Washington, D.C., over the years we’ve honed our focus further on compliance assistance and educational opportunities to keep our members informed of what’s happening with federal laws and regulations and ensure you have the tools and knowledge to effectively operate. We intentionally concentrate on these three areas because of your direct feedback about what you need. This year has been especially rewarding and invigorating for me. After more than three years of virtual events, we were finally able to offer in-person conferences, meetings, and receptions for our members. From what I’ve seen so far this year, you’re all excited about that, too. Our first four conferences of the year sold out in record time and the rest are filling up fast. We just held our Annual Conference: Engage 2023 in Long Beach, Calif., where more than 500 credit union leaders came together to connect, dive into trends impacting the industry, collaborate on growth strategies, and take lessons learned back to their individual institutions. Our annual conference highlights the importance of continual learning. For many of us, we’ve been involved with the credit union industry for years, if not decades. It sometimes feels like we’re on a hamster wheel because so many issues come up year after year. But financial services are constantly evolving, and while issues might seem like the “same,” there are nuances and developments that make it critical to stay on top of. That’s where NAFCU comes in. Our education and events teams are the best at what they do. In collaboration with our government affairs team, they identify the need-to-know issues our members are facing and bring experts in to share insights directly with you. Our conference sessions are developed with you in mind: What do you need to know about the landscape and what tools or resources can make you stronger. We strive to give you takeaways that you can begin implementing right away. Our conferences are also a great way to connect with your peers and learn what others in the industry are pursuing. Our industry is all about the cooperative spirit, and we love building those relationships amongst our members. If you haven’t been able to make it to a conference yet this year, I encourage you to take a look at our upcoming schedule. We’ve got great events focused on Bank Secrecy Act and risk, our Congressional Caucus, lending, leadership development and more. And for year-round learning, check out our Online Training Center— credit unions streamed almost two years’ worth of educational content in 2022! No matter how long you’ve been part of our movement, NAFCU will continue to find ways to enhance your knowledge and passion for the credit union industry. Connect with B. Dan Berger on Twitter, @BDanBerger, and on his blog at www.nafcu.org/berger-leadership-blog. 42 THE NAFCU JOURNAL July–August 2023
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