Twenty-three young credit union professionals from 10 credit unions gathered recently at a coffee shop near Rochester, N.Y., to network, learn about career development opportunities and discuss how to attract young people to credit unions.
At the third Crash meet-up in New York, Brent Dixon, young adult adviser for the Filene Research Institute, spoke about the genesis of Crash and provided information about Filene, CUNA, WOCCU, the Credit Union Development Educator program and the Women's Global Development Group. He also touched on the possibility of developing a speaker's bureau for young credit union professionals.
Lisa Hochgraf, editor from CUES, spoke about CUES NextGen membership for those 35 and under and CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec, a social media competition designed to recognize young credit union professionals for the work they are doing to advance their credit union.
In an open conversation that followed, participants agreed that technology is an essential component when reaching out to the younger demographic and discussed their biggest barriers: confronting resistance to change and dealing with limited resources and time.
"At the Rochester meet-up, one thing was clear--the cooperative spirit is alive and well among young professionals," said Francesca Iraci, marketing specialist at Gates Chili FCU and a member of the Credit Union Association of New York's Young Professional Commission. Iraci coordinated the meetup locally. Future meet-ups in New York are being planned for Syracuse, Utica and Jamestown.
