APPLETON, Wis. - Credit unions, banks, government agencies, thelocal public school district, businesses and the public cametogether here recently for one reason: to satisfy consumers' hungerfor financial education. The first Fox Cities Money Conference,held Nov. 8 at Fox Valley Technical College, was a partnershipinvolving a financial education advisory team of local leaders, thenonprofit organization Asset Builders of America, and the WisconsinDepartment of Financial Institutions. Community First Credit Union,a sponsor, saw it as part of its commitment to financial education,"a way to service our members. If they are successful, we'resuccessful," said Chip Coenen, vice president of businessdevelopment and community relations for Community First. "What wehad heard from people during the conference was that they werestarved for this kind of broadbased, practical information." Nearly250 youngsters, teens, adults and seniors attended the all-dayevent, attracted to sessions as diverse as "Entrepreneurship forKids," "How to Start and Manage an Investment Club," "From Kickingthe Tires to Signing the Check - How to Buy a Car," and "How toMake the Most of Your Employer Benefits." Matthew Busse, 17, ofAppleton attended with some members of his personal financialmanagement course at Appleton North High School. "Besides the extracredit points," he said, he was looking forward to the "goodeconomic information that would be available. I will be able to useit in the future for buying cars, homes, getting a credit card."Alicia and Manuel Vivas of Menasha were interested in learning "howto better invest our money, to plan a future for our kids andourselves and how to plan for retirement." Manuel had heard aboutthe program through FVTC where he was enrolled. "We just moved herefrom California two years ago," said Alicia, "so we are not veryfamiliar with how to invest money or anything here in Wisconsin. Wethink it will help us." Joe and Peggy Mueller of Sherwood and theirson Dyne and daughter Meghan, who was a volunteer guide, also werethere. "It's something new in the area," said Joe, "and I think abig benefit for us was bringing our two youngest children, ages 15and 18, to learn a lot of things that you maybe forgot to exposethem to in life. You don't generally talk about money, what towatch for." "We're also interested in looking at something forretirement in the future," said Peggy, "learning what our optionsare." For Dyne, the session he was particularly interested in wasabout credit cards. "In a couple of years, I'll be able to get oneand I want to know how to handle it and everything." Ed Culhane andhis son David, 15, of Appleton also were attending. "David is 15and it's very important that he gets this way of looking at moneywhile he is still young. I really didn't starting thinking about ituntil I was older and after I paid way too much money in interestand messed up my credit. I want David to have a better start than Idid." "Understanding and knowing how to manage your money is thekey to financial stability today," said Lorrie Heinemann, Secretaryof the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. "Thisconference is a great investment because it offers high quality,impartial financial education for youth as well as adults." Theconference also offered sessions in the Spanish and Hmonglanguages. One keynote speaker Dr. John Whitcomb, medical directorof Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Elm Grove, Wis., and author ofThe Sink or Swim Money Program, shared personal insights onteaching "family values" about money. Whitcomb, who has been aguest on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning America, used hisfamily's experiences with spending and saving as the basis for hisbook, "Capitate Your Kids," which teaches how to become a "fiscallyfit" family. "If you've only given your kids disposable income, howdo they learn to manage their money?" he asked the audience. Hesaid entire families have to review the way they deal with moneyand what that teaches children. He gave the example that as soccerparents, they often used to pay $2 for each bottle of pop at agame. He said that taught their kids that it was OK to spend $10 onsoda for five people. In re-examining that, they decided that theycould either bring Kool-Aid they had made at home or pick up a24-can carton of pop for the same price to be used at severalgames. From bringing a sack lunch to school or work each day tohaving kids work to pay for special items they wanted, there areways to save, he told the audience. The point, he said, was for afamily not to waste its money but to spend it on what it valued.Community First's Coenen called the conference very successful andvery satisfying. "The whole conference was an outflow of acommittee of community members and an extension of what CommunityFirst is doing," said Coenen, noting that the credit union isinvolved with a high school financial literacy program, nowrequired of students in the Appleton School District, and hascredit union branches in local schools. "I was also very happy withthe diversity of the event," said Catherine Tierney, president/CEOof Community First. "We served a broad spectrum of people fromdifferent ethnic backgrounds, ages, and income levels. To hearpeople talk about how much they need this type of information, andhow happy they were to `find' it was very gratifying! We're lookingforward to growing the Money Conference and to providing this typeof programming for our membership and the community on a regularbasis." Coenen said the local financial literacy advisory committeehad been considering a financial seminar at the same time AssetBuilders was looking for another conference site. The localcommittee had ideas and local resources it wanted included andAsset Builders had a proven template, he said. Coordinating theeffort took many months of work but the result was impressive. Notonly credit unions but banks and other organizations stepped up tothe plate, said Coenen. Besides Community First, conferenceplanning committee members included Citizens First Credit Union andthe Appleton Area School District. Among conference sponsors wereCommunity First, Fox Communities, Miller Electric, Lakeview andBadger Globe credit unions. Asset Builders this year also presentedits financial conferences in Milwaukee, Madison and in theBeloit/Janesville area. Richard Entenmann, president of AssetBuilders, said one community is added each year to its schedule offinancial education projects targeted at low- and moderate-incomepeople.