Almost everyone from the Mainland loves to go to Hawaii. Thatincludes most credit union people, many of whom chose which creditunion meetings to attend at CU expense based almost entirely onthree criteria. location, location, and location. Of course theywill always deny that fact. Holding a meeting in Hawaii, with allthe attractions Hawaii offers, would seem to be a slam dunk formulafor generating record numbers of attendees. But is it? There arelots of pros for holding a meeting in the middle of the PacificOcean, but there are actually a number of cons as well. Just askCUNA meeting planners as that group's Annual Future Forum getsunderway this week. Some of the pros: Hawaii is beautiful and livesup to its nickname of paradise. The year-round temperature is neverfar from being just about perfect. Gorgeous beaches are everywhereand are clean and teeming with water-related activities. Hotels areplentiful, convenient, first class, and feature numerous Hawaiistyle amenities like fancy drinks and luaus. Although no longer thebargain they once were, most convention type hotels are stillcompetitively priced. Some of the country's great restaurants arelocated in Hawaii with views that take one's breath away. Meetingfacilities are first rate, even for very large groups. Airlines runa lot of nonstops to several of the Hawaiian Islands from numerousMainland cities. Speakers will often agree to speak free just toget a paid trip to Hawaii. But one of the best reasons for holdinga conference in Hawaii is the Hawaiian people themselves. They aregenuinely warm, friendly, and love to welcome visitors to theisland paradise they call home. Credit union folks in Hawaii neverseem to tire of serving as the most gracious hosts for theircolleagues and friends from all over the Mainland. The Aloha spiritlives year round. When credit union groups hold planning sessionsto determine future meeting sites, and Hawaii is suggested as apossibility, there are few dissenters. There is always someone inthe room who will say something like this: "Since everyone dreamsof going to Hawaii and we can give them that opportunity on someoneelse's nickel, we should draw a record attendance." This leads tosome of the cons: Although CUNA is claiming a record attendance,the numbers are probably not what they initially hoped for eventhough the program format in recent years has shown markedimprovement, not that it really matters to many conference goers.And the mix of attendees will undoubtedly be heavy with volunteersas it usually is with Hawaii meetings. In general, more and morecredit union CEOs tend to shy away from the larger, moregeneralized meetings preferring instead smaller or evenoutside-the-industry gatherings. CUNA's annual event appeals to anolder crowd. But for some seniors, a trip to Hawaii is just toolong and grueling. It's not just the time change but the distanceand climate adjustment. So many take a pass and choose insteadother favorite credit union meeting destinations that are moreeasily accessible like Las Vegas, Disney World, and SouthernCalifornia. Both the long distance and who attends also results ina con regarding vendors. Many feel too many who would pass by theirbooths in the expo hall would be more interested in trinkets andhave little buying influence. Thus the cost of shipping a largedisplay booth to Hawaii becomes to them exorbitant. Also, theydon't want to tie up their booths with several more credit unionexhibitions following closely on the heels of the Future Forum.Another Hawaii con is the cost of getting all those CUNA staffersto and from Hawaii. And CUNA is notorious for overstaffing itsmeetings. They'll all be dressed alike. Just count them andmultiply that number toward the cost of airfares, meals, and hotelrooms. It is easy to get caught up in the mindset that a Hawaiimeeting location will automatically guarantee big numbers. Frompersonal experience, we once scheduled a meeting in Maui for thePresidents Association, a group for CU CEOs managing credit unionsof at least $100 million in assets. Turned out to be one of thegroup's lowest attendances. When asked, CEOs who chose not to gosaid they couldn't afford all the extra time it requires to take ina meeting in the Aloha State. One of the more obvious cons is ofcourse also one of the pros. Hawaii has so many things to do andsee that there just might not be enough time to attend theeducational sessions, or to visit the vendors in the expositionhall. For those at the Future Forum, just look around as the crowdin the meetings gets smaller and the beaches, etc. get more crowed.Ditto the expo hall. Vendors having few people to talk to otherthan each other does not make for a happy exhibitor. Many yearsago, one of the large national banking groups held its annualmeeting in Honolulu. Despite the large numbers registered (unlikethe sparse turnouts that group generates today), the sponsoringassociation had difficulty getting a quorum for its annual businessmeeting. Worse, reporters from the CBS 60 Minutes TV news programroamed the beaches seeking interviews with the executives playinghooky. Some of these ambush interviews subsequently aired onnational television with less than flattering commentary. So is thepoint to never hold any credit union meetings in Hawaii? Not atall. Think about the Hawaiian credit union leaders who almostalways have to go to the mainland to attend the major meetings. Infairness, some meetings should be held in their backyard. Andbesides most CU volunteers deserve a nice perk once in awhile. Thereal answer is to not really worry about it and accept the factthat any credit union meeting in Hawaii has probably an equalnumber of pros as cons. Aloha! Comments? Call 1-800-345-9936, Ext.15, or Fax 561-683-8514, or E-mail [email protected].