CHICAGO – Thought it doesn't get much publicity, the Corporate Credit Union Operations Forum continues to produce one of the most productive conferences for corporate credit unions. Last week the Corporate CU Operations Forum met in Chicago. Twenty-one corporates were represented, with approximately 50 attendees. What separates this conference from others, is it truly is all business said Mid-States Corporate VP of Payment Services Jeff Stoner, who is the outgoing chairman of the Forum. Stoner joked that he's willingly giving up his chairmanship even though he could run for another term, "because there is so much work involved." That's the basis of the Forum – individuals doing a lot on their own so the group does not have to rely on any dues or high-priced conference registration fees. The group carries no sponsorship from the Association of Corporate CUs, U.S. Central or any other corporate. The Chicago conference had just a $400 registration fee, a minute number in this day of $1,000-plus fees. There are also no annual dues to pay. The Forum is run by a six-person volunteer committee. The committee elected its new chairman in Chicago. The honor went to Cyndi Koan, Senior Vice President, Operations, for SunCorp. What makes the conference so valuable? It's a group of corporate operational professionals exchanging ideas in a spontaneous environment. It has what it calls its Information Exchange, where attendees can bring up just about any topic. Typical attendees are those involved in item processing, IT, payments, and other operational areas. The conference is not really designed for investment professionals (who have lots of conference options), or CEOs. "Chances are something you want to know about has already been done by somebody else in the room. If you're having a problem, you're probably not alone and together solutions are found. It's just a clearinghouse of information," said Stoner, who credited Mid-States Corporate for doing the lion's share of the work to organize the Chicago edition of the Forum. Popular topics discussed were the Bank Secrecy Act (see story on this page), Check 21, and computer security. The second and final conference of the year will be held in Savannah, Georgia this September. [email protected]