Is it me or is there always something a little off about CUNA's Future Forum?

The timing of the show has coincided with some tragedies and disasters in recent years, and that eerie tradition continued this year.

Shortly after deplaning I heard a CNN announcer spout off about the first named storm of the season-tropical storm Alberto. Great, just what CUNA and all the attendees needed!

Alberto was not a threatening storm that was going to rip the roof off of the conference's home-the beautiful JW Marriott-but with the hurricane hysteria of the last few years, some attendees were understandably on edge. Ironically, this was one of the earliest named storms on record. The hurricane season typically doesn't kick into high gear until July. Is CUNA cursed? No, no, but some made that joke. After all, the association changed this conference from the fall to early June for the first time this year. One CUNA staffer told me CUNA thought it would be safe from storms in June-think again.

The second strike against the conference was the location. Orlando in June isn't exactly desirable. A number of veteran CU leaders told me Orlando was great back when they had little kids they could bring along, but without that family appeal, there's not much appeal. They have a point, especially now with weather such a factor in the Sunshine State, and oh that humidity.

I'm not here to "rain" on CUNA's Future Forum parade (though rain it did), these were just some common observations.

The news from the opening day in the exhibit hall was good and bad. The bad news was traffic was so light during the grand opening most exhibitors passed the time talking with each other.

The good news was CUNA must have foreseen the lag in the hall because for the first time I can remember there were pitchers of margaritas and sangria set up in front of some exhibitor booths. Forget free pens and other trinkets, you could belly up and grab a margarita. Margaritas in the exhibit hall? This editor liked it. I found my sources a little more loose lipped than usual. Hmmm.

Let's get to the serious stuff. Some sessions did get attendees fired up. In particular, a breakout session on serving modest means members saw attendees virtually take over the session debating this controversial topic. One attendee said many banks make a lot of credit unions look bad in service to those of modest means. Ouch! This kind of dialogue is good to see. Get the issues out in the open. Remember folks, just because the modest means talk has died down don't forget that NCUA's data collection pilot ends in August and this issue will come back front and center. Hopefully all CUs are better prepared.

I give kudos to CUNA for having one of its new disaster recovery partners on hand with a fully-functional trailer to be used for disaster recovery, or business continuity as more and more people are calling it. Trailers like the one that was displayed are scattered around the country and can be brought to a CU's area within 48 hours should disaster strike. This isn't a plug for that company, but that was a homerun exhibit located just outside the hotel. For this, Alberto was perfect timing.

But I keep coming back to the same thing with Future Forum. It's just an OK show. I know how excited people get for GAC and NAFCU's annual conference, but Future Forum just isn't there yet. To me the answer is in the name.

CUNA should make it a true "forum." This should be the show where attendees rule the day, are encouraged to speak and be engaged. Some of these first-day motivational speakers are getting so tired. Why not have a first-day inspirational speaker come from a credit union! Feature a passionate credit union CEO who has broken ground on serving the underserved. They're out there. Make credit union leaders the stars, not football coaches and authors.

Here's a wild idea. How about taking one of these gigantic general session halls and setting up a huge circle (it can have multiple rows) with the stage in the middle so we can have a real roundtable discussion. Why not get leaders like CUNA Mutual CEO Jeff Post, who is on the hot seat in some respects for all of the industry's plastic card losses, and let credit union directors and pros fire away at him. I know Jeff could handle it and would welcome it. Next year who knows who will be on the hot seat, but get them up there.

This scenario I am laying out isn't new, it plays out all the time throughout the year, but for a limited group. We all know about the off-the-record meetings of large CU CEOs and the CEO Roundtable meetings. These meetings attract top vendor and association leaders where the CEOs can pick them apart. Why doesn't CUNA give folks other than leaders of big CUs or from the plugged-in CUs a "forum" to speak their mind? CUNA's Future Forum would become known as the meeting where anything could happen, no topic is off the table. Believe me I know for a fact attendees are opinionated and would like to get their say. I had a number of attendees grilling me on past columns, especially the one on "industry" vs. "movement."

Does CUNA want a real exhibit hall attraction? Forget the margaritas, set up a series of individual booths or tents where CUNA board members and members of CUNA's executive team are on hand to talk to any attendee with something on their mind. Give everyday, regular attendees five minutes with Dan Mica or a board member. I know I just gave CUNA leaders a headache, but why not? Attendees would love it, and hopefully the CUNA crew would pick up some insightful tidbits. It would become a true "forum," though Mica and his team might be the ones needing margaritas by the time it's over. But hey they owe attendees the time. If you're asking people to come to Orlando in June, deliver the goods.

I don't think Future Forum is destined to fail, but it needs a B2 shot, and it needs it fast! -Comments? E-mail pgentile@cutimes.com

Instant Insights /

Scenes from Orlando: Alberto, Margaritas, and Worry

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