The boardroom is designed to accommodate 44 people and can be expanded to seat 56 people comfortably. Previous maximum seating was 40, and that was cramped, said Kuhns. The square footage of the room was increased from 1,150 to 1,820.

Some of the most dramatic changes came in lighting and the room's technical capabilities. "One of the challenges we had was the room was so dark and foreboding," said Kuhns.

The new boardroom features a large soffit over the conference table designed to provide consistent lighting. The soffit lighting aids in the quality of videoconferencing, but also provides balanced acoustics for participants in the room as well as those plugging in remotely.

Three video cameras are strategically positioned throughout the room to facilitate videoconferencing, a technology WesCorp has embraced. Kuhns said one key enhancement was raising the height of the drop down screen to maximize viewing from all angles of the room. The ceiling was actually raised by over a foot to accommodate this change.

The board table itself is actually smaller than the previous table. It is 22 feet long and about 7 feet wide at its widest point. It is made of cherry wood and features a zodiac stone top. There is a raised island in the center complete with AC power, Internet, data and voice ports. Another major factor for the renovation was functionality for meetings, a big part of which is food and beverage set-up. Just off of the boardroom a new buffet area was added. It is separated by a wall, and is conducive for food service traffic flow, said Kuhns. It also allows staff to handle consecutive meetings without interrupting meeting flow, making for less clean-up and set-up time. Kuhns stressed that WesCorp wants to open up this space to its members. "We wanted to build it right to offer member owners to come in. It had to be multi-functional. Most credit unions have come in in the past for strategic and planning sessions. We want to do more of that." WesCorp does not charge members to use the space, unless it is on a weekend. In that case it will charge $25 an hour. WesCorp is also attempting to donate the furniture from the previous boardroom to some smaller credit unions. "We're trying to recirculate those materials, give it to someone who can really use it."

The total cost for the renovation was approximately $1.1 million, said Kuhns. This included dealing with termites in the floor, and also a complete renovation of CEO Bob Siravo's office. Siravo's office was expanded by taking space from his previous private office and adding it to his main office so he can host meetings in his office. The concept behind the office renovation was to make the CEO more accessible and visible to staff. His desk now looks out into the facility at a 45-degree angle through glass doors, instead of being behind a single wood door. Window treatments and lighting were also changed. [email protected]