Throw a dart on the calendar and chances are any date you hit there is a group of credit union leaders meeting somewhere. The credit union industry is now supporting more meetings and events than ever before, and the dynamics are changing. It's also becoming brutally competitive.

Speaking of that, let's start with the most obvious competition–CUNA and NAFCU. If you start planning your conference schedule for next year you will notice that CUNA and NAFCU are now piggybacking each other on a major event.

CUNA's flagship event is and will always be the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference held in Washington, D.C. around the end of February/beginning of March. NAFCU's biggest event of course is its annual conference held in the first half of July. CUNA's next big meeting, its annual meeting, has been bouncing all over the calendar and the name continues to change. Once just the CUNA Annual Meeting, it changed to the CUNA Future Forum and changed again this year to CUNA's America's Credit Union Conference and Exposition. All these name changes are bad–consistency rules when it comes to annual events. CUNA needs to find a name it likes and stick with it. CUNA has also changed the timing of the event from September to June and now next year to July! Again, where's the consistency?

July is an interesting choice because CUNA has moved the event to just before NAFCU's Annual Conference. Check out these dates and if you can tell me this wasn't deliberate I have some homes in Florida to sell you that got Norlarco Credit Union and others in trouble recently. CUNA's event is June 29-July 2 in New York, while NAFCU's is being held July 9-12 in San Diego. CUNA can tell you whatever it wants, but that was a deliberate move to take some steam out of NAFCU's event. It goes to what I've been saying for a long time in this column–your friendly neighborhood trade associations aren't playing nice these days.

Want more proof? This week NAFCU is holding its Congressional Caucus in Washington, D.C. Is it a coincidence that CUNA is holding a board meeting next week at the same time and that leagues are in town in D.C. doing Hike the Hills?

Call me an ideologist, but wouldn't it also be nice to see CUNA CEO Dan Mica and NAFCU CEO Fred Becker on the same stage at one of their major events, especially the D.C.-based events. I won't air the dirty laundry here but ask around about if CUNA invites NAFCU and/or if NAFCU invites CUNA to their respective events and you might be surprised what you hear. Kudos to CUNA though for holding an event in New York next year. There hasn't been a major credit union conference in New York for years. It's about time someone stepped up.

Enough of the CUNA/NAFCU wranglings. Let's look at some other conference highlights next year. No event has had a more meteoric rise than the Annual National Directors' Convention. Designed for credit union directors, it is now attracting 3,000 people! Goes to show you that directors are a fertile market for events. They want events catered to director needs. It also goes to show that you have to be good. Other players have director events, but this show is brilliantly produced, features some of the most compelling leaders on the agenda, and sticks to a format that directors love–great entertainment, food, locale, and sessions that stay away from the operations side that management needs. Next year's event returns to Vegas at the Venetian in August. It will be the biggest one yet.

Some up and coming events are vendor shows. Once viewed as “user” shows, vendor shows have become more broad-based and ironically enough some have big exhibit programs with other vendors! Some of the biggest include Harland's Connections show and Symitar's annual event. Look to vendor shows to grow in coming years. Remember, no financial institution relies on third-parties as heavily as credit unions.

CUSO shows are also exploding, from CUDL to CO-OP and PSCU, CUSOs are playing a bigger role in the credit union conference space.

CUNA Mutual has gotten into the act. I attended the first ever CUNA Mutual Discovery Conference years ago and thought it was terrific. Going in I had low expectations because it was a show, well, all about CUNA Mutual. It still is, but it does bring in outside viewpoints, and CUNA Mutual shouldn't apologize for having a show all about CUNA Mutual. If any organization needs a show all about itself it is CUNA Mutual. That's because the company has changed so much over the last three years under CEO Jeff Post and it offers so many diverse products and services that credit unions need to see them all in one place to get their hands around them. I have hammered CUNA Mutual for years on their branding. The company has just had way too many products that no one could possibly have a handle on them. That has changed as it has reduced its product lineup by a few hundred since Post took over. Put the Discovery Conference on your agenda next year if you want to get more out of this insurer that is now much more than an insurer.

As for state leagues, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas and California continue to be the leaders. Others have great shows, but these are in a class by themselves. They each attract a volume of vendors rivaling the trade associations.

You can't talk conferences without acknowledging the progress CUES has made. CUES once ran some of the biggest conferences in the industry bar none. While it isn't at that level, its conferences are booming and attendees are happy. The CUES Nexus event is on the rise. Mark it down.

One thing is for sure, all of these conference players are fighting for the same attendees. To show you how hectic '08 will be, drive your travel agent nuts with this:

- CUNA Mutual Discovery, (June 18-21, Hollywood, Fla.)

- CUES Annual Meeting (June 22-25, Cancun)

- CUNA Annual Expo (June 29-July 2, New York)

- NAFCU Annual Conference (July 9-12, San Diego)

Here are four major shows within four weeks! If your travel agent can get you to all those locations without breaking the bank, you have a keeper.

Credit Union Times is also getting into the act, but like everything we do I like to bring something different to the table. For now we are focusing on specific topics that address important credit union issues of the day, such as our two successful events on the Bank Secrecy Act in the last two years. Now in December I am proud to announce a focused event on non-interest income, one of the most important themes I see for credit unions to survive and thrive. This day and a half event will cover everything you need to know about developing new non-interest income revenue streams. For more details visit www.cutimes.com/events/noninterest.

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