Blaine Goes to Network
The chance to network face to face with other credit union leadersis the reason Jim Blaine, CEO of the $15.9 billion State Employees'Credit Union, said he goes to conferences.
“The data and information that a conference provides, that couldget to you by e-mail,” Blaine said. “But more business and progressand communication gets done in the halls or restaurants of aconference than could ever get done in the meetings.”
Blaine, a non-golfer, joked that it had to be the people thatbrought him to conferences because so many CU conferences are heldin “golf prisons.” Meeting people off the golf course is one of thethings he needs to do, he said.

Exploring New Ideas and Meeting
People Is Key for Cliff Rosenthal
While attractive locations can help draw attendees Cliff Rosenthal,President of the National Federation of Community DevelopmentCredit Unions, says that while attractive locations can provide anincentive to attend a conference, exploring new ideas and meetingnew people are the most important outcomes from conferenceattendance.
Rosenthal should know. As president of the federation, he bothhosts a national conference each year as well as attends numerousconferences and presents at a few as well. In these capacities, hesaid, he sees both the organizing and attending sides of theconference.
“Overall I have been very impressed with the seriousness andwillingness of conference attendees to attend break out sessionsand pay attention to the conference agenda,” Rosenthal said. Herecalled a NAFCU conference in Hawaii where the federation hosted arelatively early morning breakout session. “At that hour of aSaturday morning in Hawaii, we had a very decent turn out and Ithought that said a lot about the attitude of the attendees.”
He also praised conferences as places to meet and network with newpeople. “One of our ongoing efforts at the federation has been tobuild visibility in the industry about what we do,” Rosenthal said.“Conferences provide a unique venue and time for thosemeetings.”

Chance to Dialogue and Learn Lure
Two Executives to Conferences
“I just go to two or three a year of the national conferences, andthey are simply ones that I've found in which I learn the mostabout whatever concerns me at the time,” explained Steven Becker,president/CEO of the $363 million Credit Union West of Glendale,Ariz.
For example, “I'm in my third year of the Darden program inVirginia, and the content most recently was on strategic planning,”said Becker referring to a topic at the CEO Institute of CUES heldat the Darden Business School of the University of Virginia.
“These kinds of conferences can be expensive, but I like theintensity of the learning experience spending as many as eighthours in sessions,” said Becker also went to CUNA's GAC earlierthis year “because of the political climate.” He also will taketime in August to attend another CUES management conference in BigSky, Mont.
For Peter Bruno, chairman of Financial Resources FCU ofBridgewater, N.J., the “networking and the exchange of ideas isreally what counts.”
Bruno, who is chairman of the National Association of Credit UnionChairmen, does limit his own conference to two a year based on CUbylaws, and he knows of CU directors elsewhere “who simply want thevacation free ride and the cruises and when they came back they sayhow much they learned, but I don't believe it.”
Picking the right national conference where CEOs and directors canhave real dialogue and interchange ideas is what counts for Bruno,who has been chairman of Financial Resources for 17 years. One ofthe best conferences, he said, is a CUES chairmen's symposium andthough admittedly expensive being traditionally held offshore inHawaii or the Bahamas, “it is worth it.”
One of the chief topics covered is management compensation andthat's valuable to learn from others current conditions, hesaid.
For this year's meeting, Bruno will be joined by his CEO, LenaMatthews.