WASHINGTON–The chair and vice chair of the transition board for America’s Credit Unions, along with the trade group’s CEO, offered their takes on what the new trade group means and on what lies ahead.
A Q&A included transition board Chair Brian Schools, president and CEO of Chartway FCU, and Lisa Ginter, CEO of CommunityAmerica Credit Union.
The session was moderated by Mia Perez, chief administrative officer at Coastal CU, who is acting as emcee of GAC. Here was what was discussed:
Q: How did the board land on the mission and vision of America’s Credit Unions?
Gintner: I will tell you that in the past there were attempts to merge, but this time there was no ego whatsoever and it’s what allowed us to form this unified, powerful voice as America’s Credit Unions.
The board was very intentional to create something clear and compelling to our mission, to our why. The why, as we know, is what we do each and every day with our members. But it’s time for us to create this single source of resources to help tell our story in a very powerful way.
We have a lot of barriers that stand in our way due in part to our competitors who think we have an unfair advantage. In reality, we want to help people. Our vision and mission is advocating on behalf of credit unions to put them in a position to advance and thrive.
We want to have a strong, unified voice.
Q: You talked about the board keeping Jim and the team accountable. Tell us about that.
Schools: First of all, with accountability, all of you need to hold the board accountable. We made a commitment right out of the gate we didn’t want a CUNA 2.0 or a NAFCU 2.0. Hopefully you are seeing the change and more is coming. Jim and (former NAFCU President) Dan Berger did a lot of listening. We heard we needed the industrial strength of CUNA and some of the agility from NAFCU. We are working to bring the best of both.
Q: Advocacy is often talked about, and it continues to be the #1 focus of America’s Credit Unions. What led to that?
Ginter: Look about the room. Advocacy is such an integral part of telling our story. When you think about the millions of people we help in our credit unions, we have a great story to tell. The beautiful thing about being a one powerhouse unified voice, we get to tell that story in an amplified way while we’re here. We have to make sure every one of you has a seat at the table when legislation is being drafted. We want to be in their faces. We will never waver from that. We will always be about advocacy.
Q: The organization is about two months old now. What do you hope to see specifically from Jim Nussle and his team in 2024 and 2025?
Schools: One of the first things I think you’re going to see is Jim has put together an excellent management team. There are 26 initiatives he shared with the board, ranging from branding to websites to advocacy protocols. It’s astonishing how much they have been able to get done. Part of that is the overall brand you are starting to see.
Ginter: There is a renewed energy with America’s Credit Unions. They want to work very hard for all of you. I think it’s exciting. The board wants to hold Jim and the board accountable. I want all of you to hold the board accountable. We want your feedback. Think of the continued impact we’re going to make.
Nussle Offers Commitments
Following the board comments, Nussle took to the stage to share his views on the merger.
Speaking on the 64th day of the existence of America’s Credit Unions, Nussle said both CUNA and NAFCU had heard “loud and clear we don’t need to have two voices in Washington, D.C. We listened and we acted.”
“I am going to make a commitment to membership to you today,” said Nussle. “This is something we have thought about as a team, and I have definitely thought about. You were very specific about a number of things you said. I can commit to you today that first and most important, no two credit unions are going to be alike. We are going to serve members in a unique way. We promise to put credit unions at the center of every single equation we work on, every single strategy.”
Promises Made
Nussle also said America’s Credit Unions is making a number of other commitments, including:
- We promise to listen and learn. “We all need to learn from each other.”
- We promise to fight. “We are going to be relentless so credit unions can thrive.”
- We promise to focus. “We heard that from you. Sometimes associations get into a nasty habit of when the phone rings and someone asks, ‘Can you do this?,’ we say yes. But maybe that’s not what we’re good at. So, we have to focus.”
- We promise to be responsive.
- We promise to be responsible. “There are three things we ask of you. Obviously, money. But we also ask you to also share your time and your talent and to lean in, so we have to be respectful of that.”
- We promise to deliver. “I will tell you this, we’re going to fail. Everybody fails. But if we do something you don’t like, don’t take your ball and go home. Give us a call. Help us understand where we made a mistake. We will fail fast and we will learn quickly.”
- We promise to be a proactive partner.
- We will lead.
Five Strategies
Nussle said the trade group will operate around five strategies, including:
- Relentless advocacy
- Powerful united voice
- Premier association service
- Effective resource stewardship
- Constantly responsive in member engagement.