QUEBEC CITY, Quebec–A group with one of the more unique histories in credit unions—in that it isn’t completely sure of its own history and isn’t limited to the types of credit unions its name implies—held its annual meeting here with approximately 400 people in attendance.
During the Aerospace Conference 2017 here, Stan Swenson, the retired CEO of Northrop Grumman FCU, offered an overview of how the meeting came to exist and why it is often misunderstood within the credit union community.
The Aerospace Conference has been taking place for what is believed to be more than 50 years, although as Swenson acknowledged, no one is completely sure, since no official written records have been kept.
What is also interesting about the meeting, as Swenson told the group is that it has no “organization;” that is, no group of any kind supports the event. Instead, each year one of the participating CUs takes on the challenge of hosting the Aerospace Conference.
Instead, the conference came about when a need was seen to create a “more useful gathering” for some of the country’s larger, more successful CUs, he said. At the time it began, he said, CUNA hosted most meetings and many of those were geared toward smaller institutions.
“So, these CUs grouped together on the afternoon after the close of the CUNA conference to talk about the issues of the day,” Swenson explained. “They soon became full-day events.”
But what to call it?
Swenson said the name of the meeting came about because many of the larger CUs at the time had ties to manufacturing, airlines or the military, and one semi-commonality was an aerospace industry-related FOM (even if it was a stretch in some cases).
But such an FOM tie-in isn’t necessary any longer, and currently 36 CUs are active in the meeting.
“We are not an official organization. We are literally just a meeting that occurs on an annual basis,” said Swenson, noting there are no officers of any kind associated with the annual get-together. The meeting attracts CEOs, board members and other senior executives.
“We are collectively a very significant group within the credit union movement,” said Swenson. “Generally, we represent 10% to 15% of all assets in the credit union system. Fifty percent of the top 10 credit unions belong. Anyone who is here should enjoy the fact they have opportunity to interact with the best-run credit unions in the country. These meetings are important because best practices are openly discussed and debated.”
The keys to future success for the Aerospace Conference, said Swenson, are remaining relevant and striking a balance between presentations and discussions (CUToday.info’s Frank J. Diekmann was among the speakers at this year’s meeting). He said the group of CUs will also continue to work to cultivate and maintain best practices.