WASHINGTON–It will be a different kind of CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) this year, but perhaps also a meeting that has never been more fully embraced by attendees, according to one person.
As CUNA prepares to host what is the largest annual gathering in the U.S. credit union community from Feb. 27-March 3, with approximately 5,000 attendees, it will be doing so with the coronavirus always present and with attendees required to be vaccinated and most likely wearing masks.
Whether GAC could be held as an in-person event at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the nation’s capitol was the subject of discussion within CUNA almost from the moment its first-ever virtual GAC was held in 2021, after the District of Columbia shut down all in-person events.
Todd Spiczenski, chief products and services officer with CUNA, said the trade group typically takes four-to-six weeks to “debrief” after a GAC and to sort through feedback from staff, participants and vendors before planning begins in earnest on the following year’s event, and 2021 was no exception.
Spiczenski noted that in the Spring of 2021 it was generally believed the country was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and it began holding discussions with representatives of both the District of Columbia and the convention center about the 2022 event.
Todd Spiczenski
“It was probably around mid-summer when we felt we would at least be able to actually start thinking about bringing this back to in-person,” said Spiczenski, adding discussions were also held with the CUNA board to ensure they supported the move. “Part of the plan was making sure we had a Plan B and a Plan C in place, if you will, if things went in the wrong direction from a health and safety standpoint. The question was would we be able to do that full pivot back to a virtual GAC? We jumped in with both feet in late Summer and August.”
The ‘Ability to Pivot’
While the virtual event in 2021 was a first, Spiczenski said it had “tremendous response” and reflected the largest number of first-time “attendees” in the history of the meeting.
“We felt we did a very good job in our ability to pivot,” he told CUToday.info. “Similar to our 2022 in-person GAC, we gave ourselves a good amount of lead time to make that pivot. Our Net Promoter Score was above 50, which is very similar to what we’ve seen with our in-person GAC.”
Yet despite the technical successes in broadcasting the meeting virtually, Spiczenski said one important piece—especially in credit unions—was missing.
“I think that the power of our GAC really is when we can come together and be in person,” he said. “Since we announced in early Fall that we were going to do this in person, the response has been tremendous. In fact, our attendee registrations are tracking very similar to what they were pre-pandemic for the 2020 GAC, and that was the largest-ever attended GAC. We’re not quite at that level, but we’re pretty close to that right now, with four or five weeks to go. The response has been, quite frankly, better than expected. Our vendor partners, exhibit hall sponsors, are through the roof, as well. Their response has been equally strong. Our exhibit hall is sold out; we have a waiting list. We are working to see if there is additional space and spots for that.”
The Omni-Present Issue
Before any in-person event can be held in Washington, of course, the coronavirus remains omni-present and in the forefront of any decision-making. Spiczenski said CUNA has announced from the beginning that it would follow whatever Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and protocols are in place, along with guidance from local health officials.
One of the biggest and most difficult issues to deal with is vaccination status. Non-vaccinated people will not be permitted to attend GAC in 2022.
“We knew there was a vaccine requirement they were likely going to enlist before the announcement was made. Those discussions have been going on since July and August,” said Spiczenski, noting he and other CUNA representatives have been on-site in Washington four times already in preparation for the event. “That is more often than what we would have normally done with our teams, but we just wanted to work through the logistics. We wanted to make sure we understood their health and safety protocols and the improvements they have made to make sure we felt they could do this in a safe and healthy way for credit unions and our staff.”
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C., home to CUNA's GAC.
Providing Proof
Among those challenging logistics will be having attendees show proof of vaccination status.
“That’s been a new one for us to work through,” acknowledged Spiczenski. “We are partnering with a third party called Safe Expo. They have done this numerous times in the last year. They are a vaccination verification vendor. We will be communicating with attendees through Safe Expo on what they need to do to verify their vaccination status. It’s a pretty simple process.”
GAC attendees must register through Safe Expo here. The process requires the uploading of vaccination cards and the creation of a QR code on a cellphone that must be brought to GAC.
“We started working with a COVID consultant back in August and that individual recommended Safe Expo to us,” Spiczenski said. “I feel like we’ve been on top of our game in making sure we understand the protocols and logistics as well as we can in preparation for this.”
Not Taking a Position
While the technology and the process may prove to be simple and to go smoothly, the issue of vaccinations remains politically divisive. It an issue on which CUNA is not taking a stand, said Spiczenski.
“This isn’t a CUNA position one way or another. We’re following CDC and DC health protocols in order to be able to hold the event in person,” he said. “My sense in talking with credit unions and vendors is that most of them completely understand that and appreciate that. When the vaccine requirement announcement came out, obviously, we had some cancellations from folks for whatever reason; that’s their individual choice to do so and we fully refunded their dollars. But it really wasn’t a CUNA political comment or statement. We have to follow the protocols and the vast majority of attendees and vendors appreciate that. In fact, we saw an uptick in attendance once that vaccine requirement was announced. So, there might have been folks who were sitting on the fence not sure if they wanted to attend and that announcement helped them to make their decision.”
For those who do not fill out the necessary form to show proof of vaccination ahead of their arrival in Washington, Spiczenski said there will be five different verification sites in the hotels and the convention center.
For attendees who complete the verification process, there will be a touchless registration system at the registration area.
Another Thorny Issue
Then there is the additional challenge of enforcing the wearing of masks, which has proven thorny in many environments. The District has had a mask requirement in place that is set to expire Jan. 31, but Spiczenski expects it will be extended.
“If they do extend, it will similar to places that have mask requirements,” he explained. “We will work with convention center staff to remind people to mask up as is the requirement. There will also certainly be health and safety announcements throughout the center and from the stage. But the convention center staff will be working in partnership to do all of those things.”
What Will Be Most Noticeable
Spiczenski doesn’t believe it will be the sanitation stations or the masks or the touchless registration or any other COVID-related protocols that will be most noticed by GAC attendees in 2022. Behind those masks, he expects there will be smiles.
Citing an in-person event in Las Vegas hosted by CUNA in late 2021, Spiczenski said he has a good idea what those who come together in Washington in late February will be feeling.
“The response from those folks was very emotional in getting back together, in a good way,” Spiczenski explained. “They were so happy to be with three days with a little bit of normalcy, even with mask requirements in that city. That didn’t seem to inhibit any of them. It was, ‘It’s so good to see you,’ and ‘It’s great to be back in person.’ My sense is that people have always loved the keynoters and the exhibit hall and hiking the hill, whether it’s the GAC or any other event, but it’s the ability to network with peers that always ranks as the top thing that occurs at GAC and I don’t think that’s going to change at all.
“I think we’re going to see almost an overwhelming response from folks just so happy they are back together,” he continued. “Obviously, there are going to be some more logistical hurdles to step over, whether its verifying vaccine status, masks requirements, and the safety and health protocols we are all used to now, but my sense is it’s going to be people genuinely excited and happy to be back together.”
Hiking…Somewhere
The one place credit union representative may not be back together is the traditional Hike-the-Hills that closes out GAC, when credit unions visit the offices of their representatives and senators.
This year, Spiczenski said, it will be “different” and remains a “work in progress.”
“Every member of Congress is unique in dealing with it in different ways. It’s going to be like a three-tier approach. There will likely be the ability of some to hike the Hill, as people have done traditionally. Others will continue to do so virtually (in cases where they) can’t bring their contingent to the Hill. The third option, which hasn’t happened a lot in past in-person GACs, is the ability of that member of Congress to come to where their constituents are, whether at host hotel for that particular state—we will have some rooms at the Marriott Marquis that have been set up for that purpose—or going to Credit Union House. It’s going to be that three-tiered approach and it’s going to vary. Our league partners have been tremendous to work with on this. They take the lead on working out the specifics of the Hill hikes.”