2 minutes
As U.S. Thanksgiving nears, CUES' President/CEO feels thankful as he reflects on how CUES members help make learning possible.
It seems fitting that two of the top five hits on a recent web search for “grateful for our members” were links to credit unions thanking their members and their communities. In this industry, we work together, learn together and grow together—all with the end vision of improving members’ financial lives.
CUES is certainly grateful for its members and their many contributions to our organization and its mission to help credit union leaders reach their fullest potential. As U.S. Thanksgiving nears, I’m reflecting on some of the many ways CUES members help make possible the learning necessary for credit union leaders to succeed in the changing financial services marketplace.
For starters, CUES members readily share ideas with each other. They participate in CUES Net. They provide sample documents and policies for posting in CUES Members Share. They network with enthusiasm at CUES events, making the breaks between sessions a key part of the learning. They even surprise writers for our Credit Union Management magazine by being so responsive to requests for interviews and information that will be read by their peers.
CUES members also serve on the boards of CUES Councils, which provide local, grassroots learning and networking opportunities, each leveraging the strengths of the region when choosing meeting places. But just like with CUES’ national conferences, the meat of the matter is not location. It’s content. CUES Council members gather to talk over the changes our industry faces, and share with each other their best thoughts about how to answer tough questions about strategy and day-to-day operations.
In addition to sharing with each other, CUES members also share their time and ideas with CUES. CUES has formally acknowledged the “Honorary CUES Team”—members who helped launch and refine CUES Learning Tracker and the myCUES app. CUES Learning Tracker is a tool for keeping tabs on online and other learning, while the myCUES app provides personalized content to CU leaders on their iPhones or iPads. CUES also is grateful to members who provide feedback at our conferences, via email or LiveChat. Importantly, we’re deeply thankful to the members who take the time to set our organization’s vision and direction as members of our board of directors.
As leaders in the United States take some time off to prepare a turkey and share time with family and friends, know that CUES is grateful for your contributions to moving credit unions forward. After you get your fill of food and football and head back to the credit union, we’ll be here, still grateful for you and ready as ever to support you on your journey into 2017 and beyond.
John Pembroke is president/CEO of CUES.
