DETROIT – This year's African American Credit Union Coalition conference here is expected to top last year's attendance mark, with a number of industry notables scheduled to speak including Pete Crear, CUNA & Affiliates' Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, who will also receive the Coalition's first AACUC Lifetime Achievement Award. More than 200 participants will attend AACUC's fifth annual meeting and conference Aug. 7-10 at the Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit. This year's theme is `Synergizing Our Past, Present & Future – Breaking it Down in Motown." Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., NCUA Board Vice Chair JoAnn Johnson and Board Member Deborah Matz are three of the featured speakers. AACUC Conference Committee Co-Chairs Shirley Jenkins & Michael Hale said the meeting will honor the past with a tribute to Crear's contributions to the movement spanning nearly 40 years, the present with updates on the Coalition's ongoing projects including its work with WOCCU's African Development Fund, a mentorship program for credit unions in South Africa, and the future by featuring college students from AACUC's Reaching Towards the Future Internship program. Nearly 100 students have interned at credit unions and industry partners since the program began four years ago. Other conference guest speakers include Charles Brown, President/CEO, National Foundation for Credit Counseling; Bill Mathis, Senior Vice President, MasterCard International; Jeffery Hayward, Vice President, Fannie Mae, and Dr. Tun Wai, Research Director & Chief Economist, NAFCU.