RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — Attendees of CO-OP Financial Services' Think 2008 conference faced a line up of speakers drawn from among the stars of the contemporary U.S. business scene, CO-OP announced.
The Think 2008 conference, formerly known as CO-OP's Conference and Annual Shareholders' Meeting, was set for April 14-16 in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
The line up of speakers included Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.); Barry Gibbons, former CEO of Burger King Corp.; John Moore, director of national marketing for Whole Foods Market and former retail marketing manager of Starbucks; Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest Airlines and Braniff International; Brad Lewis, producer of Pixar Animation Studios' Academy Award-winning Ratatouille; Tom Woerner, publisher of Brandweek magazine; and Ken Schmidt, former director of corporate and financial communications of Harley-Davidson.
CO-OP also announced that Mary Lou Retton, the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics would present at the event.
"As someone who had competition ingrained into her psyche from a young age, Mary Lou Retton is the ideal person to show our guests how their businesses can achieve peak levels of performance," said Stan Hollen, CO-OP Financial Services CEO. "She rounds out our panel of speakers, each of whom has demonstrated proven success in their respective industries."
Retton, a 15-year ambassador to Children's Miracle Network, is currently serving as the organization's national chairperson and is on its board of governors. The credit union industry is the fourth-largest annual contributor to CMN, following Wal-Mart, Costco and RE/MAX.
"Children's Miracle Network does truly amazing work for sick and injured kids, which is why CO-OP donates $2 million annually to the organization," said Hollen. "We're thrilled to welcome someone like Mary Lou who shares our admiration of, and commitment to, Children's Miracle Network."
CO-OP recently launched CO-OP Miracle Match, a funds-matching program that encourages credit unions to develop community events to raise funds by matching their donations up to $30,000. Dollars raised benefit local children's hospitals supported by CMN.
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