What do Clint Eastwood, large camping tents, Idaho and young credit union professionals have in common? Crash Idaho 2015 of course! On May 20, 2015, for the first time in credit union history, a group of 25 credit union professionals under the age of 40 representing 10 Idaho credit unions came together to crash the 79th Idaho Credit Union League (ICUL) Annual Meeting. These professionals spent three days attending and participating in the annual meeting while also taking part in their own agenda outside of the regular meeting.
Crashing is an event that started in 2010 with a group of 20 young credit union professionals that decided the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) in Wash., D.C. did not have enough young professionals in attendance. They crashed the event by enthusiastically participating in the conference and disputing the status quo. Since then, crashing has turned into to something that engages young credit union professionals within the credit union movement in many different areas in the industry. Starting from that first crash event in 2010, crash events have happened annually at the GAC, at annual meetings for several credit union leagues, at most CUNA committee conferences, and state-wide credit union government affairs conferences. Plans for future crash events include the 2015 World Council of Credit Unions Annual Conference in Denver, Colo., the CUNA Tech & OpSS Council conference, the CUNA Lending Council conference and the Filene Big Bright Minds conference.
Crash the ICUL Annual Meeting 2015 began with 25 young professionals nervously sitting in a room together, wondering what was going to happen and what crash was all about. 23 of those in attendance had never participated in a crash event, and 21 had never attended an ICUL Annual Meeting in the past. During that meeting, Chad Helminak, Director of Impact at Filene and one of the 20 original crashers in 2010, led a discussion on the history of credit unions and what it means to crash. Crashers then had a chance to get to know each other by sharing stories and programs that Idaho credit unions offer their members to better their lives. Stories about serving the underserved, raising funds for local charities, and rescuing the member in financial distress were shared amongst the crashers. It was at that point that one could notice the nervousness begin to transform into excitement.
Crashers spent that evening networking in the Clint Eastwood Presidential Suite at the Riverside Hotel in Boise, Idaho. The night included music, games and pizza, and crashers had the opportunity to sit down with four local Idaho credit union CEOs in small group sessions.
CEOs Kent Oram, Idaho Central Credit Union; Kurt Perry, Pioneer Federal Credit Union; Val Brooks, Simplot Employees Credit Union; and Amy Wellard, Pocatello Simplot Credit Union each spent 20 minutes with a small group of crashers sharing their background and their credit union's history as well as answering questions from the crashers.
Kent Oram, pictured at left with crashers, said, “The lunch with the CEOs was my favorite part of the League meeting….I enjoyed the energy of the crashers.” Many crashers also commented that this was also their favorite part of the crash event. The evening included setting up a 10-man tent in the Clint Eastwood suite, dancing and having a lively discussion of credit unions and their mission.
The last day, the crashers met and began to put together a plan of action for the credit union YP program, CLIMB Idaho. Committees were formed and events are being planned in an effort to engage all credit union young professionals across Idaho. That day, 25 strangers left the crash as close friends. We are still communicating and talking about the crash a week after the event ended.
The best way to summarize the crash event is in the words of the Crashers:
“I can't wait to share what I learned and help our credit union and the CU world!” – Suzanne Hurtado
“After the crash, I opened a new account for a millennial. I was so excited to talk with him about the credit union! Thank you for “restarting” my enthusiasm with this program. I am so excited” – Courtnie Hovley
“I feel it is important to express that “crash” is not an event or meeting. Yes, the three-day ICUL Annual Meeting is an event, but “crash” is a much larger idea. Better yet, “crashing” is a lifestyle, a philosophy that we can all adopt in our everyday business lives. “Crash” is a story that we must tell continuously to our board, senior managers, peers, employees, members, friends and family. Yes, we have learned that “crash” has been around for a few years around the world, but we all had the opportunity to break ground in Idaho. We get to be the pioneers of our markets and grow this movement to heights greater than we can ever imagine.” – Paul Cushing
Many thanks to CUNA Mutual Group, CUNA and Filene for supporting the 2015 ICUL Annual Meeting Crash. I am looking forward to what this group will do for the future of credit union members, employees and volunteers in Idaho!
Nick Fugal is chief financial officer at Clarity Credit Union. He can be reached at 208-467-6583 or [email protected].
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