A Direct Line: As credit union professionals, we are united in our mission of "financial well-being for all." That doesn't mean we're all the same, though. We're as varied as the weather on a March day. This week's blog offers ideas for personalized benefits packages.

New VIP Partner: Bases Covered Auditing (BCA) is an audit firm specializing in credit union compliance. Their knowledgeable staff are experts in internal audit, compliance, and risk management. Email Sara Schoon to see how they may be able to help with your credit union.

Learn more about all our Vendor Involvement Program (VIP) partners to see the products and services they offer to support you.

Save the Date! There's a new leadership conference coming to Minnesota in August. The Tristate Collaborative Leadership Conference — hosted by Montana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin credit union leagues — is a new event that will accelerate leadership skills and build credit union knowledge for the next generation of leaders. This event will be held August 5-6 at the JW Marriott Mall of America hotel in Bloomington, MN. Save the date, learn more details, and watch for registration opening in May.

UPCOMING STEVE BECK SEMINARS

Team Building: Discover what it takes to be part of a great team by signing up for Steve’s Team Building: We’re All in This Together seminar on April 17 in Billings. Participants will leave the morning having learned that for any organization to be successful, everyone must do their best each day to keep problems from resurfacing and haunting them.

March is National Multiple Sclerosis Month, and Intrepid CU is raising awareness. Each Friday throughout the month, they're wearing orange to show their support for those affected by this condition. 🧡

Want to help make a difference? Donations for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society are also being accepted at each Intrepid branch. That's the #CUDifference!

I have been attending GAC since 2007. This was my first as your league president, though, and the experience was quite different in this capacity. This was also a historical GAC as the inaugural conference for America’s Credit Unions! 

We had over 20 champions and advocates from Montana in attendance. Some have been coming for 20 years and some attended for the first time. I enjoyed seeing our folks throughout the conference. 

The week culminated with our purpose for attending: meeting with our congressional delegation to talk about the great work of our credit unions with our members, communities, and employees. We also discussed issues important to us like maintaining our tax status, interchange, CFPB, junk fees, and supporting our veterans by removing veteran small business loans from our member business lending cap. 

We are fortunate in Montana that our delegation — to the individual — supports and champions credit unions. These meetings are celebrations of that support, and opportunities to thank them for their support while telling our stories. This support comes because of you! You fight for your members and communities every day to ensure access to affordable financial services for everyone. You jump in to help when others won’t. You live the credit union difference every day. Because of that commitment, we have friends and champions in Congress. 

One of my favorite parts of GAC is seeing 6,000 credit union people together in one place! Meeting new friends and connecting with long-time friends warms my heart and inspires me. Recognizing lifetime achievements and seeing people living the credit union values encourages and challenges me. And, spending time with the crashers (big shoutout to Angela from Altana, our crasher — pictured here with me before the flag ceremony) gives me hope for the future of credit unions. 

Together, we do a mighty work! I am so proud to work alongside the team at Montana's Credit Unions to serve you. I am so proud of each one of you and the work you do. Have a great weekend. 

Cooperatively, Gerry 

Here are the results of last week's survey. Cheers to an eventful month!