Insights & Inspiration from 2019 AACUC Conference

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the African American Credit Union Coalition’s Annual Conference to honor my good friend Maurice Smith, this year’s recipient of the Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award.

I’ve always admired Maurice’s character, integrity and presence as a leader. When he proposed adding diversity as the 8th cooperative principle, CUNA Mutual Group was excited and we’re fully supportive of this critically important idea.

After becoming CEO of CUNA Mutual Group, we added inclusion as one of our values in 2015 because we believe greatness can come from anywhere and anyone. The tremendous strides we've made in our journey reflect the way our employees and leaders have embraced diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I).

I was thoroughly impressed by the level of energy and camaraderie at my first AACUC Conference. It felt more like a family reunion than a professional conference. This is a special group and I’m optimistic that we will be a stronger system and a stronger society with organizations like the AACUC leading the way on DE&I to represent current members and our members of the future.

Janet McDonald, a recent CUNA Mutual Group retiree, made us proud with her induction into the AACUC Hall of Fame. CUNA Mutual Group and the AACUC have formed a strong strategic partnership with Janet leading the way, and we thank the AACUC for recognizing her achievements.

Thank you to CUNA Mutual Group employees for their participation and enthusiasm at the conference. As CEO, I was proud to see so many of our employees there, and several have already shared new ideas and insights with me.

I’d also like to thank Renee Sattiewhite for the invitation to attend. We look forward to building on our partnership with the AACUC to continue driving the DE&I journey forward long into the future.