'In an Instant'

GAC provides the backdrop for CUs to write their own agenda.

Kathryn Kuehn 

While it obviously was building for some time, the U.S. financial industry last fall appeared to implode in an instant. Even Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Board chairman, expressed surprise at the collapse, saying, “There’s no question that this is in the process of outstripping anything I’ve seen,” reports CNN.com.

The economic environment is why the watchwords for the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and the credit union movement in 2009 are “agile and nimble.” “It is vital for CUNA and credit unions to be ready to pivot readily—from taking advantage of opportunities, to dealing with challenges, and back again—as occasions arise,” stresses Dan Mica, CUNA president/CEO.

These issues will be front and center Feb. 22-26 at CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) at the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center (register at cuna.org).

In a new administration it’s imperative credit unions write their own agenda, and GAC provides the backdrop. Among the speakers:

• Bob Woodruff, ABC News reporter, who was seriously injured by a roadside bomb while reporting on U.S. and Iraqi security forces. He and his wife Lee share stories from his memoir, “In an Instant,” and how they overcame the most difficult circumstances.
• Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, forecasts economic trends affecting national growth.
• Politicos Paul Begala, CNN political analyst, and Tucker Carlson, MSNBC senior correspondent, face off on politics and the media.
• Policy makers such as Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., plus Reps. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa.; Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo.; and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., paint the new political landscape.

Join us at GAC—because circumstances can change in an instant.

KATHRYN KUEHN is director of CU periodicals for the Credit Union National Association. Contact her at 608-231-4075 or at kkuehn@cuna.com.