President's Message
The 2021 Connecticut GAC is in the books and—for many of us who attended the 2020 CUNA GAC in Washington, DC—served as the closing bookend to a year of chaos, loss, and isolation. Although the conference began with a solemn reminder of our shared experience, this live event (or as Senator Berthel quipped, “in 3D”) marked not only an important step in our return to normalcy, but also the renaissance of joy and giving ourselves permission to have fun again. So much so, that spontaneous singing broke out at dinner. As the song goes, apparently so did the CT GAC:
While some of our speakers appeared by Zoom, others joined us in-person. Thanks to our guests for inviting us into a set of discussions that spanned from understanding today’s practical realities to considering the future possibilities. Thanks to our event sponsors for your support CUNA Mutual Group, PSCU, Tobin & Marohn, ASG Information Technologies, and Image Marketing.
All of our league staff made sure this event went off without a hitch, from double and triple checking social distancing protocols, to showing up early to test the technology. A special thank you goes to Kelly Fuhlbrigge, VP of Government Relations for putting together such an impactful program. For those of you who could not attend, Kelly wrote the following summary of our event.
The Credit Union League of Connecticut, member-credit unions, their board members, and CUNA — as one, we form the most powerful advocate for credit unions. Our coordinated advocacy efforts send a strong message to Capitol Hill, state legislatures, and regulators.
The League hosted a “COVID-SAFE” Government Affairs Conference on Friday, April 9, 2021, at Water’s Edge Resort & Spa in Westbrook. We began our “hybrid” GAC with individually packaged box lunches and each attendee was provided a mask and their own hand sanitizer. Credit unions enjoyed a robust speaking program that included:
President Biden-appointed NCUA Chairman Todd Harper who touched on a number of topics including diversity, equity and inclusion along with CDFIs. As you know, there’s an effort in CT for CDFIs and a DEI learning series next month.
DOB Commissioner Jorge Perez thanked the League and Connecticut’s credit unions for their rapid response during the pandemic.
Gov. Lamont-appointed Lottery Chairman Rob Simmelkjaer and Government Relations Manager and former Republican State Representative Chris Davis. Simmeljkaer discussed partnering with the League and credit unions on helping lotto winners spend money wisely with the help of a credit union.
State Treasurer Shawn Wooden talked about financial education and a child saving bond program.
State Senator Eric Berthel – Ranking Republican on the Banking Committee who demystified the legislative process and talked about financial education.
CUNA Advocacy Director Becca Durr gave a federal legislative update and discussed the importance of sharing your credit union stories for advocacy.
Our speaking program ended with this video message from some of our federal legislators who could not be with us in person. We ended the day with a cocktail reception and a dinner that gave our attendees an opportunity to discuss the information and issues they learned about and gave them an opportunity to talk to their peers. The Credit Union League of Connecticut, member credit unions, their members and CUNA. As one, we form the most powerful advocate for credit unions. Our coordinated advocacy efforts send a strong message to Capitol Hill, state legislatures and our regulators.
