Quite frankly, the week could not have come sooner. It’s no secret that several key credit union battles are taking place in D.C. right at this moment, including the battle to save credit unions’ tax exemption status, keep the NCUA’s independence, and reform the CFPB. With so much on the line, having thousands of credit union advocates riding into D.C. to meet with representatives and share the credit union difference feels akin to the cavalry arriving.

And if the arrival of the credit union cavalry—seven thousand strong—does not mark this as the auspicious occasion it is sure to be, the fact that we are celebrating the Governmental Affairs Conference’s 50th anniversary certainly should. As Karen Nussle said in her opening comments today, this event marks “Fifty years and thousands upon thousands of leaders, volunteers, staff, and other industry professionals coming together to move this industry forward.”

However, if you were not able to be a part of the festivities this year, no worries! As with last year, CUSO Magazine will be boots on the ground at the conference all week, bringing our readers all the latest coming out of our nation’s capitol. So without further ado, let’s jump right in to day one of the Governmental Affairs Conference.

Undergound Collison

While most of you reading this are probably just starting your weeks on this fine Monday morning, perhaps over a cup of coffee, credit union advocates in D.C. were hard at work over the weekend. Starting early Sunday, credit union collaboration and discussion began at the Underground Collision, hosted by Mitchell Stankovic & Associates.

While not technically part of the conference, this event is of great importance to the industry, as it allows credit union professionals to have open dialogue with their peers about the issues affecting them, share success stories, get advice, and discuss the work being done day in and day out to move credit unions forward.

Unlike GAC, which focuses on governmental advocacy, the Underground Collision looks at specific problems—such as credit union relevancy, building trust, breaking into new markets, etc.—and offers practical solutions that credit unions can take back to their branches and employ.

The theme for this year, “What Makes You Want to CUSS?” focused on where credit unions find frustration in the system, including a lack of collaboration, the consolidation of both credit unions and agencies, and ignored and underbanked markets. Throughout the morning, credit union representatives heard from fellow credit union executives, industry leaders, and industry partners on each of these topics.

And while the topics certainly differed in specifics, there was a consistent message throughout each of them, from topic to topic and speaker to speaker: the uncertain and rapidly-changing political landscape could mean great changes for credit unions in the near future. Credit unions must stand up to these changes and work harder than ever to serve our members, and reach out to those underbanked and those outside the financial mainstream, as they face difficult financial times.

Panelists called for credit unions to support DEI initiatives, to support and offer financial services to immigrants, to lend a helping hand to the smaller credit unions, to support our neighbors in Ukraine, and finally, to remember the level of impact credit unions are capable of, and to take that motivation back with them after the week and keep the work going.

(Oh, and if you’re still thinking of open banking as your own cuss word, it’s time to let that go and embrace the inevitable. Instead, panelists agree your new enemy should be the digital banks like SoFi—your new four-letter cuss word.)

The event closed on a bleak, but realistic note: be prepared. Many, such as panelist and Redwood Credit Union President and CEO Brett Martinez, believe that even should this attempt to take away credit unions’ tax exemption fail, another will be on the horizon soon enough. The loss of tax exemption, Martinez argued, was “not a matter of if, but when.”

These sentiments were shared by Bill Cheney, President and CEO of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, who compelled credit unions to take the possibility of taxation seriously. “We are under attack,” Cheney said in an earlier panel. “There are real threats to our business model. Taxation, for many credit unions, might be the last straw. We have to be here, now, to protect ourselves and more importantly, our members. A tax on us is a tax on 140 million credit union members. Get busy this week, because the threat is real.”

Nussle opens GAC with fun and fashion

By comparison, the first general session of the GAC Sunday evening opened with a much more jovial and lighthearted energy, choosing to focus on celebrating the conference’s golden anniversary and hyping credit unions up for a week of advocacy work and learning.

To kick things off, Jim Nussle, President and CEO of America’s Credit Unions, took to the stage along with his wife, Karen Nussle, sporting America’s Credit Unions branded sneakers (of which he was very proud) and an infectious can-do energy. Welcoming attendees—including representatives from all 32 credit union leagues, all 50 states, and four continents—back to D.C. and the GAC, Nussle shared highlights of some of the work ahead, including over 600 meetings scheduled on Capitol Hill to push forward credit union policies and fight taxation legislation.

Though it should be noted that despite the session’s positive message, America’s Credit Unions has not been silent either when it comes to the taxation issue. While opening comments didn’t touch on the topic quite yet—more than likely waiting for the official start of the conference on Monday, with all attendees present, to get into the nitty gritty and stress the importance of the issue–they still made their feelings on the issue known.

The exterior of the Walter E Washington Convention Center, ground zero for the festivities this week, donned LED displays and digital billboards, highlighting the good work credit unions do in their communities and the value proposition they provide, claiming taxation would bring that work crumbling down. The interior of the conference center was also decked in anti-taxation information boards, encouraging credit unions to get involved and providing information on how to do so through the Don’t Tax My Credit Union campaign.

“This year is one of the most important times to have a unified voice,” said Nussle in his opening comments. “to be loud and be crystal clear on how we move credit unions forward, making sure we are telling the credit union difference, getting ready to share those powerful stories, and backing them up with clear data.”

Attaining unreasonable hospitality

Following Nussle’s comments, the session led into the first keynote speaker of the week, Will Guidara, author of Unreasonable Hospitality, and former co-owner of the restaurant 11 Madison Park, an establishment that boasts three Michelin stars and was once voted the number one restaurant in the world.

Originally 50th on the list of top 50 restaurants and determined to reach number one, Guidara and his team poured all of their effort into making every touch point of their restaurant’s experience as positive as possible, even transactional ones, such as paying the bill. But where competitors decided to avoid innovation, Guidara sought it out, finding ways to elevate every second of the experience.

Guidara accredited this success to what he calls “unreasonable hospitality,” or, in other words, his commitment to being unreasonable and relentless in his pursuit of people and making them happy. Going above and beyond expectation to make customers enjoy their experience.

Overhearing a table mention they never got to try hot dogs from a street cart, Guidara went out and brought some in for them to try. When he heard a businessman, about to leave for the airport, say regrettably that he forgot to get his daughter a teddy bear with the iconic “I Love NYC” shirt that she asked for, Guidara sought one out and brought it to him, leaving the man in tears.

These moments not only brought joy to the customers, but the employees felt the joy as well, and morale went through the roof. Moments like these became so standard for the team, they even brought in a new role called the Dreamweaver, tasked with nothing but finding ways to bring magic to every table.

“Becoming the number one restaurant wasn’t thanks to the excellence of our product. Excellent product is just table stakes. We became number one because we chose to be unreasonable in how we make people feel, while our competitors were focused on their products. People don’t remember the food we served them, but they do remember the way we made them feel.”

So what’s the takeaway for credit unions here? Be relentless in your pursuit of helping people. Take the focus off the product and direct it to the individual in front of you. How can you best serve the needs of this person? Tailor solutions to the individual. After all, bringing a street cart hot dog to any other table would not have had the same effect for Guidara, nor would bringing that table a free bottle of wine in place of the hot dog. One size does not fit all.

Where are the touch points in your process that can be improved? How can you turn transactional touch points into connective ones? Where can you go above and beyond? Where can you be unreasonable? Finding ways to incorporate magic and happiness into the member journey will not only create a better experience for them, but for your staff and credit union overall.

As Guidara said, “The next time you find yourself pursuing a relationship, just try being a little more unreasonable. Give people that sense of belonging, make them feel seen, make them feel genuinely welcome, give them a memory—a little one or a big one that has the chance of lasting a lifetime—I promise you, it will make your business more profitable and I promise you it will make you and the people you surround yourselves with feel really, really good.”

The work continues tomorrow

The Governmental Affairs Conference resumes bright and early Monday morning with the official opening ceremony, followed by America’s Credit Unions’ annual meeting and advocacy update, breakout sessions, a message from keynote speaker Carla Harris, and more. Stay tuned to CUSO Magazine all week to not miss out!