KANSAS CITY, MO (October 7, 2020) — In the true spirit of cooperation, the Heartland Credit Union Association (HCUA) and Illinois Credit Union League (ICUL) partnered together and hosted a dual-league, multi-day, virtual convention September 22-24. View the at-a-glance Boost infographic.
Boost, a collaborative event for a cooperative movement, entertained more than 750 credit union representatives from 91 credit unions in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.
“Boost was the result of two leagues working together to bring the best experience to credit unions in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois,” said Brad Douglas, president/CEO of the Heartland Credit Union Association. “Shifting an in-person convention to an online environment is no easy task, and our leagues worked together to make it happen.”
Tom Kane, president/CEO of the Illinois Credit Union League, added his praises for both collaborating teams saying, “Congratulations to HCUA and ICUL on the spectacular success of the virtual Boost Conference! It was a unique and engaging event resulting from both teams’ amazing talent and collaboration.”
Attendees heard from powerhouse speakers like Dr. Rick Rigsby, Dr. Mary Kelly, the National Credit Union Foundation’s Gigi Hyland and CUNA Mutual Group’s Angela Russell, plus Dan Meers (aka KC Wolf), the Kansas City Chiefs mascot.
In addition, Boost hosted nearly 25 other speakers which included focused deep dives and diverse demos, plus an exhibit hall with 40+ exhibiting companies. A joint lunch session allowed deep, small-group conversation using Zoom’s breakout session feature.
While credit unions were able to participate in joint sessions together, each league also hosted several league-specific sessions. This helped personalize the event to each league, but still offer lots of opportunities for connection.
With Boost being a dual-league Convention, some traditions from past Conventions were reworked or eliminated. Pricing was different too – credit unions bought a promo code based on their asset size and were able to register all their staff and volunteers for one price.
The Crasher program worked virtually and hosted 20 young professionals representing all three states.
Boost was created when ICUL was forced to cancel its annual Convention because of the uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic, and HCUA decided to change their traditional in-person Convention & Annual Meeting to a virtual event. The two leagues formed a partnership and created Boost, an event to energize credit union professionals and connect them with their peers and league partners.
Both leagues played an equal role booking speakers, connecting with exhibitors, planning promotion and communication efforts and creating the virtual event platform.
The Heartland Credit Union Association is the not-for-profit trade association for credit unions in Kansas and Missouri. HCUA is the result of a consolidation of the Kansas Credit Union Association and the Missouri Credit Union Association, which member credit unions approved in October 2015. HCUA provides services and support to meet the leadership, advocacy, education and financial service needs of more than 214 credit unions in Kansas and Missouri.
Susan Dyer
316.206.2247 | sdyer@heartlandcua.org
