NAPERVILLE, IL (September 29, 2014) -- CU Reach held its first Young Professionals Conference for a sell-out crowd of 70 participants September 15-16, 2014 at the Illinois Credit Union System Center.
“The YP Conference was a great learning experience. I feel that the conference’s agenda was right on par with my new position with my credit union. With tips on networking and goal setting, I am able to incorporate some important things into my new career,” said Brandy Bockewitz, marketing coordinator at Land of Lincoln Credit Union in Decatur, Illinois.
Topics included “History & Philosophy of Credit Unions”, “Your Personal Brand on Social Media”, and “Young Professionals as Future Leaders”. Participants expressed their thoughts, feelings and opinions throughout the conference using a text polling system regarding a variety of topics. The responses were displayed live onscreen for everyone to see.
During the “CU Executives Panel”, participants were given the opportunity to learn and get advice from industry veterans. “My favorite was CU Executive Panel. It was nice to have CEO’s from different sized credit unions, men and women, share their stories, history, challenges, concerns and advice through a discussion,” said Anna Lee, marketing manager at Credit Union 1 in Rantoul, Illinois.
One of the panelists, Patrick Basler, CEO of First Financial Credit Union in Chicago stated, “I was honored to share ideas with our movement’s young, bright minds. For those of us that have been leading CU’s for a number of years, it’s great to see the next generation committed and excited about our movement.”
“I was impressed by the dynamic enthusiasm displayed by the young professionals who attended the conference as well as those who planned the event. I have no doubt they will fuel the growth of the credit union movement,” said Sean Hession, CEO, Illinois Credit Union System.
The inaugural Young Professionals Advisory Committee developed, planned and hosted the conference. CU Reach is committed to recruiting and retaining young professionals to inspire life-long careers in the Illinois credit union movement.