#2258: How NCUMA is Hosting In-Person Credit Union Conferences This Fall...

ncuma_kathyanchors-budd.mp3
File Size:	13674 kb
File Type:	mp3

Download File

---

As nearly every credit union conference since March 2020 has been cancelled, there's one credit union group that has forged ahead with hosting live, in-person conferences this fall. That bold organization is the National Credit Union Management Association (NCUMA).

In fact, NCUMA just finished hosting a conference in Amelia Island recently and is holding its annual Fall Conference starting this weekend in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where they plan to have a healthy attendance from industry professionals.

To discover how they are doing this in a safe and sound manner, we invited NCUMA President/CEO Kathy Anchors-Budd on the show. Kathy took a few minutes from her packing and prepping for the Fall Conference to share all the safety measures they are taking so attendees can feel comfortable -- which allows them to focus on gaining greater insight on how they can better serve their members from expert speakers.

One of their clever safety precautions starts with a simple, colored wrist band: green for "I'm not too concerned about the virus, so let's hang out," purple for "keep your social distance but we can still network," and red for "I'm here to learn, not interested in getting too close for a chat." Kathy has a feeling that the red wrist band may be popular for introverts well after COVID restrictions subside.

Kathy and her conference crew also conduct temperature checks on attendees throughout the day, keep everything wiped down, as well as working with the conference hotel on arranging desks and chairs in a social distanced set up. Even food is individually wrapped in plastic baggies for safe snacking.

Kathy admits that this may not work for larger conferences, as policing hundreds or even thousands of attendees would be an incredible challenge. But she says NCUMA is a smaller outfit with maybe 100 or 200 attendees gathering for their conferences.

Other conferences NCUMA will be hosting in 2020 include:

• 2020 Naples Conference, November 7-11, Naples, FL
• 2020 Winter Conference, December 5-9, Bahamas

Check it out and let us know your thoughts.