The third day of the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference was full of big names and big moments in Washington D.C. on Tuesday. The day included speeches by Ted Koppel, Richard Corday, Rick Metsger, a surprise celebrity thank you, and a passing of the "torch."
Ted Koppel has a career spanning more than 50 years and in that time has taken home 42 Emmy Awards, 11 duPont-Columbia Awards and 8 George Peabody Awards. His new book, the New York Times best-seller, Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A National Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath, looks at the possibility of a cyberattack on America's power grid and the potential devastating consequences.
As the Keynote Speaker on Tuesday, Koppel revealed the results he received when he asked a simple question to Homeland Security, the Red Cross and other groups on the subject.
The question was: What's America's plan in the event of a successful attack on our electrical grid?
The answer? There is no plan.
Take a minute and let that sink in.
According to Koppel, "we've become so dependent on the internet that we fail to see the potential dangers," adding "the internet has become a weapon of mass destruction. We live in a world where we've always just assumed that an attack on our country would be a nuclear attack. NORAD could warn the U.S. of a missile attack in a minute or two. Not the case with a cyberattack."
Koppel closed by saying, "It's not a matter of if a cyberattack will happen, it's a matter of when."
After his speech, Koppel invited Master of Ceremonies Paul Berry out to moderate a Q&A session with the GAC crowd. Berry, without missing a beat, said to his longtime friend, "Well now that you've scared the bejeezus out of us..."
NCUA Vice Chairman Rick Metsger believes in credit unions, big and small. "Members believe in the services you provide because you keep your promises."
These days too many small credit unions are being forced to either merge (and lose their identity) or close. Metsger believes in the Network Credit Union concept, a business model from Filene in which:
"The “merged” (non-surviving) credit union would become part of and subsumed by the “continuing” (surviving) credit union, but the merged credit union would continue to operate and serve its former members under the name: “[Merged Credit Union], a division of Continuing Credit Union”"
Metsger added, "The death of the small credit union doesn't have to be a fore-ordained conclusion."
CFPB Director Richard Cordray praised credit unions for making consumer protection their top priority.
"At the Bureau, we aim to support and protect consumers. For credit unions, these same people are more than your customers; they are your members. Through the shared values of putting people first, the Consumer Bureau and the credit unions are working to do right by people and make further strides for those we serve."
“Credit unions provide enormous value to millions of people around the country and are consistent stewards of consumer interests,” Cordray said. “The bureau applauds your efforts to advance financial education, a mission we share, through programs such as the Reality Fairs for young people you have held around the country.”
In his closing comments, Cordray said, "I think every state should include a stand-alone personal financial management course as a graduation requirement for high school students, just like American history, math and civics. Credit unions can help make this happen."
A nice surprise in the afternoon session was a video prepared by John Schneider, actor and co-founder of the Children's Miracle Network. Schneider wanted to thank credit unions for all they do each year for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
After the video, CUNA CEO Jim Nussle revealed that in the last 20 years, credit unions have raised over $150 million for CMN Hospitals.
In a "passing of the torch" moment, outgoing CUNA Board Chairwoman, Susan Streifel symbolically "passed the gavel" to new Chair Elect Rod Staatz. In an emotional moment, Staatz thanked Streifel, not only for her service as Board Chairwoman, but for her great friendship.
Staatz went on to say that "it takes all of us to make a difference," and challenged the GAC crowd to "make sure everyone knows how good we are for our members and make sure they never forget it."
During #CUNAGAC, in addition to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, CUNA communications will be using Periscope, a live-streaming app to broadcast behind-the-scenes updates.
Look for:
- The #CUNAGAC and #CUdifference hashtag on all social media platforms;
- @CUInsight, @AmandaCUInsight, @John_CUInsight on Twitter;
- @cuinsight on Instagram;
- CUInsight.com on Facebook; and
- @CUNA on Periscope.
Check back for updates on the latest from the 2016 #CUNAGAC!
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