Celebrating 90 Years in Traverse City

I love this time of year. The sun is shining for 15 hours a day, flowers are in bloom, summer vacations are almost upon us and everyone seems visibly happier than we were just a couple months ago. But here in the Michigan credit union movement, what makes it an exciting time is knowing that this time next week, many of us will be on the road to Traverse City for the 2024 MCUL Annual Convention & Exposition (AC&E)!

Now, every AC&E is special, of course, but this year promises to be even better as we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Michigan Credit Union League.  One of my very first AC&Es was in the spring of 2001. I was pregnant with my daughter and I was one of the credit union vendor partners. I love that I have the perspective of both an exhibitor as well as an attendee, and now working with MCUL. We so appreciate all that our exhibitors and credit union partners contribute to this event.

Another thing that I love about AC&E is getting to see so many people from all facets of the credit union represented. We have people from HR, compliance, branch managers, IT, marketing, board members, C-suite…all together from credit unions across the state to network, share ideas, listen to some great speakers and, most importantly, be there together.

And when I think about the momentous legacy of MCUL and our movement, I think about our collective spirit. There’s no doubt that our insistence of collaboration over competition is why we’ve made such an impact on Michigan over the past 90 years.

Another reason why next week’s AC&E will be memorable is that we’re celebrating one of the major leaders behind MCUL’s last three decades of success: Dave Adams. His retirement party on opening night will be a great way to honor everything he’s achieved for the Michigan credit union movement. For more on Dave’s career, listen to our recent discussion on Credit Unions, Coffee & Conversation.

Of course, Traverse City brings its own unique appeal to this year’s event. Coincidentally, just hours before I started writing this, The New York Times published an extensive article about how to best spend 36 hours in the city. The article highlights many of the wonderful attractions the city has to offer visitors, including how to take advantage of the natural landscape and the great food scene that’s growing so fast I can’t keep up with it! I hope you get some time to explore Traverse City while up at the AC&E, whether that’s taking in some golf, going on a winery tour or just taking a moment to sit by the water.

I can’t wait to share this moment, in this beautiful place, with all of you.

 

See you there!

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