By Lisa Hochgraf
One of the great stories I can tell from my CUES travel is that, back in 2010, I walked the "sixth" member of Aerosmith to Starbucks in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. (I just was being nice to the guy in the elevator, who turned out to be Russ Irwin, the keyboard player who has toured with Joe Perry and Steven Tyler for 15 years.)
This year, en route to CUES Symposium: A CEO/Chairman Exchange, my husband and I collected our luggage in the Maui airport standing right next to Mick Fleetwood (in photo at right--not taken by me), the drummer from Fleetwood Mac.
Actually talking with Russ and being in the same baggage claim area as Mick was surprisingly inspiring. It made me ask questions like: What more can I do with myself professionally? How can I grow to be great at what I do, as these folks have done? (OK, maybe not that great, but you get the idea.)
As I reflected on all this during this year's CUES Symposium, I also looked around the room. And it was then that I realized my CUES work doesn't just put me close to musical rock stars; it also connects me to credit union rock stars.
Consider these folks who I've recently had the pleasure of interacting with--and being inspired by--through my CUES work.
- Gary Easterling, CCE, who is not only growing a credit union, but making a careful study of what leadership is and how it can be developed throughout a credit union. (He is president/CEO of $1.4 billion United Federal Credit Union, St. Joseph, Mich.)
- Mike Vadala, who has not only grown his CU through strategic mergers, but also coaches young basketball players in how to play the sport well and how to be great people. (He is president/CEO of $695 million The Summit Federal Credit Union here in my city of Rochester, N.Y.)
- Patsy Van Ouwerkerk, CCE, who was so great to work with when she was chairman of the CUES Board, and has long inspired me as a female leader of a large credit union. (She is president/CEO of $2 billion Travis Credit Union, Vacaville, Calif.)
- Gerry Agnes, CPA, who made time to talk with this reporter about CEO/chairman relationship-building, despite CUES Symposium sessions being over for the day and all of Maui being right outside the door. Watch for the resulting article in the May issue of Credit Union Management magazine. (Agnes is president/CEO of $1.1 billion Elevations Credit Union, Boulder, Colo.)
- The seven CUES Rising 100 stars featured in an April Credit Union Management article. These articulate, enthusiastic women gave me a lot of reason to think the future of credit unions is in very good hands.
I could go on and on. But I'll stop now so you can take your turn. What credit union rock stars inspire you? Which people make you ask yourself: What more can I do with myself professionally? How can I grow to be great at what I do, as these folks have done?
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
