Anchor Award-Winning Organization Seeks to Deepen Its Legacy, Building on Organization’s Past, Present, and Future

With a goal of deepening legacy by building on the organization’s past, present, and future, the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) will host its 25th Anniversary Annual Conference July 16-20, 2023 in Stone Mountain, GA at the Atlanta Evergreen Lakeside Resort, where attendees will continue to explore being Bold, Mindful and Brave as part of the AACUC’s Commitment to Change: Credit Unions Unite Against Racism initiative, celebrate the credit union industry’s brightest talent and legends at AACUC’s signature award ceremonies and galvanize small credit union CEOs at the second annual pre-conference Small Credit Union Summit. TruStage, a Madison, WI based company and formidable partner to AACUC, is the Conference Title Sponsor.

This year’s Legacy-themed annual conference is set to host more than 400 attendees, nearly 60 speakers and numerous sponsors and exhibitors throughout the week-long, family-friendly conference. Like past AACUC annual conferences, the organization will host the African American Credit Union Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony during which eight Honorees will be recognized. As well this year, AACUC will be honoring four individuals and one organization for the inaugural Maurice R. Smith DEI Leadership Awards, named after retired CEO of both Local Government Federal Credit Union and Civic Federal Credit Union and current AACUC Board Chairman.

“I can hardly contain my excitement to celebrate 25 years of organizational impact, influential members and camaraderie that is unique to the AACUC experience,” said Renée Sattiewhite, AACUC President/CEO. “Our conference is truly a tribute to remarkable accomplishments we’ve achieved together to advance the credit union movement towards being more inclusive and diverse as well as cementing our place in the credit union movement’s future by developing our core capabilities, empowering our small credit unions and nurturing emerging leaders. The spirit of ‘Legacy’ is interwoven throughout this year’s conference experience, and I guarantee this anniversary conference will be one for the record books!”

AACUC’s legacy celebrations include Legacy Lessons – brief discussions chronicling professional journeys and sharing one or two lessons learned along the way – sessions led by AACUC founding members and honorees, and multiple special events and activities, including the AACUC After Dark: Legacy Concert featuring NXN, the AACUC Legacy Museum highlighting the organization’s artifacts, and the Legacy Blend coffee presented by Barista Source, LLC, with founding members, AACUC Honorees and more. Legacy-inspired sessions include:

• Legacy Lessons presented by Maurice R. Smith, retired CEO of Local Government Federal Credit Union and Civic Federal Credit Union; John Bratsakis, President/CEO of MD|DC Credit Union Association; Ronaldo Hardy, Co-Owner and Chief People Officer at CU Strategic Planning; Beverly Anderson, President/CEO of BECU; and Emma Hayes, Chief Executive Officer at State Employees’ Credit Union of North Carolina

• Inspirational Breakfast moderated by Sheilah Montgomery, AACUC co-founder, 2015 African American Credit Union Hall of Fame Honoree and 2018 Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree and Latonya Allen, AACUC Chapter Liaison, Chairman’s Award Honoree, and Commitment to Change: Young Professionals Leadership Award Honoree and featuring Bert J. Hash, Jr., 2017 African American Credit Union Hall of Fame Honoree and 2014 Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree; Goldie Randall, 2018 African American Credit Union Hall of Fame Honoree and AACUC founding member; and Louisiana Sanders, 2018 African American Credit Union Hall of Fame Honoree and AACUC founding member

• Bank Secrecy Act Training for Credit Union Staff and Volunteers presented by André Lucas, 2022 African American Credit Union Hall of Fame Honoree and AACUC Eastern Regional Chapter Parliamentarian

Additional conference keynote speakers and topics include:

• Dr. Kimberly Pellum and Frederick Pellum, Assistant Professor at Florida A&M University and Regional Vice President of Primerica Financial Services (respectively) – Legacy: Our History. Our Place.

• Dan Berger, President/CEO at NAFCU – Government, Legacy, and Credit Unions

• Teresa Bryce Bazemore, President at FHLBank San Francisco – State of Money for Black Folks

• Annie Andrews, Retired Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy​ and Navy Federal Credit Union Board Member – Leadership: Listen, Lead and Learn

• Anthony "Spark Plug" Thomas, Publisher at People You Need to Know, Inc. – What Legacy Means to Me

• Jim Nussle, President/CEO at CUNA – CUNA's Impact & Legacy Connection

Other notable sessions include the panels Life in the C-Suite for Women of Color and Insightful Leadership: CEOs of Billion Dollar CUs and multiple events that provide members with informal and social opportunities to meet and network with other conference attendees. With nearly 20 pre-conference and breakout session speakers, attendees will have a chance to hear about wide-ranging topics such as DEI transformation, leadership, HR best practices, technology, Bank Secrecy Act Compliance, today’s economy and so much more.

Pre-conference activities include the second annual Small Credit Union Summit for CEOs of credit unions with less than $100M in assets, a historical tour at the Stone Mountain Historic Square and Golf Outing, plus a Financial Reality Fair Teens in Tech, Bank Secrecy Act Training, AACUC Regional Chapter Meet-and-Greet.

For more information, visit www.aacuc.org/annual-conference.