Two young employees from two Georgia credit unions have been invited to “crash” the Credit Union National Association’s Governmental Affairs Conference this year.
Joey Ventre, lending center supervisor at LGE Community Credit Union, and Kimberly Schoates, director of electronic payments at Georgia United Credit Union were both selected by the Cooperative Trust and CUNA to be a part of the 2019 class of GAC Crashers.
The Crashers program invites credit union professionals under the age of 35 — or 35 at heart — to attend the GAC and to meet with credit union executives and other thought leaders from across the country.
“The Crashers program is an outstanding opportunity for young professionals to network with industry leaders,” said Eric Jenkins, chief deposit services officer at Georgia United Credit Union. “We are proud to have Kimberly represent Georgia United as well as the state of Georgia. Her insights will have a positive impact on the future of our credit union as well as the industry.”
Schoates said she is excited for the opportunity to attend his year’s GAC in Washington D.C. this March.
“This is an incredible opportunity to meet credit union leaders across the country and to gain a deeper understanding of how legislature impacts the credit union industry,” she said. “I look forward to using this knowledge to help build our membership at Georgia United.”
Ventre said he’s also looking forward to the opportunities he’ll encounter at CUNA’s GAC.
“As the lending center supervisor, I’ve been involved with legislative advocacy at the state level through GCUA’s State Grassroots Academy, but am so excited for the opportunity to see first-hand the national state of our industry from a governmental affairs prospective,” he said. “I’m honored to be selected to ‘crash’ the GAC this year, and can’t wait to meet more young professionals who are as passionate about the credit union movement as I am.”
Susan Tillery, senior vice president and chief lending officer at LGE Community Credit Union said LGE has had members of the credit union become crashers in the past — and that the credit union plans to continue nominating young professionals for the honor in the future.
“We’re thrilled Joey was selected for the unique experiences of being a Crasher,” Tillery said. “It really gives young professionals a full, hands-on picture of our industry on a national scale, which they may not be able to experience otherwise.”
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