Message From the Chair

Nader Moghaddam - CUNA OpSS Council
March 31, 2005

Greetings Fellow Members:

I am delighted to make my first report of 2005 as your Council Chair on the heels of the GAC Conference that was held in Washington DC. Your council closed a successful year in 2004. Membership grew to an all time high, our annual conference in New Orleans was very well received, and a new volunteer leadership team was established. With each passing year (now 8 years for our council) we are getting more effective as the bond among our members gets stronger through the excellent networking and educational opportunities created by our very active listserv, conferences and web resources.

We have planned an exciting agenda for our annual conference scheduled for September 11th to 14th in Las Vegas. The conference planning committee has incorporated your feedback in development of this year’s topics, sessions and workshops. For example, starting in 2005 we will be introducing an award for “best practices,” the criteria for which will be communicated to you in our future correspondence. The conference promises to give you true “take-home” value for the dollars you invest. Your Executive Committee has also been mindful of providing additional benefits for membership. One such example is a $100 discount for CUNA schools and webinars exclusively for OpSS council members.

As the new Chair in 2005, I am very excited and proud of the clear strategic direction of our council and the very high quality of our Executive Committee. Their dedication and passion for the cause represents the best of our council. That stated, we need more participation and involvement in a number of our volunteer sub-committees. These committees include membership, conference, education, communications, regulatory, and finance.

Earlier in February we held our annual Planning Conference which was attended by the Executive Committee members and CUNA support staff led by David Rohn. At this meeting we evaluated our council’s position in the professional landscape, our unique value proposition, vision for the future, and our challenges and opportunities. It was exciting to end our conference with a clear vision, realistic growth strategy, and a stronger team. Our vision is as follows:

“The premier networking and professional development resource for CU operations, sales and service leaders.”

As I am drafting this note, I am reminded of the fact that OpSS’s Council is one of a number of councils supported by CUNA (e.g. CFO, Marketing, etc.). The collective of all councils form what is called “Councils’ Forum.” It is really significant to note that as we hit our record membership level in 2004, the collective of the councils surpassed the 3,000 mark! OpSS’s success has favorably contributed to the overall success of the Forum!

Thank you for your attention and please save the annual conference date of September 11th to 14th on your calendar as this year’s conference is sure to be the best one yet!

Nader Moghaddam, Chair
President/CEO
Financial Partners Credit Union