Date: October 21, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM ET
Where: League Office 

Cost: $49 per person (Lunch Included) 

Think of it as a mini-conference designed specifically for small credit unions, with no overnight stay required.

Small credit unions face unique opportunities and challenges, and this one-day hybrid event brings together education, practical tools and peer conversation around the issues that matter most to smaller institutions.

Designed for CEOs and other credit union executives, the Small Credit Union Symposium will cover effective marketing strategies, understanding and strengthening your membership, building a productive relationship with your NCUA examiner, and more. You’ll also have dedicated time to connect with peers and talk openly about challenges such as succession planning, outsourcing, staffing and doing more with limited resources.

While the program is tailored to credit unions with assets of $250 million or less, all credit unions are welcome to attend.

Come for the day, connect with people who understand the realities of leading a small credit union, and leave with ideas you can put to work right away.

Welcome

Advocacy Update, Kyle Hagerty
9:00 a.m. ET

Small CU Marketing, Bobbie Garner
10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. ET

Short on time, short on staff, and expected to do it all? This session is built for you.

In this fast-paced, no-fluff session, you’ll learn how to take your marketing from scattered to structured so you can actually get things done and see results.

You’ll walk away with:

• A clear way to plan one campaign without overthinking it

• A repeatable method to turn that campaign into email, social, and in-branch content

• Practical ways to use AI to speed up planning and content creation

• A 30-day marketing plan you can put into action immediately

This session is designed for real-world credit union teams. You’ll leave with a focused approach and tools you can start using right away.

The Puzzle-Solving Approach that Enables Small Credit Unions to Thrive, Opal Tomashevska, TruStage
10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ET

Small credit unions are often seen as disadvantaged by a lack of scale. But in fact, many are flourishing. These small credit unions defy stereotypes, leveraging their unique strengths as flexible, committed, member-focused institutions keyed into the needs of their particular markets and communities. Learn what makes for a small credit union that is not just surviving, but thriving.

Key Takeaway: Small credit unions thrive by leveraging their agility, strong community connections, and focus on member needs, turning perceived disadvantages into competitive strengths for sustainable growth.

Break
11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. ET

Working with your Examiner, Craig Bilotta, NCUA
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET

In this 45-minute session, Supervisory Examiner Craig Bilotta will walk credit union leaders through practical strategies to strengthen their working relationship with their examiner and navigate the exam process with confidence.

Participants will gain insight on how examiners approach planning, scoping, and conducting the exam-and what credit unions can do to facilitate an efficient and effective examination. You’ll learn the do’s and don’ts of information sharing, tips for reducing exam friction, and techniques for aligning expectations early to avoid surprises later.

Lunch
12:30 p.m. ET

Member Gap Analysis: Are Your Members Driving Your Credit Union Forward?, Jim Kasch, KCU
1:00 p.m. ET - 1:30 p.m. ET

Not all members contribute to the financial health of your credit union in the same way. But do you know how many of your members are truly profitable, how many are contributing, and how many may actually be costing your credit union money?

Jim Kasch will introduce the Member Gap Analysis, a practical tool designed to help credit union leaders better understand their membership and identify opportunities hiding within their existing member base. He’ll preview how the tool uses your credit union’s own data to uncover gaps in member profitability and help you think differently about growth, engagement and where to focus your resources.

Open Conversation: Small Credit Union Challenges and Solutions
1:30 p.m. ET - 3:00 p.m. ET

Some of the best ideas come from talking with other credit union leaders who understand the challenges you face. This open conversation gives small credit union leaders the opportunity to share experiences, ask questions and learn from one another.

The discussion may include topics such as succession planning for small credit unions, deciding what to outsource versus keep in-house, staffing and resources, and other challenges brought to the table by attendees. Come ready to share what’s working at your credit union, what you’re struggling with and what you’d like to hear from your peers about.

Closing
3:00 p.m. ET