On October 25th – 27th, the California Credit Union Collectors Council (CCUCC) held it’s 31st annual Collections and Lending Conference at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Las Vegas to a record crowd of 320 attendees and 89 vendor companies, making this the largest credit union collections conference in their long and successful history of educating and unifying the credit union collections world.
The fun began before the first speaker even hit the stage, when on Thursday, they opened up with a bowling event off the strip at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. Where a large gathering of attendees and vendors participated in a fun filled afternoon of semi-competitive bowling. Later that evening, a welcome reception was held in the “London Club” above the casino floor, sponsored by the American recovery Association (ARA) where collectors, vendors and a strong showing of the California Association of Licensed Repossessors (CALR), who shared their annual conferences at the same convention hall, enjoyed drinks and appetizers while mingling and getting to know each other.
On Friday, the heart of the event took off with opening remarks by CCUCC President and Loan Resolution Manager at Caltech Employees FCU, Joel Bowen. After which, the agenda dived head first into the more serious topics of bankruptcy strategies, lien stripping defenses and many other collection and repossession tips presented by speaker, Joseph Welch, of the Buchalter Law Firm.
After lunch, the conference continued on course with some heavy hitting speakers. Keynote Speaker, Diana Dykstra, President/CEO, California and Nevada Credit Union League, addressed the crowd on the current economic growth and it’s affect on credit union lending trends followed by a CFPB update by CFPB Regional Director, Edwin Chow.
The later portion of the afternoon was filled with a wealth of experience from a panel of industry experts on Repossession and Remarketing featuring: Marcelle Egley (ABA Recovery), Mindy Dickinson (Tracker Auto Recovery), Shelly Frank (AMS Auctions), Colleen Baldwin (NPA Auction) and John Sibbitt (PAR North America).
Following that discussion, the event shifted gears to the ever present issues of Legal, Collections, Mortgage & Lending presented by well known credit union attorneys Karel Rocha, Josh Scheer and Randy Newman.
After a night on the town, the attendees resumed their education the next morning with Keynote Speaker, Don Arkell (Senior Consultant, CU Lending Advice) who covered a broad range of collections issues and lessons learned ranging from “Collections from a Leader’s Perspective”, “Lessons Learned from Auto Repossessions “, “Lessons You Wish Your Lending Department Understood” as well as workout loan tips, appropriate unsecured loan limits and mortgage servicing issues.
The event was an overall success in not only attendance, but in the quality and working substance of the training provided to the attendees, who gained both actionable tips as well as one of the greatest networking opportunities available to the credit union collections industry.
Before the dust had even settled on Las Vegas, the CCUCC was in the planning stages for next years planned conference in beautiful San Diego. The CCUCC welcomes credit union collections and lending people from all over the nation, so be sure to make room in your training and travel budgets for next year and keep your eye out for their 2019 conference announcement at the CCUCC’s website. In the meanwhile, make a point of reaching out to them to see how you and your credit union can participate in their regional council meetings.
An event of this scale requires massive amounts of preparation, planning and support from its sponsors. Congratulations to all of those responsible, you nailed it!
And last, but not least, a very special “Thank You” video to all of our sponsors and vendors who helped make this event possible.
We’ll see you next year in San Diego!
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