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Exactly what is Room (39)a?

There’s one at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center but today we are talking about the Room (39)a at CFCU, Community Financial Credit Union in Michigan, where past CU 2.0 Podcast guest Tansley Stearns serves as CEO and she has launched this Room (39)a as a CUSO that will offer subscriptions to its research.

As for what it does, CFCU’s Room (39)a describes itself this way: “a place where possibility and the unexpected collide. We blend the precision of research with human imagination to unlock new ideas, products, strategies and opportunities for companies and brands.”

Could this be exactly what credit unions need today as they battle with mammoth money center banks and fintechs with massive war chests.

On the show is Blake Woods, a CFCU SVP who also serves as chief ideator at Room (39)a.

The episode explores the Room (39)a approach to research, how it decides what topics to pursue, and why it believes the credit union industry very much needs the kinds of research it is doing.

Don’t think this is a propeller head show. Quite the contrary. We dive deeply into gambling, for instance, and also into questions about credit union sports sponsorship deals.

Listen up.

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Three years ago Tropical Financial Credit Union, a $1 billion south Florida institution, signed on as a sponsor of the Florida Panthers and magic happened because the Panthers - in the National Hockey League - won the Stanley Cup in 2024 and won again in 2025. That’s the equivalent of winning the World Series in baseball or the Super Bowl in football and, definitely, the Panthers now are the darlings of south Florida because everybody loves a winner.

On the show is Marylen Yiris, vice president of marketing at Tropical Financial and she tells how the credit union partnered with the Panthers and the benefits she believes the credit union has gotten from the arrangement. Note: new member activations are one metric she uses in assessing the value of the relationship.

Understand: Tropical Financial is enthusiastic about sports sponsorship. It now has inked a sponsorship with Fort Lauderdale United FC, a women's soccer team that competes in a new league.

And Yiris indicates that Tropical Financial is open to exploring still more sponsorship deals with sports teams.

Earlier this year the CU 2.0 Podcast hosted Christine Blake, CEO of Cardinal Credit Union in Ohio which has a sponsorship deal with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL.

It’s hard to get noticed in today’s cluttered mediascape - and the credit unions that have sponsorships say they work in elevating brand awareness.

Listen up.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Back on the show today after a hiatus is Kirk Kordeleski, onetime CEO of Bethpage Federal Credit Union and now a partner in Parc Street Partners where he focuses on credit union executive retirement plans.

Kordeleski has been on the show many times but he always is welcomed back because he has deep insight into what it’s like to be a credit union CEO and also into how to compensate those CEOs appropriately. Here’s a link to the Kordeleski Archives.

What brings Kordeleski back to the show is that much is changing in the retirement planning for credit union CEOs and senior staff. Changing macro economic conditions have triggered significant changes in the retirement plans. Breathe easily. There remain good, stable plans. Kordeleski tells about them here.

Know that appropriate compensation for senior executives is a must at credit unions that want to succeed. And a good retirement plan is a critical part of that package.

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Kordeleski brings us up to date.

Listen up.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto