The GAC started with a three and a half hour general session.

Three and a half hours is a long time. Three and a half hours gives you far too much information to blog in one post. So I will attempt, from my politically naïve position, to give you highlights.

Allan McMorris (CUNA Board of Directors Executive Committee) opened with great points about the need for membership growth, the need to attract younger members, the need to serve the unbanked and the parallels to credit unions and Harley Davidson fans. I only raised my eyebrow once – when he said credit unions should be on MySpace and YouTube.

We had a surprise speaker – Joe Theisman. He is certainly a charismatic guy. He talked about momentum – how one play in a game, one interception – can change the course of the outcome. He talked about how we can sometimes sense momentum – in a person or a movement – and we are drawn to it. That is a tantalizing concept. Is that happening to us now? With i3, Credit Unions of Washington and all of the other innovative programs popping up around the country?

Brit Hume was extremely articulate and interesting. He did admit (jokingly) that the reason he is not covering the Anna Nicole Smith trials is because he thinks her body was a lot more interesting when she was alive.

JoAnn Johnson and Rodney Hood, both of NCUA, gave insight to what NCUA is working on this year; including Prompt Corrective Action, the matrix for establishing CAMEL ratings and enforcement of by-laws.

And then… drum roll… Martin Sheen took the stage. I am here to say – credit union professionals are not above celebrity worship. There were more flashbulbs going off and more people creeping up to the front of the audience than any of the other speakers combined. Mr. Sheen opened with a quote from Gandhi (movie). He talked charmingly about the time he spent in Ireland last year, working towards his college degree. He also described his favorite charity – the Dorothy Day Foundation.

Then he started talking politics. I’ll put it this way… the liberals loved him and the conservatives hated him.

And I’ll leave it at that.