Monday October 21st

Detailed Program Information

Registration and Networking Breakfast – 8:00 am
Take this time to meet new people and build community.

Opening Keynote – 9:00 am,
Take off the Mask – Is your life story worth Telling?
Dan Meers, Professional Mascot
It’s been said that if you ask a man his occupation will find out how he pays his bills, but if you ask a man his preoccupation then you will discover the passion of his life. Dan Meers has a rather unique occupation. For over 25 years he has paid his bills by working as “KC Wolf” the mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs. However, Dan’s preoccupation, what he is truly passionate about is encouraging others to strive for the best in life and to enjoy it each and every step along the way. Dan believes that your life is like a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish but you will only get to spend it one time, so spend it wisely. During this presentation Dan shares some of the valuable lessons he’s learned during his long career as a professional mascot. Whether at home, work or in the community, Dan challenges his audience to live each day to the fullest by wisely investing their lives and not just spending them.

Networking Break with Exhibitors – 10:00 am

Meet and network with industry resource experts specific to your call center needs.

General Session – 10:30 am
Contact Center Lending Lessons Learned from Top Performing Credit Unions
Don Arkell, CU Lending Advice
The Contact Center is the “Face of your Organization”. It is the most important member facing area of the credit union. Lending has never been more competitive, credit unions were not “Born Digital”, learn how credit unions around the country are maximizing their contact centers to achieve record breaking loan volume. In this entertaining and informative session, Don will cover the following topics:

• How to organize Lending in your Contact Center for Maximum Results
• Lower your Expense Ratio while Increasing your Loan Volume
• How to Motivate Contact Center Employees to achieve better Sales and Lending Results Across All Channels
• Credit union success stories using these strategies
• Learn how to maximize efficiency and consistency

Networking Lunch – 11:30 am – 12:45 pm
Keep the community conversations going with your new found friends!

General Session – 12:45 pm
Thrive, Don’t Just Survive: How to Turn High-Pressure Change Events into High-Reward Member Experiences
Ron Hasbrooke, Harland Clarke

With change comes challenge…and opportunity. Mergers and acquisitions. Digital banking conversions. Change is often necessary, but never easy. While change and challenge often signal great progress, they can also spike call volume within your contact center and across all member touchpoints. But these same change events, when approached from a thrive mindset, represent rare opportunities to engage tough-to-reach members and deliver a high-reward experience. With contact centers receiving fewer general service calls from a smaller and smaller percentage of their membership, a digital conversion event can enable personalized engagement with members who might likely never call or visit the branch. Being ready to embrace that touchpoint opportunity in a way that deepens the member relationship is vital. Ron Hasbrooke, Senior Business Development Executive at Harland Clarke, will share success strategies for how a contact center can turn a high-pressure change event into a winning opportunity to strengthen relationships, build loyalty with members and differentiate your brand.

Networking Break with Exhibitors – 1:45 pm
Meet and network with industry resource experts specific to your call center needs.

General Session – 2:15 pm
The World is Changing. How Will You Deliver “Wow!” Service In The Digital World?
Rini Fredette, Senior Vice President of Contact Center Operations at PSCU
In today’s interconnected world, member expectations are constantly changing. Contact centers are receiving fewer calls per customer due to a variety of self-service options, from online to mobile and digital offerings. Talk time for those that do call, however, is rising due to the increased complexity of issues. So, how does a credit union focused on service “wow” the member when faced with fewer opportunities and more intricate problems to remedy, coming in via a variety of channels? Rini Fredette, Senior Vice President of Contact Center Operations at PSCU, will explore how credit unions can use capabilities such as AI, bots, omnichannel, and analytics to connect the dots in the member journey and deliver exceptional service in the digital world.

Transition Break – 3:15 pm

Round Table and CEO-Director Forum Discussions – 3:30 pm
It’s here! One of your favorite parts of the program. Visit and share best practices happening in your call center with your peers. We traditionally divide groups by asset size but you are welcome to attend any round table.

Networking Reception – 5:30 pm
Come together for more community time under the beautiful Las Vegas sky. Snacks and beverages will be available

Dinner on your own – 6:30 pm
Here is a chance to explore Las Vegas with your new friends. Stop by the registration desk for dinner ideas.

Today's Speakers

Dan Meers

Dan Meers goes to work each day like many other men, dressed in a suit. The only difference is that instead of wearing a tie with his suit, Dan wears a tail. You see, Dan is a professional mascot. Dan began his career in 1986 at the University of Missouri – Columbia. Dressed as the school mascot, Truman Tiger, it didn’t take long for Dan to establish himself as one of the top college mascots in the nation. After finishing second in 1988, Dan was selected the nation’s #1 college mascot at the 1989 National Collegiate Mascot Championships. As graduation approached, Dan began to receive offers to use his talents at the professional level. After graduating with honors, Dan decided to trade in his tiger stripes for bird feathers and began his professional career as Fredbird, the mascot for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. Although many thought Dan’s “bird legs” were a perfect match for his costume in St. Louis, Dan stayed only a short time. He was offered a job in professional football and decided to exchange his bird suit to become a wolf. Today Dan is widely known as KC Wolf, the official mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs. He travels throughout the United States and the world entertaining thousands of people both in and out of costume. Dan is in high demand not only as a mascot but also as a humorous and motivational speaker to audiences of all ages. His enthusiasm, optimism and love for life are contagious and makes Dan an inspiration to all those he meets.

Don Arkell

Don Arkell
Don Arkell started his career in the Credit Union industry working as a frontline lender at Clark County Credit Union, in Las Vegas Nevada. While at CCCU, Don quickly moved through the ranks at the credit union, working in all areas of Sales and Lending. He eventually founded a CUSO owned by CCCU- Members Auto Brokerage Service, Inc.

Taking a break from the industry, Don established himself in the Pharmaceutical and BioTech Sales arena working for both Fortune 50 and startup companies. He was recognized for his sales abilities winning several national Sales Awards and mentoring Sales Teams.

After years in the world of Biotech, he couldn’t resist the call of the Credit Union once again. Don joined up with Red Rocks Credit Union in Highlands Ranch, CO in 2007 and helped RRCU to establish a vibrant Sales culture while transforming the Credit Union from full retail delivery to offering 100% of consumer loans and member service through remote delivery channels. This effort drove down operational expenses while increasing loans, total assets and net income.

During the difficult economic times of the last decade, Don Arkell navigated the organization through the muddy waters of the mortgage business by overhauling the entire Real Estate Lending program. Focusing on the core values of the organization, Don completely rebuilt this vital area of the organization by implementing a successful Consultative Lending strategy. Don’s efforts are credited with turning this failing area around and growing into the most profitable area of the credit union.

Don’s unique leadership style and passion for Sales and Leadership have made him a sought after speaker, trainer and strategist. Don Arkell joined the team at CULendingAdvice in September 2015. His extensive Sales and Lending experience married well with the established consultant practice at CULA.

Ron Hasbrooke

Ron Hasbrooke rejoined Harland Clarke in 2017 as a Business Development Executive. He brings more than 20 years of leadership and business development experience, including expert knowledge of contact centers, where he has held second- and third-level sales, service and operations leadership roles within multiple high-volume contact centers.

A consultative professional who understands the fast-paced, high-pressure environments of contact centers, Ron has helped build, launch, manage and support major inbound, outbound, blended and multi-channel campaigns for Fortune 500 companies.

Ron worked previously at Harland Clarke from 2002-11 as an Account Executive, Regional Manager and Director, Client Development Group. He has a Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State University and a Master of Science from Syracuse University.

Ron is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rini Fredette

As Senior Vice President of Contact Center Operations, Rini Fredette, provides the overall leadership, vision, and strategic direction for PSCU’s Contact Center Operations. Rini oversees 650+ PSCU employees as well as an outsourced partnership with an additional 550+ contact center representatives across 6 different locations within the U.S. Her contact center services more than 10 million calls from credit union members per year, acting as a valuable extension of every credit union and providing a truly seamless member experience.

Shortly after joining the Company in 2011, Rini served as Senior Vice President & Enterprise Risk Officer, providing strategic guidance and governance in assessing, analyzing and holistically managing risk across PSCU. Rini’s primary responsibilities in this role were Strategic Risk, Enterprise Risk Management, Internal Audit, Compliance Governance, Vendor Management, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery, and Incident Handling/Investigations.
Prior to joining PSCU, Rini served as Director of IT Security, Compliance and Auditing for Teleperformance, Inc.; a global contact center service provider. In this role, Rini managed eight global security teams across disciplines that included Information Security, Physical Security, Compliance, Fraud & Risk Management, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery.

Rini completed her M.B.A. from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in May 2016 with concentrations in Finance, Organization & Management, Leadership, Information Systems, and Operational Management. She received her M.S. degree in Management Information Systems and also holds a B.A. degree in Psychology from the University of South Florida (USF).
Rini, grew up in Vero Beach Florida moving to Tampa to attend the University of South Florida. She married her husband Troy Fredette, a retired Air Force Major, in 2009. Troy continues working for the U.S. Air Force of Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base. They have a daughter Vailynne Fredette who is 7 years old.