Political Review & CULAC Session
League Education Center, Meriden

12:30 p.m.          Lunch
1:00 - 2:30 p.m.  Speaking Program

The League is hosting a political informational forum with two guest speakers. There will be a session on what is happening in the political arena during this election cycle, and an informative session on how to establish a payroll deduction contribution to CULAC. We strongly encourage all credit unions to send a representative to see how simple and easily this extremely important program is to run. Signing up for the program that day is not necessary.

Political Program Guest Speaker

Patrick Scully has been a high-profile communications, public relations, media, and political consulting professional for the past 23 years.

His experience and personal relationships with members of the media both in Connecticut and nationwide enable him to provide clients unmatched access to media outlets. Prior to starting Scully Communications, Patrick worked as a
public relations specialist at a lobbying firm in Hartford, CT.

Patrick put his own personal mark on the communications business in
Connecticut when he served as Director of Communications and Media for
the state Senate Democrats in Connecticut from 2002 to 2007. A member of the senior staff, he acted as the spokesman for two senate presidents and the
24-member caucus. He also worked on the caucus members' political campaigns.

Prior to coming to the Connecticut legislature, Patrick was a familiar face on national television news and debate shows as the Director of Communications for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. He appeared on popular shows such as ABC's "World News Tonight," NBC's "Weekend Today," MSNBC's "Hardball," CNN's "Crossfire," FOX News Channel's "O'Reilly Factor" and "The Edge with Paula Zaun." He has been interviewed by nationally known journalists such as Soledad O'Brien, Lester Holt, Mike Barnicle, Dan Abrams, Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson, Fredricka Whitfield, and many others.

He's been quoted in every major newspaper in the country including The New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, USA Today, Roll Call, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald and many more.

Recent TV appearances (once a near constant in his life when working in Manhattan) have included "The Real Story" on FOX 61-TV, "Connecticut Newsmakers" on NBC Connecticut (Channel 30) and on "Focus On Connecticut" on News 12 (Norwalk). In addition, Patrick has been the permanent guest host for the afternoon drive time radio show on the 50,000 watt WTIC-AM radio in Hartford.
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There will be an informative session on how to establish a payroll deduction contribution to CULAC. We strongly encourage all credit unions to send a representative to see how simple and easily this extremely important program is to run. Signing up for the program that day is not necessary.

Payroll Deduction Guest Speaker

Sarah Waters is CUNA's Political Programs Manager. Sarah will be making the trip to Connecticut to provide a program summary and to answer any questions we may have.

Sarah Waters serves as Political Programs Manager at CUNA. She focuses on
PAC Fundraising where she helps to manage programs such as Payroll Deduction. She is also responsible for Republican candidate and campaign outreach.

Prior to serving in this position, Sarah worked as Administrative Coordinator in the Legislative Affairs Department at CUNA. She came to CUNA from Psoriasis Cure Now where she was Senior Manager of Advocacy. Her background before that was on Capitol Hill and in campaign work. 

Sarah graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2007 with a BA in Political Science and a second major in Management and Society. She is originally from Gastonia, NC and now resides in Washington, DC with her husband, Justin.

Contact Kelly Fuhlbrigge to let her know if you can attend to learn about this important program:  kfuhlbrigge@culct.coop.

Procedure
Through Payroll Deduction, contributing to CULAC and advancing the Credit Union Movement is as simple as completing a short authorization form, and by CEOs encouraging their employees to participate by asking that they too fill out a short form to authorize a small amount to be deducted per paycheck. An employee in each credit union will be responsible for sending a simple spreadsheet to CUNA each pay period as well as ensuring all the money collected from your employees' paychecks is sent. It is as simple as that!

Disclosure
Credit unions as corporations are prohibited by law from making direct monetary political contributions to CULAC. However, you, your staff, and individual members can contribute-their contributions to CULAC, the PAC of Credit Union National Association, are crucial. As you all know, CULAC promotes the support of pro-credit union candidates to the U.S. House and Senate through PAC contributions. It serves as a focal point for organizing credit union political contributions so that funds go to candidates who've shown an understanding of credit unions and credit union issues.

If we are going to be able to continue to offer members the level of service and satisfaction they have come to expect in the future, it is important we have as high a CULAC participation rate as possible from each credit union in Connecticut. 

With this new and improved Payroll Deduction Program there has never been a better time to get involved or an easier program to participate in.