DENVER—An athlete who has overcome tremendous odds, a pair of NFL Hall of Famers, and a discussion of trends in credit unions were highlights of VeleraLIVE’s second day at the Gaylord Rockies Resort here.T
World-Class Blind Adventurer Erik Weihenmayer shared how he approaches living a “no barriers” life. Despite losing his vision at age 14, Weihenmayer told the meeting he has continued to live his life to the fullest and help others live theirs to the fullest along the way. “Forget mountains for a second – life is full of challenges as is,” he said.
“Many people can be classified into three groups: quitters, campers and climbers,” Weihenmayer said. “The quitters are self-explanatory. Campers are those that start out climbing, but somewhere along the ascent, things get in the way – they might lose belief or feel cynicism toward certain aspects of their lives. Climbers, on the other hand, are a rare group: they are the ones that continue to figure out ways to grow, explore and challenge themselves every day until the day they die.
“How do I climb when it is so much easier to camp?” he asked. “We are all reaching into the darkness, but it is worth it once we get to the top.”
Two NFL Greats in Q&A
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman and Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, who is also president & CEO of Emmitt Smith Enterprises, Inc., Emmitt Smith sat down with Velera’s chief service officer, Dean Young, in the closing keynote.
The trio discussed everything from favorite pre-game meals to teammates they admired the most and the current state of the Dallas Cowboys, where they both played for more than a decade, winning three Super Bowls. The conversation also included predictions for the upcoming NFL draft and 2025 season.
Panel Talks Trends
Credit Union Executive Panel, Moderated by Mark Sievewright
The second full day of VeleraLIVE kicked off with a panel of credit union executives that was moderated by Mark Sievewright.
The panelists included Chris Harlan, president & CEO, University of IL Community Credit Union; Jenny Vipperman, president & CEO; ORNL Federal Credit Union; Jim Hayes, president & CEO, State Department Federal Credit Union, and Patty Corkery, president & CEO, Michigan Credit Union League and CUSG.
The discussion addressed the major trends impacting the credit union and financial services industries, including accelerating consolidation and the “relentless pursuit of scale, unprecedented advances in technology and payments transformation,” the company said.
It also included discussion of changes in consumer behavior, attitudes and expectations, new waves of competition from large-scale incumbents and new entrants and demographic shifts and changes in the future of work – all set against regulatory changes and the burden of compliance, cybersecurity and risk management threats, and economic and geopolitical factors.
“All of these trends are those that credit unions are experiencing and facing on a daily basis,” said Sievewright.
When discussing how to differentiate credit unions from banks and other competitors, Corkery said, “CUSOs are a superpower. They can help credit unions scale and do things they might not be able to do alone.”
The company announced it will host VeleraLIVE 2026 in Orlando April 13-15, 2026, as well as hold numerous regional in-person meetings, VeleraNOW, throughout fall 2025 in various U.S. cities.
