MADISON, Wis. – Learn how Bert Jacobs, co-founder of Life is good, turned those three simple words on a T-shirt into a powerful brand with more than $100 million in annual sales during his address at the America’s Credit Union Conference and Expo, taking place June 21-24 in Boston.

In 1989, brothers Bert and John Jacobs designed their first T-shirt. They spent the next five years traveling the East Coast, struggling to sell their shirts on the streets and door-to-door in college dormitories, showering when they could, and sleeping in their beat-up van. The pair got a break in 1994 when they introduced Jake, a smiling stick-figure-turned-mascot into the Life is good mix, and sales began to soar. Jacobs’ presentation will discuss making a difference while making a profit by selling feel-good products and embracing optimism as a force for powerful change. He will also discuss the company’s business model, which includes virtually no advertising. Instead, the company harnessed the power of good public relations by organizing Life is good Festivals, which raise money to support children in need.

The conference marks the centennial celebration of credit unions with presentations honoring the first 100 years of credit unions in the United States. Attendees of Sunday evening’s special reception and keynote session will be treated to a humorous and thought-provoking look at the life of Sen. George Norris, a key figure in the signing of the Federal Credit Union Act of 1934.

The lineup of keynote speakers also includes:

Credit union professionals can learn ways to best respond to the current economic challenges during a presentation from Bill Hampel, CUNA’s senior vice president of research and chief economist; and Mike Schenk, CUNA’s vice president of economics and statistics. Attendees will gain insight into the outlook for the economy and credit unions, the economic slowdown, and more. Hampel and Schenk’s economic expertise has been featured throughout the year in venues such as Bloomberg TV, MarketWatch, New York Times, USA Today, The Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, and CNN, among others.

Learn how to use pictures to describe complex concepts, solve difficult problems, and sell others on breakthrough ideas with Dan Roam, author of “The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas With Pictures.” Roam will demonstrate how anyone can use this visual thinking technique – regardless of artistic talent – to approach and resolve their own business challenges.

Best-selling author Guy Kawasaki will discuss his real-life experience with world-class companies to discuss how to innovate, improve, and create new credit union products and services. His humorous, tell-it-like-it-is presentation is modeled after his book, “Rules for Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services.”

The America’s Credit Union Conference and Expo is the premier resource for learning and inspiration for executives, board members, and key leaders in the credit union industry. For more information or to register, go to events.cuna.org.