Welcoming more than 1,000 people serving credit unions and their members across six western states, GoWest Credit Union Association’s President and CEO Troy Stang set the stage for the new alliance at its first convention. “Each of our member credit unions was founded on a belief that pooling member resources for the common good creates something truly beneficial for all. It’s a concept that is both evolutionary in nature and generationally transformative.”
GoWest Credit Union Association is part of that evolution, bringing together more than 300 credit unions and their 16.5 million consumer members across Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. GoWest was created in June 2022 with the merger of Mountain West and Northwest Credit Union Associations. The united group came together for its first combined MAXX Convention at the
Spokane Convention Center.
In his keynote address, entitled “Tenor of the Times” and delivered during the opening session of its signature MAXX Conference in Spokane, WA, Stang focused on the collective strength and collaborative nature of credit unions. “Collectively, we can become agents of change,” he said. “Together, we can influence public policy, impact communities by generating access to capital needed by members,
accelerate positive change and literally shape the tenor of our times. We can shape the arc of the curve, by reflecting on how we want to live and how we want that lived experience to be shared.”
Stang noted the daunting issues facing all financial institutions, including recovery from the pandemic, inflation, interest rates, the rapidly growing demand for digital forward delivery of services, supply chain, talent development issues, and the growing wealth gap in communities throughout the west.
“We are called to mobilize our collective energy for the common good,” Stang said, pointing to substantive community development initiatives pioneered by member credit unions. He cited the work of credit unions in Washington that, together with the GoWest Foundation, helped launch the first-ever land bank to make property available for low-income housing. “Together, they are reinventing community development, and making the American dream of home ownership moreaccessible,” said Stang.
He urged the credit union professionals attending the conference to share best practices, learn from each other, and build partnerships to accelerate growth in their communities. He noted how member credit unions are advocating for more financial education in school systems to impact generations to come. And he predicted that credit unions will be judged on measurable data related to community building, strengthening overall member financial well-being, and closing the wealth gap that divides communities.
“Success will be measured by how we demonstrate what citizenship and leadership truly means,” said Stang, challenging members to build upon their common culture as financial cooperatives. “Our culture makes us unique. It is our DNA. We are for the people, by the people, and accountable to the people. That makes us uniquely positioned to define the culture in which our people can thrive. I believe
that when there is a desire to better our communities, credit unions are best positioned to be the change agents that drive meaningful results.”
Stang’s rallying cry kicked off the three-day MAXX conference that brings together hundreds of credit union professionals and hundreds more business solutions partners, thought leaders, and industry experts to discuss influential developments at the national, regional, state, and hyper-local levels, including legislative issues and advancements in financial technology.
“Let's go forward and let's go together to set the course in the history of the American financial system,” Stang told the crowd. “Let’s collectively strengthen our credit unions' role in building communities for the next generation. Now is the time to blaze new trails as we shape the tenor of our times.”
