For more than 15 years, I’ve served on the Carolinas Credit Union League board. During that time, I’ve witnessed the team’s focus and determination firsthand. Their mission is clear: serve every credit union in our two-state footprint—whether large or small—and fight for their future.
Earlier in December, in my role as board chair, I joined Carolinas Credit Union League (CCUL) President/CEO Dan Schline, SVP of Advocacy Billy Boylston, and Carrick Professionals President/COO Craig Beach in California for the American Association of Credit Union Leagues’ (AACUL) Annual Winter Conference. What I witnessed wasn’t just another meeting.
The room was filled with league presidents, government relations experts, service corporation executives, communications professionals, and foundation leaders from every corner of the country. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were represented. And beyond that, system partners—the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), TruStage, NASCUS, Inclusiv, and Filene—were at the table. This wasn’t a casual gathering. It was intentional, focused, and guided by a sense of urgency to support and protect the credit union system.
The most striking revelation? The sheer scale of the advocacy machine. AACUL’s committee structure is not window dressing—it is a disciplined apparatus where input from credit unions in every state bubbles up, and leagues discuss legislative strategies, regulatory challenges, and opportunities to build political muscle. America’s Credit Unions (ACU) is plugged into every one of these conversations. When ACU’s new President/CEO Scott Simpson told our CCUL Board in November that “in public policy, unity matters,” it wasn’t a platitude. In California, I saw that unity in action. Leagues and ACU committed to speaking with one voice on Capitol Hill—not fragmented, not tentative, but aligned and relentless.
The League-ACU system is stacked with deep benches of subject-matter experts. The conversations I heard weren’t timid exchanges; they were strategic, laser-focused, and aimed at delivering results. The release of ACU’s 2026 Advocacy Priorities was proof: priorities forged from direct credit union feedback, sharpened by league input, and elevated through AACUL and ACU’s policy committees.
I arrived at the AACUL Winter Conference unsure of what I’d find. What I discovered was a League-ACU system deeply committed to credit union success. Behind the curtain is not bureaucracy—it is a coordinated and credible advocacy force, arguably the envy of the financial services sector.
As credit unions, we cannot afford complacency. The stakes are too high; the opposition too entrenched. We know banks will outspend us, and we know the attacks will not relent. What I saw at the AACUL Winter Conference was a system prepared to fight—and win—for the future of our movement.
For me, that’s a League-ACU system worth supporting!
