Each year, as the call for nominations for the Herb Wegner Memorial Awards makes its way across the industry, I’m struck by something deeply energizing and inspiring. These awards reveal, again and again, what makes the credit union movement fundamentally different, and the extraordinary potential credit unions hold to improve millions of lives.
If you’ve been with credit unions for a while now, you’ve likely seen how the winners are honored and celebrated at the National Credit Union Foundation’s Gala each year during GAC. What many may not realize is that behind every Wegner Award recipient is a thoughtful and rigorous selection process.
A Board-appointed committee of credit union leaders reviews every nomination package, independently scores each nominee, and then comes together to deliberate, discuss, and ultimately vote on a recommended slate of recipients. Those recommendations are then presented to the National Credit Union Foundation Board of Directors for final approval.
On paper, that sounds relatively straightforward. This year, however, committee members repeatedly described the task as one of the most difficult they had encountered to date.
With 25 nominations this year—19 individuals and 6 organizations or programs—the committee found itself evaluating some of the very best examples of leadership, innovation, and service to the mission of delivering financial well-being ever seen across the credit union movement. The challenge wasn't identifying excellence. It was distinguishing among extraordinary examples of it.
When excellence is the starting point
Separating exceptional from exceptional is far more difficult than anyone anticipates. In many ways, this is exactly the challenge these awards were created to address: Defining what transformative impact looks like, establishing a North Star for our movement, and then collectively honoring those whose work reaches that high bar.
The circumstances may be different, but the challenge is surprisingly similar to that faced in the selection process behind many of the world's most prestigious honors. How do you distinguish among people whose contributions have already changed lives, advanced a profession, or moved a mission forward? It is a challenge that extends beyond credit unions.
The universal challenge of recognition
For perspective, consider how some of the world's most prestigious awards recognize individuals and organizations that have expanded what was thought possible in their respective fields:
- Nobel Prizes: Often considered the global gold standard for human achievement, the acceptance rate of a nominated laureate is effectively <0.00001% of the millions of eligible individuals worldwide. Selection requires a singular, world-changing contribution.
- Turing Awards: The Nobel Prize of computing honors foundational contributions. Winners must define how entire generations compute—not just innovate. Only 81 people worldwide have ever received this honor.
- Academy Awards: Nearly 10,000 feature films are produced globally each year. Only one Oscar is awarded per category. You must succeed simultaneously at the intersection of artistic, social, political, and cultural relevance.
- Olympic Gold Medals: In sports like figure skating and gymnastics, who gets the gold is often decided by tenths—or even hundredths—of a point. Every finalist is already among the best athletes on the planet. Judges are separating world-class from world-class by the width of a blade.
A common thread among recipients of these awards is that recognition was never the objective. They pursued meaningful, difficult, often sweaty, sometimes glamorous work. Recognition simply shines a light on the outcomes of that effort.
Recognition follows impact
The leaders who leave the deepest mark on the credit union movement rarely begin their careers imagining awards or accolades. They begin with a desire to serve. They see someone struggling—it's honestly as simple as that—and they dedicate themselves to solving problems, often over decades, driven by a determination from deep within.
Bearing witness to and supporting the Wegner Award Selection Committee through its work is a tremendous honor. The process reveals proof that our movement continues to attract leaders who are expanding what is possible for the people and communities we serve, and that leaves me with tremendous optimism.
But perhaps the most inspiring takeaway from this year's nominations process is a reminder that recognition is not merely about celebrating achievement. It is about preserving examples. It is about signaling to the next generation of leaders what we value and what we hope to see more of. Because what we celebrate, we cultivate. And what we cultivate ultimately shapes the future of our movement.
Honoring our 2026 Wegner Award winners
Our 2026 Herb Wegner Award recipients offer a compelling example of exactly the kind of leadership this process is designed to recognize—and the kind of leadership shaping the future of our movement.
Kathy Chartier, Gigi Hyland and Steven Stapp each took different paths through credit unions. Their careers spanned different organizations, different leadership roles, and different chapters in the industry's evolution. Their impact lives on in the leaders they mentored, the partnerships they fostered, the ideas they championed, and the lives they influenced along the way.
Kathy's passing in May brought an added layer of meaning to this year's reflection. While her contributions to the credit union movement were extraordinary, many who knew Kathy speak first about her generosity, encouragement, and unwavering belief in others. Her story serves as a reminder that some of the most important measures of leadership are not found on a résumé. They are found in the relationships we build, the people we lift up, and the legacy we leave behind. In many ways, Kathy embodied the same qualities that appeared again and again throughout this year's nominations: leadership grounded in service, commitment to cooperative values, and a belief that success is measured not only by what we accomplish ourselves, but by what we make possible for others.
In the end, that is the enduring purpose of the Wegner Awards: not merely to recognize achievement, but to illuminate the examples that inspire the rest of us to carry the mission forward.
