October Newsletter
More Than a Conference: Creating Space for the Next Generation
One of the strengths of the credit union movement is that there is room to get involved long before “leader” appears in your job title.
GoWest’s MAXX conference brings credit union professionals together to learn, connect, and engage with the ideas shaping the movement. For young professionals, it is a chance to step outside the day-to-day and gain a broader perspective on the industry, the people behind it, and the impact we can make together.
The YP Leads program takes that experience a step further. Each year, at least 18 emerging leaders from across the GoWest region are selected to participate, with representation from each of GoWest’s six states. The experience begins at MAXX and continues through a yearlong mentorship focused on professional growth, leadership development, and meaningful connection.
While the education at MAXX is valuable, some of the greatest takeaways come from the relationships built along the way. Connecting with professionals from different credit unions, roles, and communities brings new perspectives, challenges us to think differently, and reminds us that our impact can extend beyond our individual roles.
For young professionals, the takeaway is simple: you do not have to wait for a certain title to get involved. Raise your hand. Join the conversation. Ask questions. Build relationships. Pursue opportunities that push you outside your comfort zone.
The credit union movement has always been rooted in people helping people. Continuing that legacy means giving the next generation opportunities to learn, connect, find their voice, and help shape what comes next.
~ Taylar Carter
Whether you're attending MAXX this year, cheering on fellow attendees, or simply looking for ways to grow in your career, October is all about building momentum.
Momentum doesn't happen by accident. It's created through connection, learning, and taking action. As young professionals, we have an opportunity to shape the future of our organizations, our communities, and the credit union movement as a whole.
This month, we're celebrating the energy, passion, and purpose that drive credit unions forward every day.
MAXX Momentum
Moving forward Together
Building Confidence, Connection, and Impact
More than 20 young credit union professionals came together for WyoYCUP’s Communicating with Impact session with Denise Gabel. The session created an engaging and meaningful space for young professionals to strengthen their voices, build confidence, and explore what it means to communicate with greater influence in the workplace.
Throughout the session, participants explored real challenges that many rising professionals encounter, from speaking confidently with senior leaders and navigating difficult conversations to setting boundaries, eliminating minimizing language, and advocating for career growth. Denise shared practical tools participants could immediately apply.
Just as valuable as the content was the conversation it created. Attendees shared personal stories and experiences, offered observations and insights, and learned from perspectives across the room. That openness transformed the session from a presentation into a genuine opportunity for connection, reflection, and growth.
At the heart of the discussion was a simple but powerful idea: speaking up is a muscle, not a personality trait. It was an important reminder that confidence and influence are skills that can be intentionally developed.
WyoYCUP is proud to create opportunities like this for young credit union professionals to connect, learn from one another, and continue growing as leaders within the credit union movement.
~ Taylar Carter
"Great things happen when good people show up, work hard, and care about others."
Leadership isn't something that begins when you get the title. It starts when you decide to show up. As a young professional, that decision can happen long before anyone calls you a leader. That starts by getting in the right mindset.
For me, I live by consistent values. Montras like, "I take care of my people," "I do the right thing," "I'll own my mistakes," "I share the knowledge I've been blessed with learning," and "I work hard to do the best job I can" help shape who I am and who I want to be.
There is nothing holding you back from deciding you want to be something different.
I can wake up tomorrow and decide that my favorite color is no longer purple - oh no. I can decide that it's going to be green, and that's what I'll start telling people. The same thing can apply to who you want to be.
I can wake up tomorrow and decide that I'll be the person who speaks first in a dead silence. I can wake up and decide that, from now on, I'm a morning person. It's almost not enough to fake it until you make it. So fake it until you become it.
In your career, I hope you find that your growth will never cease. There's never a finish line for the trajectory of your wisdom. I hope you never stop wanting to be better than you were yesterday.
But more importantly, I hope you find the courage to bring people along on your growth journey.
I don't believe success is just found in our careers, but in the success of those we get to rise with us. You don't need a fancy title to help people. You don't need to have all the answers. Sometimes leadership is simply recognizing something in someone else and helping them see it in themselves.
I reflect on the opportunities I wish I would've seen, or the leadership I knew I needed when I first got into the industry. I strive to be who I needed back when I was a wee-baby teller starting my first big-kid job. The person you needed when you were starting out might be the person someone else needs right now.
I reflect on the wins and losses I've had over the years. One of my favorite sayings is that we learn more from our failures than we do our successes. I hope you know that failure doesn't disqualify you from success. Some of the greatest lessons I've learned have come from getting it wrong first.
Leadership as a YP is a mindset.
So wake up tomorrow and get into it. Decide who you want to be. Decide what you stand for. Decide how you want to show up for the people around you.
And then - become it.
~Emmalyne Phillips
Credit Union Advocacy: Your Voice Matters
Advocacy helps protect the credit union movement and ensures credit unions can continue providing financial services that put members first. By staying informed and engaging with lawmakers, credit union advocates help shape policies that strengthen our industry and the communities we serve.
Getting started is easy. Visit the GoWest Advocacy Resource Center (https://gowestassociation.org/advocacy/) to learn about key issues, sign up for advocacy alerts, and discover ways to connect with elected officials. Every voice makes a difference.
~Mary Salas