GoWest Credit Union Association Announces Finalists for 2026 MAXX Awards

Celebrating credit unions' inspired cooperation, community and member impact, difference making storytelling, and outstanding workplace culture

SEATTLE, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- GoWest Credit Union Association is proud to announce the finalists for the 2026 MAXX Awards, recognizing credit unions that drive change, support communities, and elevate the Credit Union Movement.

"These finalists brought the 'People Helping People' philosophy to life whether by working individually or through collaboration with other credit unions," said Troy Stang, President and CEO of GoWest Credit Union Association. "They helped hundreds of people achieve the dream of homeownership, provided disaster relief when their communities needed it most, worked with members to pay down debt, and empowered credit union employees to thrive, grow, and serve their members."

The finalists were selected by a 45-member panel of credit union leaders from across the six-state region GoWest serves. Winners in each of the five categories will be announced during the GoWest MAXX Experience at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Denver on Oct. 9.

2026 MAXX Award Finalists: 
(Finalists listed alphabetically in each category) 

Community Impact:

This category honors a credit union that has embraced social responsibility through lending programs, charitable giving, multicultural services, or other initiatives that improve financial well-being in the communities they serve.

• SELCO Community Credit Union (Oregon), for "SELCO Steps Up," an employee-driven program that reinvested $450,000 into Oregon communities in its first year. More than 25 employee Ambassadors across the state identify local needs, build partnerships, and help activate support in real time. By gathering input directly from educators, nonprofit leaders, and community members, SELCO ensures its efforts address timely issues such as housing insecurity and children in crisis.
• TAPCO Credit Union (Washington), for its Biz Kid$ Experience at Hilltop Heritage. TAPCO partnered with Biz Kid$ and Tacoma Public Schools to bring financial education to 95 students at Hilltop Heritage Middle School. Students explored goal setting, earning, saving, and long-term financial decision-making through classroom discussions and visits to six local businesses. Students then had an opportunity to put their learning into action, with the credit union providing up to $9,500 in grants to fund $100 initial deposits. Ultimately, 36 students and eight parents opened accounts, turning financial education into meaningful action.
• WECU (Washington), for the "Flood Relief Assistance Program," established when a devastating flood impacted 78,000 residents of Whatcom County. The credit union deferred loan payments and helped members explore mortgage forbearance and other options and granted low-interest rate loans to impacted local businesses. WECU employees were given paid time off to volunteer to clean up flood damaged homes.

Cooperation in Action

The category celebrates two or more credit unions, credit union communities, or professionals from separate credit unions collaborating to create a bigger impact.

• Arizona Credit Union Week (Arizona), for a collaboration of 18 credit unions. Every day for a week last October, they performed special services including supporting local retailers, cleaning up school grounds, preparing emergency food boxes, and donations to nonprofits. The 18 credit unions were Aero Financial Credit Union, Alhambra Credit Union, Arizona Central Credit Union, Arizona Financial Credit Union, Copper State Credit Union, Credit Union West, Desert Financial Credit Union, First American Credit Union, First Credit Union, Hughes Federal Credit Union, Landings Credit Union, OneAZ Credit Union, Pima Federal Credit Union, Pinal County Federal Credit Union, SunWest Credit Union, TruWest Credit Union, Tucson Federal Credit Union, and Vantage West Credit Union.
• Forrit Credit Union and Point West Credit Union (Oregon), for working together to host Bite of Reality Fairs at several Portland, Ore., schools. Through the credit unions' collaboration, the teams volunteered more than 200 hours, and helped nearly 300 students get hands on, real life budgeting experience
• Tucson Welcome Home (Arizona), for a collaboration by five Tucson, Ariz., credit unions and the GoWest Foundation to address housing affordability. The program offers 100% financing, no private mortgage insurance, no origination or application fees, and competitive fixed rate interest rates. Already, 76 loans have been approved and hundreds of others are being processed. Participating credit unions include Hughes Federal Credit Union, Pima Federal Credit Union, Pyramid Federal Credit Union, Tucson Federal Credit Union, and Vantage West Credit Union.

Employee Experience

This award recognizes credit unions for intentionally building a thriving workplace culture by investing in employee growth, fostering engagement, and providing the tools for success.

• iQ Credit Union (Washington), for its work to develop the next generation of credit union professionals. The credit union's network of eight high school branches offers students the opportunity to conduct transactions and learn what it's like to work in a credit union. Nearly 160 students participate annually across the campus branches, gaining real-world experience in financial services before progressing to paid internships. Professional development days in the credit union allow the students to take a deeper dive into financial careers.
• On Tap Credit Union (Colorado), for the "Policies and Brew-cedures" program. New employees are given personalized gift baskets and on-going opportunities to connect with each other and leadership. The experience grounds employees in On Tap's "K.E.G. of Excellence" culture, defined by being kind, engaged, and genuine. More than 90% of the credit union's employees have engaged in the program, resulting in a thriving workplace culture and high touch member services. On Tap's process net promoter score (NPS) has increased by more than 10% as a result.
• Seattle Credit Union (Washington), for the "Fixed Term Assignment" program focusing on how the credit union hires, onboards, and develops talent. The program gives employees opportunities to take on three- to six-month stretch assignments while retaining their original positions and provides hands-on development and career exploration while meeting temporary staffing needs without relying on external hires. In the last two years, their employee net promoter score (eNPS) grew from +4 to +27, and turnover decreased by 30%.

Member Impact

This award celebrates a credit union that has demonstrated exceptional, measurable member impact through intentional actions, programs, or strategies that produce tangible benefits for members.

• Minnequa Works Credit Union (Colorado), for the "Fueling Futures" grant program. Fueling Futures gives small businesses and organizations across Southern Colorado early access to capital, and a credit union partner who believes in them. The program awarded $45,000 in grants to 20 local businesses and organizations over the past two years, with an additional $30,000 being awarded in 2026.
• Rivermark Community Credit Union (Oregon), for the Financial Wellness Capability Partners network. Recognizing that 42% of Oregon households are struggling to make ends meet, Rivermark goes beyond the traditional banking model by connecting families with resources to help pay utility bills, find housing, and fix food insecurity. The network has helped members to better manage more than $800,000 in debt from January to April 2026, and in 2025, 800 people started investing.
• Verity Credit Union (Washington), for hosting Community Cares events last November to help members and nonmembers navigate the financial impact of a government shutdown and reductions in federal benefits. Two hundred families participated. Attendees received $250 gift cards, financial check-ins, and connections to other helpful community resources.

Storytelling With Purpose

This new honor to the 2026 awards program celebrates a credit union, or collaboration of credit unions, for demonstrating leadership in storytelling and media engagement that raises awareness about the Credit Union Difference and highlights the distinct value of our cooperative model.

• P1FCU (Idaho), for its "Making Sense of Money" podcast. The platform rewrote the narrative on financial education by using the voices of real community members who told their stories and shared their financial journeys. Listeners and site visitors found relatable information about topics such as fraud prevention, meeting savings goals, and opening small businesses.
• Tucson Federal Credit Union (Arizona), for "Proudly Tucson." The paid and earned media content focused less on loan rates or other products, and more on the credit union's 90 years of commitment to and impact in the community. Paid media during the Super Bowl generated more than 1.2 million impressions. Local media extensively covered Tucson Federal's community giving, and leadership was often featured in national news stories this year.
• Westerra Credit Union (Colorado), for storytelling celebrating their history as a financial education credit union and the commitment that continues today. When the Colorado Legislature was considering a bill requiring high schools to teach financial education, Westerra demonstrated to lawmakers the impact of their longstanding in-school financial literacy workshops, and their school grant program. The campaign included coverage in Forbes and an article addressing concerns around the legislation that was ultimately published in 18 Colorado newspapers.

In addition to revealing which credit union or credit union group won in each of these categories at the Oct. 9 gathering, GoWest will announce the top advocacy credit unions across the six-state region. Four outstanding individuals will also be announced at the event, including the Young Professional, Distinguished Director, Summit Advocate, and Summit Icon.

For more information about MAXX, visit this webpage. 

About GoWest Credit Union Association

GoWest Credit Union Association is the trade association representing credit unions in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. GoWest advocates on behalf of nearly 300-member credit unions, and their 17.4 million consumer members.

Contact:

Madlynn Schreibvogel, Vice President, Public Relations

303.513.3765

[email protected]

SOURCE GoWest Credit Union Association