From BECU to Ironworkers USA Credit Union, 2025 Honorees Set the Standard — 2026 Wegner Award Nominations Now Open

Posted by Alyse Knudsen on June 4, 2025

Debbie Wege at the 2025 National Credit Union Foundation Dinner

Nominations for the 2026 Herb Wegner Memorial Awards are open through June 30. These prestigious awards were established to honor the memory of Herb Wegner, a visionary leader who served as President and CEO of CUNA in the 1970s — who is noted for seeing the Credit Union Movement not as it was but how it could be.

In 2025, two credit union leaders from the GoWest region were honored with Wegner awards: Debbie Wege from BECU and Teri Robinson from Ironworkers USA Credit Union.

As the Cooperative Community Advocate for BECU, Wege has long been a trailblazer leading change, driving inclusion inside and outside her organization, and evangelizing credit unions. “I think the two most important elements that make the Credit Union Movement so special is the fact that we’re founded on meaningful cooperative principles and values that ground and guide us and that grounding sets us up to operate from a place of empathy for people where there’s a belief in what’s possible,” she said.

Check out Wege’s award video HERE.

When Robinson, Ironworkers USA Credit Union‘s President and CEO, arrived at the credit union 15 years ago, its future looked bleak, but she and her team turned things around. Today, the credit union is one of the nation’s fastest-growing; membership has tripled from 5,500 to over 15,500, and assets have skyrocketed from $7.5 million to $126 million. “We are truly making a difference every day in uplifting ironworkers who may not have opportunities in the traditional banking environment,” said Robinson.

Check out Robinson’s award video HERE.

The National Credit Union Foundation presents the awards at its annual Foundation Dinner held during America’s Credit Unions’ Governmental Affairs Conference in March in Washington, D.C.

GoWest Awards Dinner & Gala

Before the Herb Wegner Memorial Awards are announced in March 2026, the credit union industry will be watching for the winners of the 2025 GoWest Awards presented in October at MAXX in Portland.

Teri Robinson won the Summit Icon award at the GoWest Awards 2024

This year’s GoWest Awards nominations are some of the best yet. Nominations were accepted through May 30, and the awards committee has begun evaluating nominees in the eight award categories. Finalists will be announced later this summer.

Be sure to register for MAXX 2025 and the GoWest Awards Dinner & Gala so you can join us to celebrate the professionals, volunteers, and credit unions that have made outstanding contributions to the development and growth of the credit union industry!

Posted in Leadership, MAXX, Top Headlines.