A Road Trip Through Credit Union History Starts in Colorado

Posted by Alyse Knudsen on October 1, 2026

When GoWest members gather in Colorado for MAXX this year, they’ll be meeting in a state with a unique place in credit union history.

The story begins in 1934, when the United States was in the depths of the Great Depression. Credit unions had already been growing across the country, but they operated primarily under state laws. After years of advocacy from credit union pioneers Edward Filene and Roy Bergengren, Congress passed the Federal Credit Union Act, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law on June 26, 1934. The landmark law established a nationwide framework for federally chartered credit unions.

Just six weeks later, credit union leaders from across the country traveled to Estes Park, Colo., for a meeting that would help shape the Movement’s national future.

From Aug. 7–11, 1934, 52 credit union leaders, organizers and state league representatives gathered at a YMCA camp in Estes Park. Their goal was to create a national organization that could unite credit unions, promote the cooperative movement and provide support to the growing number of credit unions forming across the country.

Why Estes Park? The setting was intentional. The mountain surroundings provided a place where delegates could step away from their differences and focus on their shared purpose. The YMCA camp also offered an affordable setting for people working to build the credit union movement.

On Aug. 10, the delegates signed the Constitution and Bylaws of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), creating the national federation that would represent and support credit unions across the country.

Today, Estes Park stands as an important stop on the road that shaped the modern Credit Union Movement — and it’s especially fitting that Colorado will be the setting for this year’s MAXX.

As MAXX explores the people, places, and moments that shaped the Credit Union Movement, Estes Park and the 52 leaders who gathered there in 1934 will be celebrated for their vision of a strong national movement that helped lay the foundation for the cooperative community that credit unions continue to build together today.

Posted in MAXX.