BECU Advocates for Members at National Conference
The financial well-being of BECU members, employees and communities was central to the credit union's participation at the 2025 Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C.
More than 6,000 credit union professionals convened at the U.S. capital in March for the 2025 Governmental Affairs Conference — the largest credit union advocacy event of the year.
For BECU, that meant a small contingent of employees engaging fellow industry experts with an aim to influence policy and drive change for our members and communities.
The conference's theme, "Together We Move — Moving with purpose. Moving with passion. Moving with strength," came to life during a week full of meaningful activity, plus some well-deserved celebration.
The Credit Union Difference
Each year, the Governmental Affairs Conference is an opportunity for credit unions to engage with lawmakers, highlighting how credit unions deliver on their commitment to financial well-being.
Credit unions are member-owned, not-for-profit institutions, which means they don't have profit-driven shareholders to report to. That translates to benefits for members, increased financial access and education, as well as a focus on community development.
In 2024, BECU returned more than $490 million to its more than 1.5 million members through low lending rates, high deposit rates and few fees compared with banks, on average. BECU also committed $9.2 million to nonprofit partners to support community resiliency and served more than 15,000 people through financial health programs.
Ensuring legislators have direct knowledge of the benefits of credit unions is an important step to helping preserve the role credit unions play as a personal finance option for consumers.
"The Governmental Affairs Conference presents credit unions with the unique and valuable opportunity to advocate for important public policies at the federal level," said Alison Phelan, BECU's Vice President of Government Relations. "One of our primary goals is to keep the credit union difference intact to ensure we're returning more benefits to the members and communities we serve."
"Crash the GAC"
This year's event also marked the 25th anniversary of its "Crash the GAC" program, which connects emerging leaders from credit unions with industry leaders, deepening their commitment to the movement.
BECU Philanthropy Program Manager Rafael Saucedo was one of 55 GAC crashers, capturing highlights from his journey on BECU's Instagram.
As the credit union's crasher, Saucedo was able to immerse himself in the advocacy work, joining other BECU employees and credit union delegates as they met with senators and representatives.
"The most memorable part of this experience was witnessing our cooperative principles in action," Saucedo said. "Despite differences in asset size or membership base, experiencing so many credit unions coming together to advocate for the overall credit union movement and its members further ignited my passion for joining this movement."
At its core, Crash the GAC is about planning for the future, aiming to uplift the credit union decision-makers of tomorrow. Saucedo called that his "biggest takeaway" from the 2025 conference.
"I often hear about how our industry is aging in terms of employees and membership, which leads to discussions on how to maintain relevance among incoming generations of consumers," Saucedo said. "Participating in this program helped put into perspective that the future of credit unions is now, and it stressed how critical it is to build emerging leaders who at some point will be replacing the leaders of today."
Deborah A. Wege: Herb Wegner Memorial Award Recipient
Between the hill hikes and keynote speakers, there was also time for a bit of fun at the conference, including well-deserved recognition for one of BECU's longtime employees.
Deborah A. Wege, BECU's Cooperative Community Advocate, was named one of three recipients of the Herb Wegner Memorial Award, the credit union movement's highest national honor.
"Her passion for the credit union movement has always been there," said retired BECU Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Tom Berquist, who worked with Wege for more than 29 years. "The way she thinks about problems and opportunities is always through a cooperative lens and putting members and community first."
Wege, who celebrated 35 years at BECU in February, is responsible for launching key BECU initiatives such as employee volunteer programs, community giving strategies and Purpose Workshops.
"Honestly, I think my purpose is to help other people find their purpose," Wege said. "I just believe in the potential of people.
"To be thought of as somebody who can inspire what other people do, I don't know that you can ask for anything more than that."
The Advocacy Work Continues
Beyond this year's conference, BECU's government relations team will continue its work to advocate for public policies that better serve credit union members and communities.
"Credit union advocacy is important not only at the federal level, but at local and state levels as well," Phelan said.
The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized financial, tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek the assistance of a professional who knows your particular situation when making financial, legal, tax, investment, or any other business and professional decisions that affect you and/or your business.
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