I am honored to take up the reins as CUNA chairman from Rod Staatz this week. Rod led the board, and Susan Streifel before him, through one of the most consequential periods in CUNA's history. With their leadership, we modernized our membership structure, re-examined our purpose, worked tirelessly to identify how best to meet the rapidly changing needs of the credit unions we serve while continuing to deliver even bolder and more interdependent advocacy.

I also have the privilege of leading the Iowa Credit Union League. The Iowa League and CUNA work closely to support the more than one million credit union members in my state. In Iowa, more than 3,200 credit union employees work hard every day to deliver more than $100 million in direct annual savings to members compared with what they would have had to pay at a bank. That's real money!

I'm also proud of the track record of success we've built working with other leagues and CUNA to advance the best interests of credit unions across the country. The CUNA/League system is unmatched. In fact, research conducted by the National Journal named the CUNA/League system the number one financial trade association studied in terms of advocacy influence. Together, we get things done.