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Word of the Year
Happy New Year, Montana Credit Unions and friends. I trust you all enjoyed the holidays with family and friends, as well as some downtime. I know I did! For several years, I have chosen a word of the year as I head into the new year.
After a lot of reflection and anticipation, I have chosen the word, Together. You’ve heard and seen me use this word often as I talk about our great, collaborative work to support the financial needs of Montanans across the state. I end my emails with “Cooperatively, Gerry,” and I fully embrace working together and connecting people as core values.
So, it only seems appropriate that my word in 2026 is Together. This year, I hope to deepen our connections, foster increased collaboration, and “learn into” ways we can innovate to bring value to our credit unions. With our three pillars — advocacy, education, and collaboration — as our backbone, our team has big plans for 2026, as you’ll see throughout this report and ones to come.
We are also releasing our 2025 Impact Report soon, so that you can see the different ways we supported and served you last year. From our 2025 impact, we will build on our momentum — together.
The work you all do is powerful work, necessary work, and difference-making work. There’s an urgency to this word, together, as our members face uncertainties and challenges they know and ones they don’t yet know. Our credit unions face challenges in fraud, staffing (hiring and retaining), development, systems, and a myriad of other issues. The good news is that together we can face these challenges while creating new solutions in collaborative ways.
Nigerian poet Philip Abayomi Olorunfemi captures the essence of “together” well in his poem, The Circle of Friends. I was struck by the struggles and urgent needs of our families as well as the power of facing them together instead of alone. We need one another now more than ever. Let’s charge into 2026 together.
The Circle of Friends
A mother stood in her fragile home,
her children laughing in the quiet room.
But a serpent of trouble, silent and sly,
slithered near with a hungry eye.
She fought with courage, heart aflame,
but alone, her strength could not tame
the coils of fear, the tightening breath
she stood at the doorway of certain death.
Then, footsteps thundered, voices rang,
her friends appeared, a faithful band.
They struck the serpent, tore its pride,
lifted her burden and turned the tide.
Together they cast the darkness away,
together they saved the light of her day.
A truth was spoken in that fierce hour:
no soul survives on strength alone,
we live because of a greater power
the hands that hold when hope has flown.
So cherish your circle, keep it warm,
a bond of shelter through every storm.
Be the one who answers the call,
who lifts a friend when shadows fall.
For life is woven, thread by thread,
by those who walk with us, not ahead.
And when the serpent of sorrow appears,
it is friendship’s wings that calm our fears.
Be true, be near, be kind, be known
no heart should ever stand alone
Enjoy your week!
Cooperatively (and Together), Gerry
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