With a positive membership vote and board affirmation of the merger between the Credit Union Association of Oregon and the Washington Credit Union League, the newly created Northwest Credit Union Association is set to begin operations on Jan. 1, 2011.

“It’s been a very exciting, very busy few months preparing for the vote, and moving forward as a regional organization,” says Washington Credit Union League Chairman Debra Keesee, president/CEO of Spokane (Wash.) Media Federal Credit Union. “It’s gratifying to know that our efforts will benefit credit unions for decades to come.”

“Both boards acknowledged that our memberships would be listening very carefully,” says Oregon Credit Union Association Chairman Gene Pelham, president/CEO of Rogue Federal Credit Union, Medford, Ore. “We made the case to our credit unions and they responded. Now it is time to move forward into our next chapter.”

The first step in moving forward for the Northwest Credit Union Association is introducing its new brand identity to the credit union community.

In the works for months, the three-color logo is credit union-centric and pays homage to the association’s northwest roots.