It is with deep gratitude, profound respect, and much excitement that the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues joins colleagues nationwide in honoring the celebration of Bob Arnould, who received the 2022 Eugene H. Farley League Leadership Award this past weekend from the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL) in Washington, D.C.!

Bob — who is senior vice president of advocacy for the Leagues — was awarded for his demonstration of visionary leadership at the state and national levels over 27 years on behalf of credit unions in both states, as well as the Credit Union National Association (CUNA)-League System. You can view a video of Bob receiving the award (and his comments) here.

“We congratulate Bob for the amazing work he has accomplished after being asked to join our Leagues so many years ago and help transform us into what we are today,” said Diana Dykstra, President and CEO of the Leagues. “The Leagues and our credit unions would not be where we stand in 2022 if it wasn’t for Bob Arnould. Rarely has there been a leader with such humility who recognizes that all great leaders give away their credit to allow others to rise.”

Bob has been serving California and Nevada credit unions at the Leagues since 1995. He has been instrumental in building a political advocacy program based on leveraging what he says are “really good high quality and hard-working people” working within the movement.

“When people like that get together and plan accordingly, good things happen,” Bob said after receiving the award. “Brick by brick, we gradually built a program that I think anyone in the country would be proud to be a part of. We went from a very small PAC to a significantly large PAC, and from being involved with small legislation to major bills such as consumer privacy, repealing taxes on credit unions, and a host of other issues. We did it the good old-fashion way — one step at a time, lots of sweat equity, lots of hard work, and through lots of good people at the Leagues and in credit unions who made it all happen.”

Bob received “a jolt in many different ways” when he made the jump from Iowa to California to join the Leagues. He had served as Speaker of the Iowa State Assembly, as well as earned his stripes as legislative committee chair, ranking party leader, and a campaign consultant and manager who worked with presidential caucuses in state and federal campaigns.

When he joined the Leagues, he dove head-first into the credit union movement as he pivoted from the Midwest to the West Coast (having a few years under his belt with credit unions in Iowa). He worked hard to build an advocacy program in California and Nevada that successfully flipped the political operating environment for credit unions — one today that is much more friendly to the movement. He is responsible for hiring and training an advocacy team that’s become a formidable force in two state capitols. Legislators now consider a “credit union carve-out” when drafting new bills and where credit unions are no longer an afterthought.

Bob’s resolve from the very beginning was to raise the Leagues’ influence and engagement to new heights at the state and federal levels.

Nonetheless, he applauds the “great chairs” the Leagues have had on their respective boards for many decades, noting they have been tremendously involved in everything the Leagues have accomplished in advocacy for credit unions.

“None of it was possible without credit union leaders, staff, and volunteers being committed and on board,” he said. “We’ve been able to accomplish a lot, but only because we’ve done it all together. Thank you all very much.”

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