Yesterday marked the end of an era for someone who has witnessed almost every major milestone of the credit union movement for the past 35 years. Yesterday was Kathy Thompson's last day at CUNA. Her title of senior vice president of compliance and legislative analysis does not do her justice – Kathy has been at the center of every credit union legal issue over those 35 years and she has the memory to recall the details of each rule, regulation and legislative fight.

She is one of the hardest-working and most honorable persons in the movement and she will be missed. Her legal ability allowed her to hone in on the key issues and to keep the issue on-point. And she was an amazing resource when it came to institutional memory. There are fewer and fewer credit union professionals who have a real understanding of the history of the credit union movement and Kathy is one of them. If you are looking for the background on an issue, there aren't many like Kathy – only a few others have this historical perspective, and include Carroll Beach, Gary Wolter, Dan Egan, Pete Crear, Bill Donovan, Bucky Sebastian, Bill Eckhardt, Dave Chatfield, Dick Ensweiler and of course, Larry Blanchard.

I was fortunate to work with Kathy during my time at CUNA. She was always my “go-to” person when it came to regulatory issues. Her knowledge and the opportunity to tap that knowledge made me a smarter and more efficient worker. Congratulations on your retirement!