SEFCU history

On October 18, 1935, the credit union's first charter was approved.

SECU began operations in October 1951 in a niche in the hallway of the Miller Building in downtown Baltimore.

In January 1952, SECU made its first loan - for $180.

Thanks to the enthusiastic response by state employees, membership and services grew, and SECU was able to open its first official office in Spring 1953.

Chartered in Cheyenne in January 1954, a small office opened two months later in the State Board of Charities and Reform.

Known then as Wyoming Employees Federal Credit Union, it hired its first full-time employee in 1958.

Servicing the ever-growing membership required SECU to expand office space and in June 1959, SECU moved to the newly constructed State Office Building at 301 West Preston Street.

More than 5,000 members were being served and assets totaled $2.4 million by the end of 1965.

In 1975, SECU again moved its Baltimore office to the location it now occupies in the O'Connor State Office Building.

After spending a year working out of a garage facility behind the Wyoming Travel Commission, the current property at 2223 Warren Avenue in downtown Cheyenne was purchased in 1977.

In 1979, SECU proudly enrolled its 50,000th member.

Membership and branch locations continued to increase, and in 1980, SECU moved into its newly constructed headquarters in Towson.

LGFCU received a federal charter on March 24, 1983.

The website came online in 1996, offering 24-hour loan applications.

Online banking and bill payer were introduced in 1997.

At the end of 1999, 125,000 members were being served and assets totaled $629 million.

Jane Watkins, VACU's senior vice president and chief financial officer, became president and CEO on January 1, 2000.

Assets surpassed $1 billion in 2002.

Assets surpassed $2 billion in 2010 and the number of members being served exceeded 200,000.

Meridian Trust began opening more branches across the state, including in Lander, Jackson and Rawlins, and its first branch outside the Wyoming border, into Scottsbluff, Nebraska in 2013.

More than 12,000 young people and adults participated in VACU's financial education programs in 2014.