Our History
In the fall of 1938, President John Manuel Gandy requested the establishment of a Federal Credit Union at the Virginia State College, from Superintendent Sidney B. Hall, of the Department of Public Instruction. At a staff meeting on October 19, 1938, President Gandy announced that authority had been granted to proceed to establish the credit union. On January 23, 1939, an organizational meeting was held presided by President Gandy. It was stated that the organization would be known as the Virginia State College Federal Credit Union and would be composed of teachers and employees of Virginia State College.
It was agreed at that meeting that an Annual Meeting of the total membership should be held on the 3rd Tuesday in January each year and that the Board of Directors meeting would convene once a month. At that meeting the following members were elected by the body to serve as members of the Board of Directors: President John M. Gandy, Dean James H. Johnston, John M. Hunter, George G. Singleton, and James B. Cephas.
Year after year, the credit union services were, indeed, meeting the financial needs of the Virginia State College, Petersburg, VA and Chesterfield County employees. As the first decade of our credit union approached, it was evident that a substantial dividend would be paid at the end of 1947.
The second decade was truly a decade of expansion. At the close of this period, the Board of Directors expressed deep gratitude for the loyal support of the college community and voiced the hope that the future would hold even greater possibilities for credit union growth as it sought to fulfill its mission of service to the Virginia State College family.
Great was the phenomenal decade (1968-1978) of this credit union. Strong, perceptive leaders during this era were John L. Lockett, Reuben R. McDaniel and Thomas C. Bridge. These presidents steered the union ship — a ship on rough waters, impacted by stock market fluctuations, assignations, unemployment and unparalleled prosperity.
Our credit union responded by developing sound fiscal policies and auditing procedures. Financial statements reveal phenomenal growth. We reached over the million mark from six figures to seven figures. On May 22, 1979, the Board of Directors voted to accept in the charter to have the name of this credit union to be Virginia State University Federal Credit Union. This was approved by the National Credit Union Administration on August 30, 1979.
The credit union continued to grow and expand its services. Share draft accounts were introduced in the early part of 1980. Following that, the field of membership was opened to students and alumni in 1987. As time progressed, other services were gradually added, such as IRA accounts, Christmas savings accounts, Certificates of Deposit and other loan services.
In 1994, the credit union moved in its new building and now provides most services offered by other financial institutions. Extension to the building was done in 2007. We are very proud of our credit union that still continues to survive the financial turmoils and economic situations that are facing the entire world. Together we have been able to weather many storms and have discovered that together we can stand but divided our accomplishments are not achieved. We look forward to continuing to progress in a positive manner for the financial development of Virginia State University Federal Credit Union