Chatham Employees’ Credit Association’s (CECA) Board of Directors have unanimously voted to merge operations into Winston-Salem based Members Credit Union. The move dramatically expands service offerings to CECA members, while expanding the credit union’s field of membership to anyone who lives, works, worships, or goes to school in Surry, Wilkes, or Yadkin County.

“Members Credit Union thrives in small communities that value friendly, local service, better rates, and fewer fees,” comments Jack V. Braswell, Jr., President/CEO. “This merger allows the entire Yadkin Valley to experience the credit union difference first-hand.”

CECA was chartered in 1941 to serve Chatham Manufacturing Company employees, retirees, and their families. The not-for-profit financial cooperative grew to over $6.1 million in assets, serving nearly 800 members. As Members Credit Union, the financial institution will serve over 52,000 members and nearly 500 employer groups with twenty full-service branches.

Members will notice some familiar faces when the credit union’s Elkin branch opens at 827 North Bridge Street on July 1. CECA Manager Saborah Robinson will become Branch Manager at Members Credit Union’s new Elkin office, while Brenda Oliver will serve as teller. CECA Chairman Nelson Lowe will join Members Credit Union’s Board of Directors.

“We were looking for a merger partner that would expand services to our members, while maintaining our credit union’s personal touch,” says Robinson. “Although Members Credit Union is much bigger, they have managed to hold true to the credit union philosophy of ‘people helping people’.”

The $225 million Members Credit Union was chartered in 1953 to serve employees of McLean Trucking Company. Though headquartered in Winston-Salem, the credit union has blossomed in small, North Carolina manufacturing cities from Morganton and Lenoir in the West, to Hope Mills and Clinton in the East. As one of the first financial institutions in the state to offer free checking accounts, online banking, online bill-pay, and large scale social media initiatives, the credit union has stayed at the forefront of innovation and technology, while nurturing its members-first mentality.

The official merger date will be June 30, 2009, with a Grand Opening celebration, complete with free food, beverages, and children’s activities to take place on Saturday, July 18, from 10:00 AM -2:00 PM. The official ribbon-cutting event will be held on Monday, July 20, at 11:00 AM.

About Members Credit Union
Members Credit Union has been providing personal financial services to our 51,000 members since 1953. The credit union is a full-service, not-for-profit financial institution providing more than 480 companies with financial services for their employees with administrative offices in Winston-Salem, NC, and 20 branches throughout North Carolina.