Our History
The organizational meeting of the Union Carbide Corporation Long Reach Employees Federal Credit Union was held on November 16, 1975. There were eighteen people present in addition to the seven Incorporators. The Incorporators were: E. Glenn Moore, Kay Starkey (Weltz), James L. McIntrye, Sr. Paul E. Snider, Ruth L. Wagner, Juanita M. Baker and Ralph E. Wilson. These men and women gave their own funds to make the first loans to members.
The credit union grew quickly over the next several years and in 1994 was able to open a new office building located along Route 2 at Union Carbide (currently known as Momentive Performance Materials) in Friendly, WV. The Middle Island Credit Union merged with Long Reach Credit Union and in January of 1998, an office was opened at 302 Main Street in Middlebourne. This allowed for full time services to be available to membership in the central and back sections of the county. The office moved to the lower end of town after the purchase of the Tyler County Senior Citizens Building on Route 18. This gave even more expansion, as the office was able to accommodate a drive thru, ATM (the first in Tyler County), and plenty of parking.
Another merger of the Pleasants County Teachers permitted an office to be open in St.Marys. This office was opened in September of 2000. After purchasing the former Mario's Pizza building on Route 2, the St.Marys office moved and was able to provide the membership with another ATM, drive thru, and parking. With the addition of these branches, in Middlebourne and St.Marys, along with four ATM's, Long Reach expanded membership throughout Tyler and Pleasants Counties.
In April of 2013, Long Reach Federal Credit Union expanded membership into Ritchie County and Doddridge County, in addition to Tyler County and Pleasants County. In March 2014, a new branch office opened in Ellenboro, WV. The Ellenboro Branch Office also provides the membership with an ATM, drive thru and parking and access to the Ritchie and Doddridge County markets.
Long Reach Federal Credit Union opened its new main headquarters on January 11, 2016 in Middlebourne, WV. The Friendly office now serves as a fully operational branch office that offers the same services as the other branch offices in St.Marys and Ellenboro. We have been growing in leaps and bounds. This new location has allowed us to combine all of our operations into a central headquarters as well as continue to serve the membership.
In December 2017, the Ellenboro Branch Office added an additional parking lot to help alleviate parking issues.
On July 9, 2018, an ATM was installed at the Tyler County Speedway.
On September 25, 2018, we opened a newly constructed St.Marys Branch Office. The newly designed and fully operational branch office has provided the membership increased parking spaces and better access to the drive thru and ATM.
The Board of Directors and staff are all dedicated to serving the membership and welcome all eligible members to visit any of our branches to see how your credit union can benefit you and your family.
| CREDIT UNIONS | BANKS |
|---|---|
| Not-for-profit cooperatives | Institutions run solely for profit |
| Return earnings to members through lower loan rates, higher savings rates, and free or low-cost services | Return profits to a small group of stockholders at the expense of their customers |
| Make loans to members only – this rewards the membership, and keeps capital in the community | Often make loans to strategically advantageous outside borrowers, including foreign countries and commercial enterprises |
| All members are owners – each person who deposits money has a share of the ownership | Customers have no right of ownership |
| Membership elects the board of directors | Customers have no voting privileges |
| Have a volunteer board of directors that serves for no compensation | Have a paid board of directors that serves for financial gain |
| Serve only those within their membership pool | Serve anyone in the general public |
| Service driven – we care about people and communities | Profit driven – primary focus is on building vast wealth |
| Believe honest competition benefits all consumers | Try to eliminate competition through legislative lobbying and lawsuits |
