Virginia Credit Union’s Glenda Mooney Celebrates 50-Year Career, Coming Retirement

Saying goodbye to her Virginia Credit Union family will be difficult, but after 50 years of service to the credit union, Glenda Mooney says she’s ready for retirement. She holds the distinction of being the credit union’s only employee to ever reach 50 or more years of service.

“We take pride in the fact that so many of our employees have long, successful careers at Virginia Credit Union, but 50 years is a special milestone,” says Virginia Credit Union President/CEO Chris Shockley. “For VACU and for most U.S. credit unions, it wasn’t until the 1970s that we began to see real growth in membership and services, so Glenda is a direct connection to that pivotal point in our history. More importantly, she exemplifies our organization’s values around teamwork, integrity and respect for one another. As she readies for retirement, Glenda leaves behind a team grateful for her service, her contributions and her friendship.”

As a 17-year-old high school student and the youngest member of a 10-person staff, Mooney started as a part-time teller in 1974. She has been witness during her 50-year career to an incredible evolution within the credit union itself and a sea change for the financial services industry.

“No job posting, no job application,” says Mooney, whose hiring was the result of an old-fashioned word-of-mouth introduction from a family member and a one-on-one interview with the credit union’s legendary first president, the late-Dot Hall. “I was a little country girl from Black Creek (Mechanicsville) and knew nothing about downtown Richmond,” which was the site of the credit union’s headquarters and sole location, “but I made it work!"

Mooney has spent most of her career in VACU’s accounting department.

“I love working with numbers and doing settlements – anything that has to do with reconciling the general ledger. I really like trying to find errors and solving those problems," she says.

“Glenda has spent her entire career serving this credit union and our members. She’s been a friend and valued co-worker to countless fellow employees during the past five decades and it’s impossible to calculate the lives she’s touched or the fellow staff members she’s mentored and trained over the years,” says Virginia Credit Union Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer Stephanie Vick. “Her credit union family will miss her, but we wish Glenda all the best as she enters this new and exciting phase of her life.”

During the past five decades, she’s seen the credit union transform from a single branch operation offering basic savings and loans into a $5 billion-plus, full-service financial institution with a service footprint that stretches across a significant swath of the commonwealth.

“Most members brought us cash to deposit or make loan payments,” Mooney says of her early years with the credit union. “Most loans were on payroll deduction and almost anyone could get a loan because we used their state retirement as collateral. All withdrawal and loan checks were manually typed and personally signed by Ms. Hall.”

“There was so much that changed over the years, but I think automation may have had the biggest impact,” says Mooney. “As better computers came along, we were able to do so much more for members and so much faster.“

A 50-year career with Virginia Credit Union wasn’t the initial plan, Mooney notes, thinking she would work a few years, get married and raise her children. All that happened, but when she became a single mom, working to raise two sons, she needed the financial stability the credit union offered. Now, she’s looking forward to time with family, including a one-year-old great granddaughter, and relaxation.

“I’m proud to have spent 50 years with the credit union, and in some ways, I continued to choose Virginia Credit Union as my employer because they continued to choose me,” says Mooney. “Virginia Credit Union has been so good to me.”

A financial cooperative serving more than 320,000 members, Virginia Credit Union offers a variety of affordable banking services, loans, mortgages, and free financial education resources, with a focus on helping people be more confident with their finances. Virginia Credit Union is an equal housing opportunity lender and is federally insured by NCUA.