History of the Credit Union

The early years

1937, Harold Madigan introduced the idea of starting a Federal Credit Union during a Departmental Council Meeting of the Rochester Telephone Corporation. View the original letter
Founded in 1941 as Rochester Telephone Federal Credit Union
1957, we moved into our first headquarters on the 11th floor of the Sibley building in downtown Rochester

1980 – 1989

1983, The Summit name is born following a contest among members to submit a name for the credit union, and our Seneca Falls branch is opened in an old house next to Goulds Pumps
1984, we introduced ATMs to our members
1988, we opened our Waring Road branch

1990 – 1999

1993, the Waring Road branch was relocated to the Hudson Plaza in Irondequoit
1995, we moved the location of our Seneca Falls branch to its current location on Fall St. and opened an East Rochester branch
1996, we moved into our new corporate headquarters in Greece with a branch on the ground floor and dedicated the building to John Bryson, our long-serving President and CEO
1999, we merged with Seneca Ordinance Depot (SOD) Federal Credit Union and opened the Blue Cross Blue Shield satellite branch in downtown Rochester

2000 – 2009

2000, we opened our Henrietta branch in front of Southtown Plaza on Jefferson Road
April, 2000, we launched Online Access and Online Bill Payment
2003, we merged the Buffalo Telephone Employees Federal Credit Union into The Summit adding just over 5,000 members and one branch in downtown Buffalo
2005, we merged the Hilton Federal Credit Union into The Summit bringing just over 1,500 members and one branch location into the credit union
2005, we moved the East Rochester branch to Penfield Road in Penfield
2006, we opened a new Hilton branch and moved the City of Buffalo branch to Clarence
2006, we also merged the Brighton School Employees Federal Credit Union into our credit union adding over 400 members and one branch location
July, 2006, we opened our new Brighton branch in the Tops-Brighton Plaza, now the Shoppes at Lac De Ville
2007, we introduced Shared Branching (Co-Op Shared Branch)
2007, we merged First Link Federal Credit Union into The Summit adding over 1,200 members and opened our 2nd Buffalo branch on Delaware Ave. near Hertel
2009, we merged Kenton Federal Credit Union into our credit union bringing over 3,000 new members into the Summit family along with one branch location on Sheridan Drive in Tonawanda
2009, we moved the Irondequoit branch in the Wegmans Plaza to its current location right on Hudson Ave. near Titus Ave. in the same plaza and moved the Brighton branch to Monroe Ave. near the 12 Corners

2010 – 2019

January, 2010, The Syracuse Federal Credit Union merged into The Summit adding over 22,000 members and 7 branches in Syracuse and Cortland
March, 2011, we opened our Main/Winton branch in the city of Rochester
May, 2011, we merged Frontier Federal Credit Union into The Summit adding over 500 new members into the Summit family
August, 2011, we opened a branch on the SUNY Cortland campus in Neubig Hall, plus 3 on-campus ATMs
October, 2011, we launched Mobile Banking
November, 2012, we launched Health Savings Accounts
June, 2013, we opened our Perinton branch located at 665 Moseley Rd. Fairport, NY 14450
February, 2014, we launched Mobile Check Deposit and Mobile Apps for Tablets
November 3, 2014, we launched The Summit Retirement & Investment Services
December 15, 2014, we launched Popmoney
October, 2015, we added Apple Pay
January 9, 2015, we launched Design Your Own Card for our Visa® Credit Cards
January, 2016, we opened our Henrietta Branch located at 2087 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14623
June, 2016, we opened our Camillus Branch located at 130 Township Boulevard, Camillus, NY 13031
July, 2017, we opened our Taft Road Branch located at 5201 West Taft Road, Syracuse, NY 13212
November, 2017, we opened our Cortland Branch located at 877 Route 13, Cortland, NY 13045
2019, The Summit Blog debuts

2020 – Today

2020, we reached $1 billion in assets
2020, Laurie Baker became The Summit’s first female President and CEO
2020, we were named to Forbes list of 100 Best In-State Credit Unions Nationwide
2021, we won several “Top Workplaces” honors nationally and locally
January, 2021, we added Google and Samsung Pay
May, 2021, we introduced Digital Edge and Digital Freedom Spend Accounts
July, 2021, we launched our Virtual Branch
May, 2022, we were named a “Best-in-Class” employer by Gallagher, a winner of the Rochester Metro Area “Top Workplaces 2022” award by the Democrat & Chronicle and a winner of three Member XP “Best of the Best” awards
May, 2022, we partnered with CU Student Choice to offer student loan and student loan refinancing options
June, 2022, former President and CEO, Mike Vadala was named to the Credit Union House Hall of Leaders; and Cody Seward, former Virtual Branch Manager, and currently Operations Manager for the Member Service Center, was named Young Professional of the Year at the NYCUA Annual Meeting and Convention
September, 2022, we launched RoundUp Savings account
October, 2022, we launched the Visa® Secured Credit Card, offering members a way to establish, rebuild, or boost credit
2023, our President and CEO, Laurie Baker, was named to the Rochester Business Journal’s “Power 30” for Banking and Finance
2024, we were named in the “Top 3 Credit Unions” by the RBJ, and a “Best Credit Union” finalist by Best of the Finger Lakes
2024, our President and CEO, Laurie Baker, was named to the Rochester Business Journal’s “Power 30” for Banking and Finance
2024, we launched EarlyPay, offering members with direct deposit into a checking account the convenience of having their paychecks available up to one day earlier than their regular payday
2025, our President and CEO, Laurie Baker, named to the Rochester Business Journal’s “Power 30” for Banking and Finance
2026, we began building a new branch in Greece, adjacent to its corporate headquarters
2026, we were recognized as one of America’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions for 2026 by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group

History Book

Our almost 80-year legacy is a long and storied one touching thousands of families, friends and neighbors along the way. The credit union remains strong and continues to thrive today operating by the same principles that were first established by our founders in 1941: to help members improve their lives.

See the story of our credit union in pictures and words.

DOWNLOAD BOOK

Enjoy!