Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the “Progress 2014” section of North Country This Week.

SeaComm celebrated its 50th year of operation in 2013 by hosting an anniversary party at its headquarters in June.

With over 3,000 members in attendance, a ceremony was held at the beginning of the event to remember those early days at the Chevrolet plant, when the credit union was operated out of a toolbox.

It was during that ceremony that Gary Fuller, Secretary of the Board of Directors, was recognized for his five decades of volunteer contribution to the credit union and a tree was planted in his honor at the 30 Stearns Street location.

“The roots will serve as a constant reminder to all of us, for many years to come about this cooperative’s foundation and specifically for Gary’s fifty years of board leadership,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Scott A. Wilson. “This reminder will help to solidify for us what we know is the key to our success; never forgetting our roots by continuing to fulfill our unwavering mission of taking care of our members by doing the right thing for them every single day,” he added.

Being selected as a Best Companies to Work for in New York State for a third year in a row, SeaComm placed #9 out of the top 25 who were ranked. Their financial strength was also recognized and again given a top rating by Weiss Ratings, the nation’s leading independent provider of ratings and analysis of more than 19,000 financial institutions including banks, credit unions, life and annuity insurers and property and casualty insurers.

SeaComm was given four excellent quarterly ratings, with an upgrade in the final two quarters of an A- to A. According to Weiss, SeaComm is in the top 6 percent of credit unions nationwide in terms of financial strength.

Recently SeaComm Board of Directors, along with its President and Chief Executive Officer, announced plans to consolidate its Massena retail operations, expand its headquarters and break ground on a new building for the Malone branch.

“Our membership has grown more than 20 percent over the past six years; however the number of transactions at our teller line has decreased,” said Chief Executive Officer Scott Wilson.

“Due mainly to technology and members using direct deposit or other electronic channels offered, such as NetTellerTM, Mobile App, ATMs, and soon to be added Mobile Deposit Capture, the merging of our Massena locations will allow us to be more efficient; whereby we can put those resources back into additional products and services, at no cost to the membership.”

The Massena consolidation and expansion will begin early 2014 with a conclusion date of mid-2015, and the Malone groundbreaking will commence in early 2016.

Being able to understand and support a community is accomplished by being a part of it. SeaComm puts this into practice every day. As a trusted member of the communities that it serves, SeaComm displays community investment through local charity fundraising, sponsorships, college-bound student scholarships and staff involvement. SeaComm’s fundraising committee spearheaded efforts to raise funds for Relay for Life in St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, giving in excess of $6,000, as well as having staff representation in both events.

Beyond this, the credit union in 2013 committed more than $150,000 to local charities, schools, fire departments and youth related activities.

As they move into 2014, SeaComm will continue to be the financial institution of choice for more than 40,500 members. They pledge to always look for value-added membership options in products and services to enrich and make members financial lives easier. In the early part of the first quarter a new and exciting platform will be launched called remote deposit capture. This will enable a member to deposit a check via a smart phone.

By taking a photo of the front and back of the check through this mobile platform, a member will no longer have to travel to a branch location or use an ATM to make that particular type of deposit. It will be simple and convenient. Watch the SeaComm website and social media channels to learn more details on the product launch date.

SeaComm Federal Credit Union is a member owned financial cooperative based in Massena with assets of almost $500 million. The credit union has branches in Massena, Potsdam, Malone, Canton and Ogdensburg. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or does business in St. Lawrence or Northern Franklin County.

For additional information, call 1-800-764-0566.