Our History

Banking on Purpose since 1934

We’ve got history. Keep scrolling to see how it all began.

Short attention span? Here's the TL;DR

In 1934, a group of eight telephone employees founded Atlanta Telco Credit Union with just $160 and a goal of people helping people. Fast forward 90 years, Georgia’s Own is now the third largest credit union in Georgia with $4.3 billion in assets, serving members all over the state.

1934

Atlanta Telco Credit Union opened its doors on December 6th with an initial investment of $160 from eight telephone employees.

1940

After only six years, Atlanta Telco grew to serve 2,200 members.

1944

Atlanta Telco was renamed Georgia Telco Credit Union and expanded services to telephone employees throughout the state of Georgia.

1949

We celebrated 15 years of service by hitting $1 million in assets.

1976

Our first branch location was opened at 125 Perimeter Center in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs.

1977

Eloise Woods, our President and CEO at the time, was appointed as Chairperson of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) by President Jimmy Carter.

1980

The 80s was a big decade for us (and our hair). Not only did we reach $100 million in assets, but we evolved from a basic savings-and-loan institution to a full-service financial institution and added 10 new branch locations.

1984

We celebrated our 50th anniversary and began offering checking accounts, CDs, IRAs, home equity loans, and credit cards.

1987

We added two new locations in Savannah after merging with Savannah-Chatham Federal Credit Union.

1992

We began offering mortgage loans.

1999

Charlotte Ayers was named President and CEO, following Eloise Wood’s retirement after 52 years of service.

2000

While everyone else was worrying about Y2K, we were busy opening our first branch in Augusta and began lending 24/7.

2003

We added bill pay and eStatements and started offering wealth management through Georgia’s Own Investment & Retirement Services.

2005

Our asset size grew to $1 billion. And, due to a change in state law, we were able to expand our membership to 12 counties in Georgia and 400+ Premier Partner companies.

2007

New name, who dis? We changed our name from Georgia Telco Credit Union to Georgia’s Own Credit Union to better reflect the members we serve.

2010

Dave Preter stepped into the role of President and CEO after Charlotte Ayers retired.

2014

We celebrated another milestone by planting 80 trees along the Atlanta Beltline in honor of our 80th anniversary.

2017

We went back to our roots and moved our headquarters to 100 Peachtree in Downtown Atlanta.

2019

We completed 85 Acts of Kindness throughout the year in honor of our 85th anniversary. The Georgia’s Own Sign was unveiled atop our headquarters at 100 Peachtree.

2020

The pandemic couldn’t keep us down. We welcomed new members and teammates from Southwest Georgia through mergers with DOCO Credit Union and Three Rivers Credit Union, and added 10 branches.

2022

We added 6 branch locations in Southeast Georgia through our merger with United 1st Credit Union. We also enhanced our suite of business products and services following the acquisition of Vinings Bank.

2023

We surpassed $4 billion in assets and grew our presence in Augusta with the merger of Health Center Credit Union.

2024

Three cheers for 90 years! We’re celebrating all year long with Georgia’s Own 90—it’s our way of saying thanks to those who have helped us get to where we are today.