MOSES LAKE — The excitement for the opening of Granco Federal Credit Union’s (GFCU) Moses Lake branch was not shared only by the store’s employees.

Granco CEO/Manager Roger Johnson said three potential customers were waiting outside the store Monday morning before the branch held its grand opening ceremony at 10 a.m. hoping to get signed up as members.

Johnson said he asked the enthusiastic Granco prospectors to come back after the ribbon-cutting, which drew a crowd of about 20. Moses Lake Mayor Todd Voth was on hand along with other city representatives and interested parties. Attendees milled about in the lobby of the new building, admiring the construction before the ribbon was cut to symbolize the official opening of the branch.

“We have been watching the progress of Granco over the last few months, and what a great addition to our community,” Voth said to the gathering outside Granco’s front doors. “Thank you, Roger, for taking the chance to come to the City of Moses Lake. This is what we hope to set a precedence in our city as far as the beautiful architecture and the business. Thank you very much and on behalf of the City of Moses Lake, we welcome you.”

Johnson also addressed the group to thank everybody who played a role in bringing GFCU to Moses Lake.

“Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and the City of Moses Lake for helping us get this done because we have a lot of people in the community we want to be able to serve and to help,” Johnson said. “That’s why Granco is here.”

Granco Federal Credit Union is employee-based and is not community chartered, Johnson said. That means that only members of Granco’s select employee groups (and their families) can become members of the credit union. Diana Jones, manager of the new Moses Lake branch, said Granco currently has three select employee groups: the City of Moses Lake, the Moses Lake School District and Samaritan Healthcare.

Jones explained that employees and retirees of those three organizations, and their direct family members, are eligible to join Granco. GFCU was started by members of the Grant County PUD in 1956, Johnson said. The organization’s 60th anniversary was April 5. Granco also has a branch located on Alder Street in Ephrata.

Jones said interest in Granco has been ramping up lately and was already opening its first new account immediately after the grand opening. She said part of GFCU’s process in its early days and months will be teaching its eligible membership base about its services.

“We will be educating our current employee bases,” Jones said. “We will go into their break rooms and explain who we are and what we are about.”

Johnson said Granco also attends the benefit fairs hosted by its select employee groups to inform potential members that way.

Compliments about the appearance of the new building, which was constructed by The Driftmier Architects, out of Redmond, were not few in number Monday morning, as visitors admired its interior and exterior. Johnson said the building is not only visually pleasing, but it was built to accommodate for potential growth in the future.

“We do have room for expansion. We designed it that way,” he said. “We designed it to have another drive-up, too, if we need it. We really think it’s going to grow and we are very, very happy to be here.”

The excitement on the part of Granco’s leaders and employees was abundantly clear Monday morning as the store opened its doors to potential new members.

“We are so excited to be here,” Jones said. The building has been a long time coming and we just can’t wait to see what the future brings.

“We are excited to see our family grow.”

For more information on Granco Federal Credit Union, visit www.granco.org.

Ryan Minnerly can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.