Geddes Federal Savings and Loan Association is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The theme of the anniversary year is “Honor the Past; Embrace the Future.”
Geddes Savings and Loan Association, as it was known at the time, opened its doors on Wednesday, April 13, 1949.  It was originally located at 1705 Milton Ave. in Solvay. Daniel F. Mathews was the first president of the association, which opened with $36,000 in assets.
Now, with locations in Westvale Plaza in Syracuse and Limestone Commons in Manlius, as of Dec. 31, 2023, Geddes Federal Savings and Loan has grown to over $651 million in assets. Geddes Federal provides between 400 and 600 mortgages to the community, which now ranges from $70 million to $136 million in new mortgages annually.
There have been six presidents of the Association since it was founded:
1949 – Daniel F. Mathews
1967 – Henry L. Bresadola
1977 – Nelson C. Hatch
1994 – John Harrison
2002 – William Hemmerlein
2013 – Brian Du Mond
And several key milestones:
3 1961 – Geddes Savings and Loan Association moved from Milton Avenue to Westvale Shopping Center.
3 1964 – Disaster struck when a neighboring business caught fire and it spread to Geddes Savings and Loan.  It was reported that there wasn’t much left of the facility with the exception of the vault. The money in the vault was safe but wet. Tellers ironed the money the next business day when they reopened at a temporary location.
3 1982 -Geddes Savings changed its charter and became Geddes Federal Savings and Loan Association. This was done to enable the Association to offer more products and services to its growing customer base.
3 1989 – Geddes Federal Savings added an additional 9,000 square feet to its footprint and added a drive up window.
3 1994 – Geddes Federal Savings reached $160 million in assets.
3 2002 –Online banking was made available to our customers.
3 2005 – Online Bill Pay was made available to our customers.
3 2012 – Geddes Federal opened its Manlius Branch in Limestone Commons, and total assets grew to over $480 million.
3 2013 – Geddes Federal expanded its footprint in Westvale Plaza by taking over the space formerly occupied by Harry L. Cook drycleaners.
3 2016- The Association introduced its new mobile ap and developed its Good Life Travel Adventures program, offering experiences and events for customers who are 55+.
3 2018 – Geddes Federal started providing customers with E-Statements, Remote Check Depositing, and text alerts, and joined the All Point ATM network to offer 55,000 ATMs surcharge free.
3 2020 – On-line mortgage applications and on-line mortgage prequalifications for home loans were introduced.
3 2023 – Geddes implemented on line account opening for checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit.
President Brian Du Mond offered these thoughts on this latest milestone: “As we celebrate our 75th anniversary, I’d like to thank our customers, board of directors, management and our employees who have made us who we are today. We are all connected by the history we share and the history we are creating together.”