RALEIGH, N.C. — State Employees' Credit Union Board of Directors posthumously honored Milas Dorsey Kelly Sr. for his role in helping to establish the credit union's statewide branch network.

The award, a framed board resolution, recounts the story of Kelly leading an initiative in 1968, on behalf of his co-workers, to encourage the management and SECU Board of Directors to provide convenient service locations for state employees in Goldsboro and all across North Carolina.

During an SECU Annual Membership meeting in 1968, Kelly pointed out the great member convenience and superior service that would result from local branches. At the end of the meeting, Kelly challenged the board and management to "take the chance on a branch!" He also stressed that, as a member-owned cooperative, the first goal of the credit union should be service and that local service was always best. As a friendly aside, Kelly noted that, if the current management and board weren't up to the task of branching, that perhaps a new board and management would. That same year SECU opened the doors to its Goldsboro, N.C. branch. The resolution also recognizes Kelly's visionary leadership in the creation of the statewide branching system. A copy of the resolution will hang in the Goldsboro location on West Ash Street, as well as in SECU's corporate offices in Raleigh.