The History of America's Credit Unions
Western Vista has been a trusted source for financial services since 1940. Despite its humble beginnings, the credit union serves more than 15,500 members and offers a full line of consumer, business and mortgage services designed to help its members improve their financial standing.
History
When the late Thomas Kenehan of Mountain Bell carried Wytel Federal Credit Union in a small briefcase in the early 1940s, he didn’t realize the impressive proportions the finance venture would reach. The briefcase led to a desk, which led to a file cabinet, which eventually ended up in a small office housed in the bedroom of a C.R. "Frenchie" Nolette. By 1966, the credit union emerged as a million dollar credit union.
Over the next several decades, the credit union acquired Demem Federal Credit Union (1986), Bucking Horse Federal Credit Union (1986), Casper Natrona Employees Federal Credit Union (1988) and LHHS Employees Credit Union (1991), eventually re-naming itself Western Vista Credit Union in 1995 to better reflect the diverse membership of its members.
It wasn't until 2008 that the credit union reached $100 million in assets, at which time it had two locations in Cheyenne and a branch in Casper. In 2021, Western Vista reached $200 million in assets. In 2022 a loan production office opened in Lander and in 2023, a third Cheyenne branch opened in the credit union's recently-purchased corporate headquarters building in downtown Cheyenne.
