New Freedom Federal Credit Union Branch Coming to Baltimore County – CEO Letter

May 3, 2021

Dear Freedom Members,

In July of last year, I wrote to you announcing that Freedom Federal Credit Union was expanding our field of membership to include Baltimore County. Over the last several months, that expansion has gone very well and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

In that announcement, I also made mention that we would look at opportunities to enhance access for our members, whether through technology or new, physical locations.

As a result of this, and through a comprehensive review, I am very happy to announce that Freedom will be opening a new branch in Baltimore County, in the Perry Hall/White Marsh area.
The new branch will be located at 5000 Honeygo Center Drive in the Honeygo Village Center, adjacent to Weis Markets, and across from AnyTime Fitness, and Liberatore’s Ristorante. This will be Freedom’s first branch in Baltimore County, and our sixth branch in total.

Our Honeygo Branch will feature a full-service lobby, two drive-thru lanes, a 24/7 ATM, a free coin machine, and will provide ample parking and easy traffic flow and access. Financial Service Representatives will be in-person, and onsite, to support all business and individual banking needs.

This is a significant step for our entire membership. Not only does it ensure that we provide a physical location to a thriving business and residential community that wants to do their banking in-person, but also provides us more ability to truly deliver on the Freedom Advantage, our unique service offering, to the Northeast Baltimore County communities.

Because of the way Freedom is structured, as a financial cooperative, the health and strength of the organization is dependent on the membership being engaged and utilizing our products and services. The more members that are an active part of Freedom, and using our products and services, the better the ability to offer lower cost loan options, higher deposit rates, better technology and more community support. We will be able to increase our membership, and better serve all our members, in both Harford and Baltimore County.

This past year has been a challenge for all of us. For Freedom, although much of it was focused on helping members through the pandemic, we decided to proceed with our planned expansion into Baltimore County, to give our members, and the communities we serve, more opportunities to conduct business, in the name of convenience and a better banking experience.

The Honeygo Branch, which formerly housed First National Bank, is currently undergoing renovations, and is expected to open to the public in late summer. I will share more details with you when plans are more formalized. In the meantime, please follow us on our Facebook page to see progress updates, and the latest information around the branch opening.

I want to thank all of you for your ongoing trust and confidence in Freedom, and I hope you share in my excitement regarding our new branch. I look forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely,

CEO Signature

Michael MacPherson
President and CEO
Freedom Federal Credit Union

Freedom Federal Credit Union Opening New Branch in Perry Hall / White Marsh

May 3, 2021Honeygo Branch

The new branch will mark Freedom Federal Credit Union’s first Baltimore County location, and sixth location overall.

Freedom Federal Credit Union has announced plans to open a new full-service branch in the Perry Hall/White Marsh area.  This is the Credit Union’s first branch in Baltimore County, and sixth branch within Northeastern Maryland.  The new branch will be located at 5000 Honeygo Center Drive in the Honeygo Village Center, adjacent to Weis Markets, and across from AnyTime Fitness, and Liberatore’s Ristorante.

The branch will feature a full-service lobby, two drive-thru lanes, a 24/7 ATM, a free coin machine, and will provide ample parking and easy traffic flow and access. Financial Service Representatives will be in-person, and onsite, to support all business and individual banking needs.

The branch opening is the next step in Freedom’s expansion of their field of membership into Baltimore County, which the Credit Union announced in July 2020, following approval from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).  Since then, Freedom membership has been open to businesses and any individuals who live, work, worship, volunteer, attend school, or have family in Baltimore County.  Freedom now serves all of Harford and Baltimore Counties.

The expansion into Baltimore County was a logical step in the Credit Union’s evolution.  Freedom was already serving over 3,000 members that are Baltimore County residents and were able to join because of some affiliation with Harford County.

“This is a great milestone in Freedom Federal Credit Union’s history, as well as a monumental opportunity for our members, and the residents of both Baltimore and Harford Counties,” stated Mike MacPherson, President and CEO of Freedom. “The Honeygo Branch provides us our first physical space within Baltimore County, and ensures that we can truly deliver the ‘Freedom Advantage,’ our unique credit union service offering, to the greater Baltimore County communities. Not only will we be able to better serve a larger group of Maryland residents and businesses who we feel are currently being underserved, but we can better enhance the progress and growth of our Credit Union, which will benefit all our members going forward.”

Freedom Federal Credit Union was founded in 1953 as MATCOM Federal Credit Union. The Credit Union started in Baltimore and later moved to Harford County in support of the Edgewood Arsenal, which became part of Aberdeen Proving Ground. Freedom received their Harford County community charter in 1999 and changed their name to Freedom of Maryland Federal Credit Union in 2000.

MacPherson continued: “I think it’s important to emphasize that Freedom has not only risen to the challenge of the day, but even in the worst of times, continues to move forward in our vision and mission. While much of this last year has been focused on helping members through the pandemic, we decided to proceed with our expansion into Baltimore County, which will further allow us to offer lower cost loan options, higher deposit rates, better technology and access, and more community support across both Harford and Baltimore Counties. Our focus has been on expanding and enhancing every avenue and technology to allow our members more access to conduct business wherever needed, in-person, or online, all in the name of creating a better member experience.”

The new site in the Honeygo Village Center, which formerly housed First National Bank, is currently undergoing renovations, and is expected to open to the public in late summer with a grand opening event to be announced at a later date.


About Freedom Federal Credit Union

Freedom Federal Credit Union is a community-chartered federal credit union offering consumer financial services to those who live, work, volunteer, worship, attend school, or have family in Harford and Baltimore Counties. Additionally, Freedom offers a full-line of banking services for all businesses, associations, and other organizations that are based in Harford and Baltimore Counties. To learn more, visit freedomfcu.org.

Banking Reimagined My Foot

December 4, 2020

You know what annoys me?  Commercials.  One in particular gets under my skin.  It’s the commercial for Capital One.  It’s bad enough they talk about having no fees or minimums on checking accounts like they just thought of it or that you can bank on the go with a mobile app like no one else offers that.  No, it was the phrase “banking reimagined”.  You know what banking reimagined is?  A CREDIT UNION!!!

All you need to do is look at our history to know that banks are still banks no matter what kind of pretty package you put it in or spin you put on it.  You still get your best deal, have your best experience, at a credit union and with people like you.

Mike