LEVELLAND, Texas–Sam Goodnight, who began serving on the board of Hockley County School Employees CU in 1972, has stepped down after 49 years of service.
During his career Goodnight was a longtime educator and local resident.
According to the Cornerstone Credit Union League, which first reported the move, during his time on the board the credit union grew from a little over $100,000 in assets to more than $29 million, and the staff grew from a two-person operation to nine full-time employees. Goodnight also helped the credit union expand from 1,000 members to more than 3,300 members, the CCUL said.
In addition, during Goodnight’s tenure, the credit union not only opened its membership to Hockley County school employees but in 2018 also extended its field of membership to the city of Levelland and Hockley County employees. Additionally, he helped approve the addition of Covenant Health Levelland employees in 2020.
“We thank Sam for his dedicated service to the credit for the past 49 years,” said Russell Vest, president/CEO of Hockley County School Employees Credit Union, in a statement to the CCUL. “We appreciate all of his efforts to grow our staff and membership, enabling us to provide low-cost products and services to more members in our community.”
Long Career In Education
Goodnight served the Levelland ISD and its students throughout his career in education, which began in 1969. He first started as a history teacher and coach from 1969 to 1979. He then served as assistant principal at Levelland Junior High from 1979 to 1993. Continuing to touch the lives of Levelland students, Goodnight worked as a principal at Capitol Elementary from 1993-2002. He retired from Levelland ISD in 2003 but could not stay away and served as a substitute teacher from 2003-2010, the Cornerstone league reported.