County Federal Credit Union celebrates 55 years

By Barbara Scott
Staff Writer
    This year marks the 55th anniversary of the opening of what is now The County Federal Credit Union.
    The financial institute, first chartered in 1956 as The Loring Federal Credit Union, was established to serve military and civilian personnel assigned to Loring Air Force. At that time there were very stringent rules for membership.
    Prior to and during that same time there were other smaller credit unions created by private groups and church organizations which also operated under restrictive guidelines. Eventually these smaller credit unions found it difficult to find volunteers to assist with the financial operations and merged with the Loring Federal Credit Union allowing it to be at that time, the largest in the state.
    With the closure of Loring Air Force Base in the mid-1990s, the LFCU board of directors made two decisions — one, to relocate to its current site on Bennett Drive in Caribou, the other being to change the name, to The County Federal Credit Union. It was at this time when the Presque Isle branch was opened.
    “We have continued to grow,” stated, Ken Hensler, president/CEO. We were in the top 20 of credit unions in the state and since our merger in 2011 with the Houlton Credit Union, we are now ranked 10th statewide. It is extraordinary, we now have $155 million in assets with nearly 17,000 members from New Sweden to southern Aroostook County with offices in Presque Isle, Fort Fairfield and Houlton; with our main branch being in Caribou.”
    Hensler, who served on the CFCU Board of Directors for five years prior to becoming president/CEO in September 2003, stressed, “We continue to provide convenient enhanced financial services to our members— with everybody so ‘mobile’ these days electronic banking availability  is a must — we are always staying abreast of new technology — but at the same time we continue to retain the fundamental banking format for our members who are more comfortable coming in or checking on matters over the telephone, (or for those who don’t have access to a home computer, etc.) We still have that mix, it’s a challenge sometimes to manage both sides but it’s also very important to do so.”
    The County Federal Credit Union offers members complete financial services ranging from savings accounts to vehicle loans, home mortgages, and shared banking. “The CFCU is our membership and we are always there for our members,” said Hensler. “Their money stays local — we do not sell our loans/mortgages.”
    As The County Federal Credit successfully continues to grow, the result of new membership/assets and with the Houlton merger creating an even wider financial market, one thing remains the same after 55 years of financial service, Hensler firmly stated “we never lose sight of what we have right here in Caribou.”
     There are approximately 50 trained individuals employed between the four CFCU branches.
    For more information on The County Federal Credit Union go to www.countyfcu.org or call 498-8756.