America First Credit Union Celebrates 75th Anniversary

By VERNON ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

America First Credit Union (AFCU) celebrated its 75th anniversary of serving its members earlier this week. The local branch in downtown Overton held a small informal celebration on Monday, serving refreshments to members that visited the branch that day.

AFCU was founded on March 16, 1939 at the Hotel Newhouse in Salt Lake City, Utah. Only 59 people attended the charter meeting of what was then the Fort Douglas Civilian Employees Credit Union.

The credit union was established in a small office in Fort Douglas’ Building 207, with service hours on Fridays only from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. A Prince Albert tobacco can was used to hold all cash deposits at the time. The total assets of the credit union at the time was $788 and the institution had 79 members.

In June of 1947, the name of the institution was changed to Federal Employees Credit Union. At that time the finance office of the U.S. Army at Fort Douglas was moved to the Utah General Distribution Depot in Ogden; and the credit union moved with it.

For the next four decades, membership in the credit union would continue to grow. but remained limited to federal employees only. Then, in 1984, Utah-chartered credit unions expanded service to all state residents. The name was changed to America First Credit Union to reflect the growing membership and mission. Still headquartered in Ogden, the institution branched out primarily to serve the Wasatch Front in Utah.

From there, membership began to grow more quickly. By the 50th anniversary of the credit union, in 1989, assets exceeded $500 million and membership totalled 150,000. At the time, it was the Intermountain West’s largest credit union and the 18th largest in the nation.

In 2003, America First converted its charter from state to federal. This expanded its field of membership and maintained its ability to make business loans.

By early 2005, the credit union had reached $3 billion in assets with 375,000 members and branches in Utah and Nevada.

In July of 2012, the Moapa Valley Credit Union, which had been in operation since 1958, merged with America First. This added $62 million in assets and 6,744 members to the America First institution.

Today America First is the 11th largest credit union in the country. It operates 107 branches with assets exceeding $5.8 billion and over 635,000 members.

Though much has changed with the institution in the 75 years since keeping cash deposits in a tobacco can, some things have not changed, according to AFCU spokeswoman Nicole Cypers.

“Our commitment to the community has stayed the same over the years,” Cypers said. “We are still very much a member-driven organization and the importance of service to our members at a high level has stayed the same.”

AFCU has continued the tradition of community support established by the Moapa Valley Credit Union. The institution continues to sponsor important local events like the Clark County Fair, Fourth of July fireworks display and the Moapa Valley Arts Council programming. In addition, the credit union is a strong supporter of local school programs and athletics.

“The (Moapa Valley Credit Union) merger was a good move for us,” Cypers said. “We are happy to be able to continue to serve the members in that area and to support the community. We have been focused on continuing to provide the service that those members were accustomed to in that community.”