Our History
The NE PA Community Federal Credit Union was chartered in East Stroudsburg, PA on January 14th, 1960 as the Monroe County School Employees Federal Credit Union. The credit union's original field of membership included the employees and family members of Monroe County public school districts and the East Stroudsburg State College.

As a result of the addition of the employees of Delaware Valley School District, in Pike County, on August 14th, 1974, the credit union changed its name to the NE PA School Employees Federal Credit Union. The Blairstown Elementary and North Warren Regional High School were added to the credit union's original field of membership in 1981. These additions extended the credit union's service area into Western New Jersey.

In 1986, the Connaught Federal Credit Union merged with the credit union, which added Connaught Laboratories and the Salk Institute to the NE PA School Employees Federal Credit Union's field of membership.

The Slate Belt Federal Credit union was merged with the NE PA School Employees Federal Credit Union's field of membership on September 1, 1996.

On January 31, 2001 the credit union's Board of Directors approved the credit union's change to a community charter, enabling it to service all individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in Monroe and Pike Counties, Pennsylvania. Additionally, on February 6, 2001, the Board of Directors approved changing the credit union's name to the NE PA Community Federal Credit Union.

FROM 1960 TO TODAY – LOOKING BACK
It was a typical winter day in January. A small snowfall on Tuesday was followed by an ice storm on Wednesday, so driving was hazardous on Thursday, January 14, 1960 – the date the Monroe County School Employees Federal Credit Union was chartered. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, our 35th President, was planning for summit talks with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, as the country was planning for a presidential election. The Acme Super Markets were advertising a one-pound bag of Ideal coffee for $.69, eight 16-ounce cans of peas for $1.00, and one-pound quarters of Louella butter were selling for $.69 a pound. The Daily Record, as the Pocono Record was known in 1960, contained a small announcement in its January 14th issue that the “Monroe County Teachers Credit Union will hold its first meeting today at 7:30 P.M. in room two of Oaks Hall, East Stroudsburg State College. Speaker for the meeting will be Dom Servillo, Field Representative of the Pennsylvania Credit Union League.” Eight signers of the charter for the Monroe County School Employees Federal Credit Union were present along with two guests, Francis A. Maguire, Regional Representative of the Bureau of Federal Credit Unions, Social Security Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and Mr. Servillo. The eight charter members of what is now the NE PA Community Federal Credit Union were Elwood F. Arndt, Elston J. Arnt, Paul S. Bartholomew, Helen B. Brown, Franklin B. Buser, Jerrold E. Fritz, Dr. James A. Reed, and Dr. Alfred A. Sumberg. The field of membership of the newly formed credit union was limited to those having the following common bond: Employees of Monroe County public school districts and East Stroudsburg State College who work in Monroe County, Pennsylvania; employees of East Stroudsburg Area Jointure who work in Monroe and Pike Counties, Pennsylvania; members of this credit union who retire under the Teachers Retirement Act or State Employees Retirement Act and retain their membership; employees of this credit union; members of their immediate families; and organizations of such persons.

On January 27, 1960, the charter was officially accepted by the Bureau of Federal Credit Unions, the Federal regulatory agency for credit unions that is now known as the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). At the first organizational meeting of the credit union held on Tuesday, February 16, 1960, Dr. Alfred A. Sumberg was elected President. He served in this office from 1960 to 1966, a tenure that has only been surpassed by the current Chairperson of the Board, David J. Piatt, who is now in his 17th year in that position. Other officers elected at the first organizational meeting were Nathan Kunkle, First Vice President; Allan E. Shollenberger, Second Vice President; Lyle A. Dixon, Secretary; and Harold Lee, Treasurer. While Dr. Sumberg’s leadership was absolutely essential during these formulative years, the job as Treasurer dealt with the day-to-day, “nuts and bolts” operation of the organization. Filling the President’s and Treasurer’s positions with the right persons was imperative. Elston Arnt is credited with convincing Harold Lee that he was the right person for the Treasurer’s job; and, indeed, he was. Lee was trained by a Field Representative of the Pennsylvania Credit Union League, the state trade association for credit unions, and he opened the books of our credit union on March 1, 1960. Our eight charter signers had contributed $40.00 collectively at the January 14th meeting, and those funds were the first deposit entered on March 1st. By the end of March, $697.59 in shares had been collected from our new members, and the Monroe County School Employees Federal Credit Union was off and running. Expenses during that first month included $25.00 for the charter fee, and $76.79 to the League for supplies.

For the first 19 years, the credit union was located in the home of the Treasurer. It is readily apparent how important the Treasurer was to the growth and stability of the new credit union. Lee, a mathematics teacher in the East Stroudsburg High School, served as Treasurer for eight years, from 1960 until shortly before his untimely death in 1968. His home, located just off Route 611 above Bridge Street in Stroudsburg, became well known to local school employees.

The President of the credit union at the time of Lee’s death, Samuel Lee, was an administrator in the Pocono Mountain School District. Because of his close, working relationship with the Business Manager of the Pocono Mountain School District, David Neison, he was able to convince him that he should be the next Treasurer of the credit union. Hence the office of the credit union moved to Neison’s home in Cresco. It didn’t take Neison long to realize that attempting to manage the awesome responsibilities he had as Business Manager along with the demands of the credit union left little time for anything else. As a result, he only served in the position for nine months at which time the office was moved to Colbert Street in Stroudsburg, the home of Mildred S. Allen, a retired Business Education teacher from Stroudsburg High School.

Allen held the position from October 1, 1969 to September 30, 1973, during which time the assets grew from $152,000 to $362,000. When Mildred and her husband, Charles, retired to Florida in 1973, the office of the credit union moved to the home of Dr. Jerrold E. Fritz in East Stroudsburg. At the time, Fritz was working as a Guidance Counselor in the East Stroudsburg Junior-Senior High School.

Shortly after the office moved to East Stroudsburg, the employees and family members of the Delaware Valley School District in Pike County were added to the field of membership. The Monroe County School Employees Federal Credit Union had a problem because now it consisted of both Monroe and Pike County school employees. On August 16, 1974, approximately one month after the Pike County school employees and family members were added, the Board of Directors solved the problem by changing the name of the credit union to the NE PA School Employees Federal Credit Union. On June 21, 1976, a part-time employee, Lorrie Schuler, was hired as the first employee. She became a full-time employee one year later, at which time an additional part-time employee was hired. These employees, the addition of Club Accounts and Share Certificates, and the addition of the Blairstown Township Elementary School, the North Warren Regional High School, and the Frelinghuysen Township School, all in New Jersey, contributed to the credit union’s rapid growth. Assets tripled and loans grew 400% from 1973 to 1979.

As a result of the growth, the credit union had reached the point where it was simply too large to be operated out of the Treasurer’s home in East Stroudsburg. After a search of available office space, the NE PA School Employees Federal Credit Union leased approximately 500 square feet of space from Stone & Cyphers Accounting Firm at 934 North Ninth Street in Stroudsburg. The new office opened for business on April 2, 1979. This location proved very favorable for the continued growth and development of the credit union, especially since additional office space at the location became available as it was needed.

The next significant event to occur was the merger of the Connaught Federal Credit Union into the NE PA School Employees Federal Credit Union on November 1, 1986. The Connaught Federal Credit Union was comprised of the employees and family members of Connaught Laboratories, Inc. and Salk Institute, Government Services Division, located in Swiftwater, now called Sanofi Pasteur. The addition of one of Monroe County’s largest employers resulted in a 29% increase in assets the year following the merger.

From 1987 to 1993 many other employer groups were added to the field of membership due to the fact that the basis of membership changed from occupational to association when the Connaught merger was completed.

As the membership grew, some big decisions were required. Initially, credit unions were able to offer checking accounts in the early 80s. While most credit unions used a “clear through” bank for their checking accounts, the NE PA School Employees Federal Credit Union enrolled in a pilot project with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic Corporate Federal Credit Union that resulted in the credit union offering share draft accounts, better known as checking accounts, to its members on July 1, 1990. From the beginning to the current date, checking accounts have been offered as a free service and dividends are earned on all checking accounts, regardless of the balance in the account.

With the offering of checking accounts, it was readily apparent that the credit union needed to move to a cash operation so its members would not be inconvenienced when withdrawing funds from their accounts. Moving to a cash operation required the acquisition of additional space from the owners of the building, the installation of teller stations, a vault, a security system, and a new computer system that supported the cash operation and had the potential for adding other products and services. Over the July 4, 1993 holiday weekend, a new computer system was installed along with a data transfer of the existing data. The new computer system enabled the credit union eventually to offer many electronic products and services that have subsequently provided added convenience for its members. Services added in the 14 years since that installation are DANA Telephone Teller, the free day and night access to account information and transactions using a touch-tone telephone; NE PA Home Branch, the free 24/7 access to account information and transactions through the internet; NE PA Bill Payer, the free electronic bill payer system; Visa Credit Cards, Visa Debit Cards, and free e-Statements.

By October, 1993, the remodeling of the office area, installation of the vault and security system, and training of the staff were completed, and the new office area was opened. About 3,500 square feet of office space was now the total area occupied at 934 North Ninth Street. On December 6, 1993, the transition to a cash operation was completed.

The second credit union to merge with the NE PA School Employees Federal Credit Union was the Slate Belt Federal Credit Union. The merger, on August 27, 1996, provided continuing credit union services to the employees and family members of Bear Automotive Services Equipment Company, Inc. and BRW Industries, Inc. who worked in Bangor or Easton.

A change in leadership took place on July 1, 1997 when the President/CEO Dr. Jerrold E. Fritz retired. Dorothy A. Fox, Senior Vice President, replaced him, and has remained in the position to date. This change has continued the growth of the credit union as evidenced by the doubling of assets over the past ten years. Two additional promotions took place 18 months later when Mark T. Filbert was promoted from Office Manager to Chief Operations Officer, and Donald S. Carr was promoted from Assistant Office Manager to Vice President – Member Services.

The credit union’s growth necessitated the acquiring of land that would enable the credit union to construct its own office building in the near future. The Board of Directors determined that the ideal solution would be the acquisition of land in the vicinity of the current office. Any change in location would, therefore, be virtually transparent to the members. The first parcel of land to be acquired was the home of the Carl Decker family on 935 Clay Avenue. This home was remodeled and became the Loan Center of the credit union on January 14, 1998. Shortly thereafter the property at 945 Clay Avenue owned by John Saylock was acquired in June 1998 and this site became the Drive-Thru Facility that was opened on June 18, 2001. An ATM was added to the Drive-Thru area with a third lane in September 2003. On May 28, 2002 the property at 930 Chipperfield Drive was acquired, and this building subsequently became the Administration Center in February 2003. As each parcel of land was purchased, it was used to ease the crowded conditions in the main office.

Adding to the problem of crowding was the number of persons who wanted to become members of the credit union, but could not because their occupation or employer was not in the field of membership. Therefore the Board of Directors and management determined that the best way to serve a greater number of residents, especially the underserved, was to apply for a community charter. This was done, and on December 13, 2000, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) granted the credit union a community charter. As a result, anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in, as well as businesses and other legal entities located in Monroe and Pike Counties, Pennsylvania, became eligible for membership. Two months later, on February 6, 2001, NCUA approved the name change of the credit union to the NE PA Community Federal Credit Union.

At the October 15, 2002 Board of Directors meeting, the Board authorized entering into a contract with HBE Financial Facilities, St. Louis, Missouri, to commence with Phase I of the construction of a new two-story office building that would be located on the property it now owned on Clay Avenue and Chipperfield Drive. Phase I consisted of a Facilities Planning Study which would be used to determine the actual size of the building with an allowance for future growth. The study was completed by August 8, 2003, and the Board realized that in order to fully accommodate a building of the size needed, the property on 914 Chipperfield Drive should be purchased. This property was purchased on June 1, 2004. At its March 23, 2005 Special Meeting, the Board authorized construction of a two-story building of 11,544 square feet with an approximate 3,000 square foot basement.

Now, a little over two years later, the building is ready to be opened to the public. Members and visitors will be met by a greeter as they enter the main entrance and lobby that fronts on Clay Avenue. The lobby will feature five traditional teller stations which will utilize cash dispensing machines to expedite member transactions. Two remote teller stations will also be available as an alternative service delivery. The remote teller stations will function in much the same manner as the exterior drive-thru lanes. To the right of the lobby are member service and loan offices. Safe deposit boxes, a new service, are located to the right of the tellers in the vault area. The second floor contains the Board of Directors meeting room, employee lunch room, information technology office, operations department, and administrative offices. The credit union welcomes all area residents, members and non-members, to drop in to see the new approach to superior service as provided by the NE PA Community Federal Credit Union.