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GenFed Federal Credit Union History
Homer Carroll, "Father of GenFed Federal Credit Union"
In 1937, Homer Carroll, a General Tire Employee, studied credit unions and gathered information and people to start the credit union for General Tire & Rubber Company.
Early Credit Union Members
In 1938 the credit union opened for business on the second floor of a converted house at 1673 Englewood Avenue, Akron, Ohio.
William K. Prather
Bill Prather was also instrumental in the beginning of the credit union. He walked through the Akron General Tire factory collecting nickels, dimes and quarters to be deposited to member share accounts. This was the way many members learned to save.
In the credit union’s early years, the location was moved a number of times. The credit union moved to another location on Englewood Avenue, then to the General Tire property, then to a rental building at 1792 E. Market Street, Akron, Ohio.
The Credit Union’s teller window on General Tire Property, 1947
In 1970 the Board of Directors approved plans for a new building, which is the current Akron office building. It is named the Carroll-Prather Building in honor of Homer and Bill.
Bidinger, Prather and General Tire President M.G. O’Neil
survey the Akron building site
Construction of the Akron Office, 1970
Bill Prather and Jack Young at the building’s opening
Over the next 27 years the credit union slowly added eleven branches in cities including, but not limited to, locations where General Tire had plants.
The Mt. Vernon General Tire Employees Credit Union was chartered in 1974. It started in a supply closet at the General Tire factory. One employee was hired soon after the Board of Directors chartered the credit union and that employee was the only one handling member service, bookkeeping, financial reports, and more necessary for the daily operations of a credit union until April 1983. The office included a desk and two chairs, and members were often seen lined up down the hallway waiting to be served. The Credit Union offered $500 signature loans and basic savings. It opened with no members and no assets.
Mt. Vernon (General Tire Employees CU) merged with GenFed in the Spring of 1982 with an asset size of $250,000. After some time, the plant provided an office for the Credit Union at the General Tire headquarters. After moving to a new location, the single employee, as the Branch Manager, continued to build the credit union, now with two additional part time employees. The staff all took a personal interest in members and took pride in providing outstanding service with little resources.
Then in l989 a new office was built by GenFed on 42nd Street. It grew to serve over 60 employers in the Mt. Vernon and surrounding Southern Illinois communities, including Centralia, due to the enthusiasm and effort of the manager and growing staff, a strong, united, and determined team. The Mt. Vernon branch soon began to emerge as GenFed’s ‘star’ branch with quick lending growth that began to positively impact GenFed’s financials. This happened during a time when income was sagging due to changes in demand in the Akron area and the eventual closing of the Akron General Tire plant.
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| The old Mt. Vernon branch |
The Mt. Vernon branch has consistently been the highest income producing branch over the past several years and moved to a beautiful new branch location in 2006.
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| The outside of the current Mt Vernon branch. |
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The new Mt Vernon branch lobby. |
Between 1982 and 1997, the Mt. Vernon branch grew from under $1 million in assets to approximately $20 million and became GenFed’s most profitable branch. New SEG’s in nearby Centralia, IL were developed, and eventually GenFed opened a branch in Centralia. Leading up to 1998, GenFed's overall asset growth and income had started to become stagnant or decline. Although the credit union had grown to $94 million in assets during the 61 years between 1937 and 1998, mergers and acquisitions helped the growth toward the end of this period. In 2008, we take pride in the outstanding asset growth from $94 million to $184 million. During the 10 year period, assets grew by $90 million without the assistance of mergers and acquisitions! Income has also stabilized and Capital (GenFed’s cushion for emergencies) has grown.
GenFed built a strong and capable team, including a management team all working together with an equally strong corporate and branch team to insure continued growth and success for the good of GenFed members. The Board Chair’s leadership and the outstanding relationship between Board and Management has also contributed to our success.
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GenFed’s Pattern of Growth
2000
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DATE |
ASSETS |
MEMBERS |
SHARES |
LOANS |
RESERVES &
UNDIVIDED
EARNINGS |
|
1/ 31/38
12/31/48
12/31/58
12/31/68
12/31/78
12/31/80
12/31/81
12/31/83
12/31/85
12/31/87
12/31/89
12/31/91
12/31/92
12/31/93
12/31/94
12/31/95
12/31/96
12/31/97
12/31/98
12/31/99
12/31/00
12/31/01
12/31/02
12/31/03
12/31/04
12/31/05
12/31/06
12/31/07
|
220
63,175
232,974
1,622,062
8,445,741
10,343,614
11,154,642
16,787,287
25,736,813
35,291,735
39,795,159
42,358,162
47,654,887
55,742,806
61,913,373
74,518,608
90,502,930
94,349,502
99,939,304
105,470,494
112,342,205
125,268,879
134,808,143
144,644,096
156,133,103
168,291,123
184,113,971
184,872,112
|
95
804
1,305
2,791
5,886
6,240
6,336
7,596
7,486
9,103
12,038
12,248
13,533
16,395
17,581
20,871
25,588
25,895
24,453
22,871
21,740
21,810
21,207
20,862
19,544
19,055
18,738
18,072
|
236
53,942
176,173
1,513,792
7,323,762
9,155,574
8,416,694
15,006,438
23,171,885
32,171,885
36,242,324
37,691,288
42,057,469
48,824,368
54,179,045
65,771,045
80,602,641
83,932,522
89,199,353
94,117,561
100,141,284
111,842,211
120,007,832
128,256,891
137,739,422
148,040,730
162,424,539
160,956,477
|
117
47,370
221,483
1,284,664
6,904,506
7,359,090
8,108,558
6,151,299
9,453,043
11,985,521
20,929,484
22,881,522
24,115,423
30,659,553
38,236,833
49,563,618
60,252,433
66,367,583
72,922,541
77,429,502
77,981,232
85,360,625
86,518,303
88,336,853
88,846,432
97,708,494
103,235,634
99,922,641
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24
1,215
11,239
103,015
665,709
928,988
1,109,319
1,506,980
2,161,170
2,803,049
3,152,003
4,312,319
5,241,207
6,565,874
7,340,642
8,294,485
9,437,491
10,179,394
10,253,705
10,883,248
11,834,277
12,898,662
14,313,284
15,890,615
17,930,033
19,535,869
20,949,213
22,943,301
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