THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD – Panhandle Educators Federal Credit Union

Remember the children’s book The Little Engine That Could? The story featured a little train carrying all kinds of toys for boys and girls, as well as healthy food for the children over the mountain. When the old engine died, a toy riding on the train asked for help from larger trains and didn’t get it. Then a little blue engine used only for switching in the rail yard tried to pull the train itself. “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” And it did. It did, it did, IT DID.

Talking with staff at Panhandle Educators Federal Credit Union reminds me of that little blue engine. Beginning in 1957 as Bay County Teachers Federal Credit Union, the credit union offered shares, automobile and personal loans, and payroll deductions from its beginning, using handwritten statements. Operating first out of a private home, it moved to a rented office, then to Bay District Schools at the Wainwright Shipyard.

In 1976, the credit union changed its name to Panhandle Educators Federal Credit Union to include teachers in surrounding counties. Its growth has been steady throughout the years with a new main office that was built on Highway 77 early on. The growth was also solid and well thought out, adding new branches in Springfield, PC Beach and Southport and, this fall, Panhandle Educators has opened its fifth branch, the new Lynn Haven Lending Center.

The new location in Lynn Haven provides a full array of services and also functions as a lending center for mortgage and business loans. In fact, the credit union’s mortgage loan team and business director are located there – Dory Sitte as officer for mortgage loans and Bobby Landwehr as director of business lending.

“Looking at the continued growth in Lynn Haven and northern Bay County, we are excited to expand our operations here. I’ve had very positive feedback from members I’ve spoken with and think this is a move in the right direction,” says President/CEO Greg Frith. “Superior service is the cornerstone of our credit union and we strive every day to give our members exceptional service.”

Growing membership numbers is their main goal, because PEFCU now offers membership to any individual who lives, works, worships, or attends school in the greater Bay, Holmes, Washington, and Jackson counties. “We are not just for educators,” Frith emphasizes.

Bay County born and raised, Frith began his banking career at Commercial Bank in Panama City. There, Frith says, he had the opportunity to be around people who made a difference. And he learned the basics of community banking, a lesson he has carried on into Panhandle Educators in 1996, when he became Vice President, and into the new millennium as President/CEO in 2001.

Knowing the members, shaking their hands, and talking with them stand tall among the basics that Frith brings to his work. His door is always open and he makes “local decisions for local people.” He states that local focus is an important part of what PEFCU does.

Relatively small for a long time, Panhandle Educators FCU has begun to blossom. It has become more enmeshed in the community. If there’s a need or opportunity to offer support for a community project, Panhandle Educators FCU is there.

Active in the community, this credit union has been a premier sponsor of the Bay District Schools Support Employee of the Year event for more than 16 years, has been a major sponsor of Bay District Schools Teacher of the Year event since its inception, and has been a premier sponsor of Arts Alive In Bay, a new fundraiser for the Bay Education Foundation. A Pacesetter for the United Way of NW Florida, it is also a member of both the Bay County and Panama City Beach chambers of commerce.

Greg Frith is especially proud of the credit union’s volunteer Board of Directors, headed by Herman Daniels who recently retired from Gulf Coast State College as head of IT. “The board knows the community, knows the climate here. Our board members work very well together for conservative growth,” Frith says. “They are where the rubber meets the road.”

As for membership, “We are our members,” Frith says. “We are your friends and neighbors; we are regular people. Our philosophy is ‘People Helping People’.”

A member of the National Credit Union Association (NCUA), they are federally insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. PEFCU has maintained a 5-Star rating for 13 and a half years by Bauer Financial, a source for unbiased, independent bank and credit union star-ratings. In addition to Frith, senior staff includes Vice President of Finance Karen Barss and Vice President of Operations and Lending Brenda Evans.

Surrounded by larger banking institutions, Panhandle Educators Federal Credit Union just keeps on chugging. In story terms, they make it over the mountain to deliver long-awaited toys and healthy food to the children. In real terms, they succeed in providing their members with innovative, tailored banking solutions at competitive rates. Their growing number of members proves: Panhandle Educators FCU provides solid solutions but still maintains local focus. While offering a full array of products and services, it also keeps up with technology, including mobile phone apps for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.

Panhandle Educators Federal Credit Union no longer is the little engine that says “I think I can.” It is now the strong engine that says, “I DID”.

Their mission: To provide exceptional member service and offer competitive financial products and services while maintaining fiscal soundness.

By Carole Lapensohn, Photography by Mark Hendrick