By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Construction is now is full swing after Redstone Federal Credit Union broke ground for its new Hartselle branch on Highway 36 East, next to Hartselle Heritage Funeral Home.
A groundbreaking ceremony was conducted June 29. Approximately 75 company executives and directors, local business leaders and elected officials attended the event.
The new branch office is scheduled to be completed in early 2008. It will have about 6,800 square feet of floor space and will staff about 18 employees. The one-story brick structure will provide four drive-up ATM's, drive-up teller windows and safe deposit boxes.
"Redstone is committed to being a part of the prosperity of Hartselle and Morgan County and providing the many current and future Redstone FCU members living in the Hartselle area with a state-of-the-art facility for their financial needs," said Mike Goodman, interim president. "Being a part of a community is very important to us. The construction of this new branch shows our commitment and our contributions to the continued growth of this community. This is just the beginning of what will become a great relationship between Redstone FCU and Hartselle."
To show the company's support and commitment to the community, Goodman presented a $1,000 check for the construction of a Special Needs Accessible Playground (SNAP) in Hartselle's Sparkman Park. Bill Camp, fundraising chairman for SNAP, accepted the gift.
"This is a big step in our efforts to grow business in the I-65 and Highway 36 corridor," said Councilman Bill Smelser, who represented the city in the absence of Mayor Dwight Tankersley. "We're very pleased to see construction taking place in this location. We feel that a state-of-the art banking facility here not only will serve Redstone Federal Credit Union customers well but also serve as a magnet for future commercial development."
Hartselle Developer Bob Frances, who sold the building site to Redstone FCU, offered words of praise for the company.
"I've been a Redstone FCU customer for a long time," the retired engineer said. "Their officers and employees are top notch people. This new facility will be a great asset to our community."
With $ billion in assets, Redstone FCU is the largest credit union in Alabama and one of the largest in the nation. It is based in Huntsville and serves more than 277,000 members and employs more than 720 people. About 20,000 of its customers reside in Morgan County and of that number about 5,000 are Hartselle residents.