Our History

Eglin Federal Credit Union was chartered Oct. 11, 1954.

We hired our first employee, Marge Coxy and paid the first dividend of 4.50% APY in 1957.

Our Eglin Air Force Base Branch was built in 1970.

The Eagle logo was designed in 1971. This meaningful symbol was designed through a contest held among our members with more than 100 entries submitted.

Listen to our jingle from 1971!

The original Hurlburt Field Branch was built in 1972.

We reached $75 million in assets in 1974.

Our Auto Telecopier service was pioneered in 1975. Members used a Telecopier, now known as a fax machine, at an approved car lot to arrange Credit Union financing without making a trip to Eglin FCU.

The Fort Walton Beach Branch ribbon-cutting and open house was held April 3, 1976. Pictured left to right is Eglin FCU President of the Board Robert C. McKelvey, Congressman Robert "Bob" L. F. Sikes and General Howard M. Lane (Commander ADTC at Eglin AFB).

We also launched a new product that year known as Share Draft account, which is today’s Checking account.

The first "Take A PAL Shopping" campaign launched in 1977, and our members still love the Pre-Approved Loans today.

New services came to the Credit Union. Six-Month Share Certificates, Cashier’s Checks and Money Market Accounts were introduced in 1978.

Our first in-house computer system arrived in 1981. We began offering Overdraft Protection and Christmas Club accounts that same year.

The Credit Union began to offer VIP (Very Important Purpose) accounts and IRA (Individual Retirement Accounts) in 1982.

Mastercard® made its debut at Eglin FCU in 1983.

Our first Eglin FCU ATM was built at the Fort Walton Beach Branch in 1985 and was called STAR Teller. The Credit Union had an ATM Name Contest, and approximately half the staff entered a total of 79 names. Credit goes to Janeene Holly for naming the ATM, STAR Teller.

STAR TELLER Direct Line 24/7 phone access was made available in 1986.

Safe Deposit Boxes became available in 1988 at the Fort Walton Beach Branch. Pictured is Insurance Specialist Kathryn Larder.

Our South Crestview Branch opened in 1989. We also added Senior Benefits that year for members ages 55 and up.

Alice Hook was elected as our first female Board Chair in 1990.

The Mary Esther Branch opened in 1995 next door to the Santa Rosa Mall.

Our Bluewater Bay Branch opened in 1997.

Our website and Home Branch (now Online Banking) were introduced in 1998.

Bill Payer was added to Home Branch in 2000.

Eglin FCU offered members our first investment and retirement specialist with the inception of Eglin Financial Services (now Eglin Wealth Management) at the Fort Walton Beach Branch. Financial Services Representative Tom Hayes worked with Eglin FCU for 15 years.

The Hurlburt Branch moved to a new location next to the BX in 2002.

In 2003, Eglin FCU grew to 100,000 members.

Other milestones that year included Eglin FCU joining Okaloosa Saves and adding the Savings Assistance Loan.

To offer members greater accessibility, the Credit Union joined the CO-OP ATM network in 2004, adding more local ATMs at various businesses in town along with 18,000 ATMs on the CO-OP network nationwide.

The Destin Branch was opened in 2005. GAP Protection and Balance© online and phone counseling were added that same year.

In 2006, we opened our second Crestview Branch in North Crestview.

2007 brought the grand opening of our Navarre Branch, offering members a location in Santa Rosa County.

That same year, Eglin FCU assets reached $1 billion.

More new services were added! Online loan applications launched in 2008, and we added Shared Branch to better serve members out of the local area.

We started offering eStatements in 2009.

We introduced the Eglin FCU Mobile app in 2012.

Mobile Deposit service was made available in 2014.

Carfax and membership eligibility were added for Veterans residing in Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton Counties in 2017.

CO-OP added the Allpoint ATM network to offer 80,000+ surcharge-free ATMs.

Free credit score and credit monitoring through Online Banking and the Mobile App (by signing up for Savvy Money) became available in 2019.

We completed a brand refresh in 2020, which included updating our logo and brand style guide, painting the Fort Walton Beach Branch and constructing new drive-thru ATM/Video Tellers.

Through a sponsorship to the City of Crestview, the Eglin Federal Credit Union Skate Park was built.

An amendment was added to our charter expanding our field of membership to include specific geographic locations within Walton County.

An amendment was added to our charter expanding our field of membership to include specific geographic locations within Santa Rosa County, Escambia County, Florida as well as Escambia County, Alabama.

We remodeled the ITMs at the Jonquil/Mary Esther Cut off in Fort Walton Beach and at John Sims Parkway in Niceville.

We held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the DeFuniak Springs ATM/Video Teller Drive-thru July 18, 2023, and for the Gulf Breeze ATM/Video Teller Drive-thru Sept. 26, 2023.

We held a Grand Opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our Pace Branch April 23, 2024.

We held a Grand Opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our Freeport Branch July 11, 2024.

Our Operations Center, located at 340 Beal Parkway NW in Fort Walton Beach, opened in 2025. This four-story, 100,000-square-foot building supports Eglin FCU’s vision of growth across Northwest Florida.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Santa Rosa Beach ATM/Video Teller Drive-thru was held May 11, 2026.