NorState Federal Credit Union celebrates 65 years

MADAWASKA – NorState Federal Credit Union is celebrating 65 years this year.

Started in a one-room facility on March 9, 1941, the financial institution has grown from a one-industry organization to one that serves all of the St. John Valley, Aroostook County and northern Penobscot County.

The facility has grown over the years to have assets totaling nearly $94 million, making it the largest credit union in Aroostook County and the 14th largest of the credit unions affiliated with the Maine League of Credit Unions.

“We are doing a number of things to illustrate the fact that we have been around for so long,” David Rossignol, president and CEO, said Monday. “We will have a special program at our annual meeting on June 3, and we will have a float in the annual Acadian Festival parade.

“At the annual meeting, we will have a program outlining those people who have made this the institution it is,” he said. “We will especially honor the volunteers and former employees who are still with us.”

He said the session will focus on history and people.

Chartered to offer savings and loans to employees of Fraser Papers in Madawaska and Edmundston, New Brunswick, the credit union has gone from a one-room office to facilities in five locations.

The main office and headquarters remain in Madawaska, but the credit union also has offices in Fort Kent, Van Buren, Eagle Lake and Ashland.

The former Fraser Employees Federal Credit Union took on the Eagle Lake Credit Union in 1991. That was the year it celebrated 50 years. At that time, the credit union had assets of $50 million.

In 1995, its name changed to Fraser Federal Credit Union. In 2000, after a merger with the Gateway Federal Credit Union in Van Buren, the name changed again, this time to NorState Federal Credit Union, to reflect its larger field of service that included all of Aroostook County and northern Penobscot County.

Today, the credit union serves more than 11,500 members and has 53 employees.