About Northern Star
Hours & Locations
| Address | Hours |
|---|---|
Main Branch |
Lobby Hours |
|
|
|
|
Harbour View Branch |
Mon - Thu: 9am - 5pm |
|
|
Elmhurst Branch |
Mon - Thu: 9am - 5pm |
Shared Branchwas created by credit unions that have joined forces to give their members the kind of financial convenience traditionally available only from big banks. All with the savings and personal service you expect from credit unions
At nearly 5,000 credit union branches and over 2,000 self-service locations, Northern Star members can check balances, make transactions, and make loan payments. That adds up to convenience comparable to the country’s largest banks.
The CO-OP Shared Branch network has a website with a searchable database of facilities across the country
The Shared Branch network has a website with a searchable database of facilities across the country.
Please note* CO-OP ATM is not part of shared branching and you could be assessed a surcharge
.
ATMs
Northern Star offers its membership surcharge-free ATMs at each branch and other various locations. In addition to Northern Star ATMs, our members can use other surcharge-free machines within the CU Here network. A list of CU Here machines can be found at the Credit Union 24 website. Below is a list of Northern Star's ATMs.
| ATMs | Location |
|---|---|
| George Washington ATM | 5100 George Washington Highway Portsmouth, VA 23702 |
| Elmhurst ATM | 5624 Portsmouth Boulevard Portsmouth, VA 23701 |
| Navy Exchange ATM | Navy Exchange Norfolk Naval Shipyard Portsmouth, VA 23709 |
Calendar 2017
| January 2 | New Year's Day - CLOSED |
| January 16 | Martin Luther King Day - CLOSED |
| February 20 | President's Day - CLOSED |
| May 15 | Northern Star Annual Meeting - 4:00pm |
| May 29 | Memorial Day - CLOSED |
| July 4 | Independence Day - CLOSED |
| September 4 | Labor Day - CLOSED |
| October 9 | Columbus Day - CLOSED |
| October 29 | Northern Star Anniversary Date |
| November 11 | Veterans Day - CLOSED |
| November 23 | Thanksgiving Day - CLOSED |
| December 25 | Christmas Day - CLOSED |
In the event a holiday falls on a Friday or a Monday, Northern Star will also be closed on the Saturday of that same weekend.
Staff
| Board of Directors | |
|---|---|
| Charles R. Parker | Chairman |
| Bernard G. Matthews | Vice Chairman |
| Sue R. King | Secretary |
| Roger E. Early | Treasurer |
| David Adelman | Director |
| Timothy Johnson | Director |
| Felicia Scales | Director |
| Supervisory Committee | |
| Chase Goodwin | Committee Chair |
| Kirk Densmore | Committee Member |
| Michael Hill | Committee Member |
| Vincent McClean | Committee Member |
| Diane Nelson | Committee Member |
| Executive Management | |
| Roger E. Early | President & CEO |
| Joann B. Brown | Chief Financial Officer |
Employment
We are always accepting applications for a part-time teller. Ideal candidate will be experienced in cash handling, sales and/or customer service. Competitive salary. Send resume w/salary requirements to:
Northern Star Credit UnionAttn: Human Resources
5100 George Washington Hwy
Portsmouth VA 23702
Fax to 757-487-7116 or
e-mail nstarcu@nstarcu.org
History
The Roots of a Great Institution
No company founded in 1928 could have grown and prospered over a period of 75
years without certain unwavering characteristics. It must be willing to change
with the times, be willing to take risk, have endured difficulty only to
become stronger, be willing to make the “right” decision not
necessarily the one accepted as norm and first and foremost be willing to
look at the future and embrace it. The Credit Union has met this test over
time. The following is but a brief outline of events that have shaped the
institution into the one that exists today.
After the organization meeting and the election of the first officers, the group
began the process of developing the by-laws and submitting the application to
the State Corporation Commission for their charter. On June 7, 1929 the charter
was received and stated:
IT IS ORDERED BY THE COMMISSION, that certificate be,
and is, hereby granted, authorizing the said Navy Yard
Credit Union, Incorporated, to commence business as a
credit union, as provided by Chapter 449, Acts of the
General Assembly of Virginia, 1922.
All fledgling businesses have difficult times during their first year of operation.
But to say that the first anniversary in October 1929 was difficult times would
be an understatement. In October 1929 the stock market crashed beginning the
Great Depression. The Credit Union, however, survived. The original ledger book
shows that on the close of business on December 31, 1929 assets stood at $1,194.08
and net income was $25.53.
During these early years policies and procedures were in the development stages.
The first loan policy is noted in the Board minutes of November 8, 1933. This
initial loan policy was:
Beginning November 9, 1933 the Credit Union will
make loans in the maximum amount of $100.00 to
all persons making $6.00 per day or more, and loans
in the maximum amount of $50.00 to all persons making
less that $6.00 per day…
As a result of the stable employment available at the shipyard during the 1930’s, the Credit Union had steady growth during the decade. From outstanding loans on December 31, 1929 of $1,103.50 the shareholders of the Credit Union were able to obtain loans that totaled $79,298.66 as of December 31. 1939. While the credit union principal of “People Helping People” had not yet been formally established, this principal was alive and at work at your Credit Union during the worst economic period in the history of the country.
World War II
During the 1940’s the shipyard experienced a significant
increase in the number of employees as a direct result
of World War II. The same can not be said regarding the
growth of the Credit Union. By December 31, 1940 outstanding
loans had reached $92,312.45 and total shares on deposit
stood at $87,719.65. By December 31. 1949 these numbers
had declined to $45,238.77 in loans and $33,414.36 in
shares. The lowest points during the decade occurred
in November 1946 when outstanding loans stood at $11,351.11
and in December 1947 when total shares were at $21,230.87.
The decade was not without its’ highpoints. As was the case throughout the country, the Credit Union provided additional support for the war effort by purchasing War Bonds. The highest point of support was reached in December 1944 when the Credit Union owned $12,510.00 in War Bonds on an asset base of approximately $64,400.00.
By means of comparison the Credit Union would need to own approximately $17.5 million in War Bonds on December 31, 2002 to equal the support shown in 1944.
Employment & Equality
A by-product of the declines experienced in the 1940’s
was the financial difficulties that occurred during the
early 1950’s. The problems were further compounded
by the fact that the shipyard began to reduce its’ workforce
after the war. The Board minutes of June 1950 reflect
the concern raised by the State Examiner regarding the
need to immediately address the level of delinquent loans.
The problem of delinquent loans and their impact on income
would get worse.
While 1951 ended with a small positive net income, the ledgers reflect that for 5 months of the year a loss was experienced. 1952 showed the same trend continuing with a small positive income of $993.72 at year-end. The Credit Union was unable to reverse this course in 1953 and 1954 when it reported annual losses of $1,872.95 and $2758.56 respectively. It was not until 1955 that the losses would be reversed and only later that the delinquent loan problem was brought under control. It was during this period in November 1952 that the Board hired the Credit Union’s first employee Mrs. Marion Brown.
Mr. Baylor, State Examiner, addressed the seriousness of the problems at the Board meeting on June 2, 1955. At this meeting Mr. Baylor reported that:
"…generally, there had been a great improvement in the
Credit Union and that as of 22 January, 1954, the date of
their last visit, we were as near liquidation as we probably
ever would be…"
Mr. Baylor also addressed the level of delinquent loans that remained by noting:
"…that we now had 275 delinquents which was 47 9/10%
of the total number of borrowers, representing 36 9/10%
of the total money loaned."
By the end of the 1950’s the financial problems had been reversed. On December 31, 1959 the Credit Union reported assets of $203,714.79, loans of $179,582.45, shares of $184,697.39 and net income for the year of $5,934.17
While the 1950’s were a period of financial stress for the Credit Union, there were still certain watershed events. In addition to the employment of the first employee, the Credit Union moved into the area of modernization with the installation of its’ first bookkeeping machine. Gone were the days of manually posting the Credit Union’s books in the hardbound ledger book.
In 1951 the Board of Directors also made a decision based solely on the fact that it was the “right” thing and not because “that’s the way it always was”. Three years before the Supreme Court decision in Brown -vs- the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas and thirteen years before the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Board elected to move the Annual Meeting because certain large credit union stockholders were not allowed into the restaurant based solely on their race. While this decision in the light of today's standards may have lost some of its’ importance, in 1951 this decision spoke volumes about the character of the Board and the fact that all members have a right to express their opinion on the operation of their credit union.
More Milestones Are Reached
The 1960’s were a period of unprecedented change
throughout the country. The 60’s began with the
return of Elvis from the Army and ended with Woodstock
in New York. While the same level of turmoil was not
present, change was the watchword at the Credit Union.
In June 1960 the first personnel policy was enacted by
the Board under the title of Employee Relations. This
policy addressed vacation, sick leave and weekly pay
periods. The 1960’s saw the election/appointment
to the Board of Directors of the first woman, Ruby Jones
in 1962 and the first minority, J.T. Parker in 1969.
The first non-Credit Committee loan officer was appointed
in 1968 with a lending limit of $300.00.
Several milestones were reached in the 1960’s. At the beginning of the decade the Credit Union assets stood at $203,714.79. Assets reached $500,000.00 in March 1963 and surpassed $1.0 million in September 1964. On December 31, 1969 assets were $2,816,972.78. But it was not just the dollars that grew during this period. In December 1959 the total number of stockholders stood at 2,500. By December 1969 the number of members had increased to 6,900.
More important than the growth of the number of people that belonged to the Credit Union was the changed that occurred in the organizational structure. Since the date of organization the Credit Union had been a stock corporation and the stockholders voted the number of share owned. After 40 years, in October 1968 the by-laws were changed and the Credit Union was no longer a stock corporation. The era of “one member – one vote” had begun.
Our Identity as a "Business"
If the pace of change during the 1960’s was considered
quick, it only accelerated in the 1970’s. Some
of the changes that occurred were:
- The first retirement plan for employees was implemented in March 1974.
- The first reference to the USS Chesapeake at the logo occurred in September 1975.
- Open-End loans were introduced in April 1976.
- The first “on-line” computer system was installed in June 1977.
- Share Draft/Checking was introduced in December 1977.
- The office at George Washington Highway was opened in December 1977.
- The office at M-32 was opened in December 1978.
- The first member newsletter was published in January, 1978
All of these changes attributed to the continued growth of the Credit Union. In June 1975 the assets exceeded $5.0 million for the first time.
By December 31, 1979 the Credit Union served 14,136 members and had assets of $9,056,532.90.
Services Are Diversified
The rate of change continued to quicken in the 1980’s
with the advent of new services, products, delivery channels
and technology. All of this was done in an economic
environment that had never been encountered. Interest
rates reached record highs and the demand for new services
increased. A few of the changes that occurred in the
1980’s were:
- travelers Checks were sold in the branches for the first time in June 1980. The cost to our members was $1.00 per $100.00 purchased.
- Christmas Club accounts were re-introduced in August 1980. These accounts were originally offered in 1949 only to be stopped in 1951 due to cost. This time interest was paid on the accounts.
- The first certificates were offered in March 1981. This provided our members to an alternative for the other deposit accounts offered at other institutions in the high interest rate environment of the times.
- The first Individual Retirement Accounts were offered in January 1982.
- In June 1983 a major computer system conversion occurred allowing the Credit Union to stay current in the area of ever-changing technology.
- The first credit cards were issued in 1986.
- The first ATM cards were issued in 1987. Also in 1987 GE Credit Union was merged into our Credit Union.
In addition to the above noted changes, the internal organization also underwent a complete restructuring. New departments were created, new positions filed and staff training became a critical component to the ability to serve the member. Numerous consumer protection laws were enacted requiring changes to the operation and the training of the staff. These organization changes included the Board and Management structure. The position of President of the Board became Chairman and the position of Manager of the Credit Union became President. All of these changes were instrumental to the continued success and growth of the Credit Union. As of December 31. 1989 the Credit Union was serving 16,479 members and had an asset base of $34,976,111.56.
Family Members Are Included
As was the case in all of our previous decades, change
was “the word” in the 1990’s. At
the beginning of the period Norfolk Naval Shipyard
employed approximately 14,000 people. During the
90’s the shipyard reduced its’ employment
base to approximately 6,500 – 7,000. This event
could have been devastating to the Credit Union if
not for a change that was enacted by Congress regarding
the definition of field of membership. In 1991 Congress
approved an expansion of those individuals eligible
to join a credit union to include Family Members
and the Commonwealth of Virginia followed suit. This
change allowed the Credit Union to increase the number
of members even though the employment base in its’ primary
field of membership was reduced.
One of the other events that occurred during this period that allowed for the continued growth of the Credit Union was the opening of the branch office on Taylor Road in 1991. At the time the Taylor Road office opened the Credit Union had approximately $37 million in assets. By August 1992 assets reached $50.0 million and in February 1999 assets stood at $75.0 million.
The end of the period brought a new century. On December 31, 1999 the Credit Union served 19,437 members and had assets of $79,347,672.11.
Northern Star Today
Since its’ inception in 1928 the different Boards
of Directors and the ever-changing membership has recognized
that change was necessary in order for the Credit Union
to fulfill its’ mission. Just as hand-posted passbook
accounts led to machine-posted accounts which led to
computer-generated statements and finally to web-based
account access, the continued evolution of the Credit
Union was not only necessary but also desired. This was
never more evident than by the two events that occurred
at the beginning of the 21st Century.
- In April 2000 a change to the charter that had served the institution so well since 1928 was approved unanimously by the membership. This new charter was obtained in February 2001 and was for the entire City of Portsmouth.
- In April 2001 the membership unanimously approved changing the name of the Credit Union. The name change was approved in September 2001 and became effective on January 1, 2002.
- In June 2004 an expanded community charter was obtained to include all individuals in Chesapeake, Suffolk, and Portsmouth.
While the name on the door may have changed, the underlying principal for the Credit Union as reported by Mr. Boswell to the original 32 members in 1928 remains unchanged.
