Mobile Branch Heads to Storm-Ravaged Mississippi (9/9/2005)

This motor home will serve as the branch location of Jackson County Employees Federal Credit Union in Mississippi. The credit union was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

A Mississippi credit union destroyed in Hurricane Katrina will receive a mobile branch in order to serve the needs of its members. The branch comes on loan from Carolinas Telco Federal Credit Union in Charlotte, with all costs underwritten by the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation.

Jackson County Employees Federal Credit Union in Pascagoula, Mississippi was destroyed when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast August 29th. After being closed several days, the credit union reopened, operating out of the back of a pickup truck.  

The mobile branch is a 34-foot recreational vehicle enhanced to function as a temporary branch location. Carolinas Telco put the vehicle up for sale earlier this year. "We used it for disasters such as hurricanes," said Bill Flowers, "but with Internet banking so prevalent now, we decided to sell it."

The motor home has been modified to function as a full-service branch.

The Foundation is underwriting the cost of operating the mobile branch in Mississippi. "This is a way we can help the credit union help its members," said CCUF Executive Director Steve Elam. "By providing a means for the credit union's members to access money, we are effectively helping them help themselves."

NCCUL Staff Auditor Patty English drove the mobile branch from Charlotte to Mississippi. Click here to read more about her all-night drive to the Gulf Coast.