Company officials say new name will likely drop ‘Tooele’ to emphasize growth elsewhere

After 37 years of doing business as Tooele Federal Credit Union, the county's largest locally based financial institution will be changing its name this spring. The change is being made to reflect TFCU's recent growth outside of the Tooele Valley, according to company officials.

The new name has not yet been decided on, but according to TFCU Marketing Manager Brett Valdez, it likely will not include "Tooele" in the title. Valdez said the company would prefer to have a name that does not sound solely focused on serving Tooele County.

"We're really growing, with now over 20 percent of our members being from Salt Lake County, so having our name seem like it's focused on Tooele might limit our potential as we're growing out there," Valdez said. "People might think that you have to live in Tooele County or be associated with it in some other way to become a member."

TFCU has undergone several previous name changes in its 60-year history. It was originally formed in 1948 as Benicia Arsenal Federal Credit Union in Benicia, Calif., and served a military membership base there until its move to Tooele in 1961. The name was then changed to Tooele Army Depot Federal Credit Union in 1962, and in 1971 was again changed to Tooele Federal Credit Union, as a result of an increased membership base that included Tooele County residents.

"The TFCU Board of Directors will vote and make the final approval of the name with the help of our suggestions," Valdez said. "The new name will be announced at TFCU's 60th annual membership meeting, and even though it will be decided on before then, we probably won't say anything at all until the meeting."

Valdez also agreed that the new name should emphasize the credit union's past.

"We don't want our members to feel like we're abandoning our Tooele County heritage with this name change," he said. "In fact, we embrace the heritage of our credit union and want everyone to gain a better understanding of it. We also want to better reflect and represent our entire membership, and we want to remember where we came from and where we want to go for the future."

TFCU has almost $300 million in assets, more than 36,000 members, and five full-service branches, according to Valdez. Three of those branches were built in the last seven years. The newest branch was built in South Jordan, and was the first location built outside of Tooele County in almost 60 years. There are also now two full-service locations in Tooele, one in Stansbury Park, and one in Grantsville.

Currently, 48 percent of TFCU's member households are outside of Tooele County.

TFCU President and CEO Steve Christensen said he wants to make sure members understand that the name change does not represent a company buyout or merger, and that the credit union will still remain a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative financial institution.

"Other than the name, nothing will change," he said. "Members don't need to be worried about the credit union morphing into something different. We simply want a name conducive to all of our members feeling ownership in this institution."

The new name will formally be introduced at Tooele Federal Credit Union's 60th annual membership meeting Thursday, April 24, at the Fireman's Museum located at the Deseret Peak Complex. The meeting, which is free of charge and open to the public, begins at 6:30 p.m.

Doug Radunich: dougrad@tooeletranscript.com