Riverways Federal Credit Union held a groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 30 to launch construction of its new Salem location, located off Highway 32 just west of Walmart.
Several dozen guests and members showed up for the groundbreaking at noon and were treated with hamburgers, chips and drinks catered by Main Street Café.
The groundbreaking ceremony concluded with a ceremonial shoveling of the first dirt for construction, which was scheduled to begin Monday. Holding the six shovels were supervisory volunteer George Hooker, volunteer board members Thomas Haines, Henry Dahms Jr. and Kirk Emory, along with chief executive officer Scott Shults and Salem branch manager Chris Holliday.
“Because of the tremendous community support and growth in membership, we have made the decision to further invest in Salem,” Shults said. “This new location is a commitment to the community and the members which Riverways serves. It will feature a larger parking area, more spacious lobby, and the best drive-thru hours available. All of these features are centered around our promise to provide the most convenient banking services to our area.”
The new facility will be designed to maximize traffic flow and provide a second ATM for its members. The building will have a larger lobby and office area – twice the size of the existing location on Highway 19 – allowing for additional employees to better serve the needs of the membership.
In addition to the larger lobby, the new building will be more convenient to access and have expanded hours of operation for those who need banking services outside traditional banking hours.
Construction is set to continue through spring of 2021.
“Dent County has overwhelmingly supported RFCU since it opened in 2015,” Shults said in a release about the groundbreaking. “The member/owners of RFCU deserve a great place to do their banking and we are proud to provide that service to them, in a new state-of-the-art location. RFCU is a staple in giving back to the communities they serve, from sponsoring all levels of sports programs to local charities and events.”
Credit unions are not for profit and owned by those who use them, the release said. Deposits are federally insured by NCUA.
The credit union was chartered in 1959 and opened its Salem location in 2015. Riverways also has locations in Rolla and Cuba. In addition, RFCU is part of a coop network of credit unions and gives members free access to over 30,000 ATM’s and 2,000 branches across the nation.
“In October of 2013 our regulating authority, NCUA, granted Riverways the opportunity to serve Dent county,” Shults said. “Immediately we identified the financial needs of the area and found there was a strong demand for a better banking option. In 2015 Riverways made the investment in Salem to open its first branch location in Salem to serve the Dent County area.”
There are now over 2,000 member/owners from Dent County, Shults said. The credit union is governed by a volunteer board of directors.
Other new construction near the RFCU site includes the Dollar Tree and Phelps Health Salem Clinic.
