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All for one
Get to know First Alliance Credit Union
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Our Founding Story
It all started in 1932, during the Great Depression, when the desperate financial needs of a new school teacher in Rochester prompted him and 7 Rochester firefighters to establish their own credit union, Municipal Employees Credit Union (MECU). The first “branch” was located in the original firehouse in downtown Rochester, which was run by the firefighters and other volunteers, and at the time the credit union was only open to Rochester city employees.
By 1996, the credit union had expanded and opened its membership to additional groups in need of a local financial resource they could trust. Thus, the credit union needed a name to reflect the alliance that was formed through all of the new fields of membership, beyond only municipal employees and their families, and that is when First Alliance Credit Union was born.
In 2016, we adopted a new logo and tagline to better express our commitment to our members and the communities we live in. Our logo is representative of the Rochester skyline and the colors speak to our history and our future. Our tagline, “all for one” is simply our commitment that ALL we do is FOR every ONE of our members. That means YOU!
Today, we have grown to serve over 20,000 members across 14 South East Minnesota counties of Blue Earth, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Le Sueur, Mower, Nicollet, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, or Winona counties. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, does regular business, worships, attends school, or owns a businesses and other legal entities in these 14 counties. Family members or existing members are also eligible to join. Additionally, membership is open to those who donate a minimum of a $10 to First Alliance Credit Union Foundation. Depositing $5 is all it takes to open an account at Rochester’s original credit union.
No matter where our future takes us, we are committed to offering advice, sharing resources, and providing lending options to everyone in order to assist them in making smart financial decisions through every stage of life.
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Our Mission & Vision
Our Mission
At First Alliance Credit Union, we place our members' (and future members) needs first by providing compassion, guidance, and resources to promote their financial well-being.
Our Vision
At First Alliance Credit Union, we want to be the trusted partner of choice for the financial success of our members and the communities we serve.
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Our Core Values
At First Alliance Credit Union we have seven core values that help guide our decision making. These core values also reflect our beliefs for how we can best serve and support our members and our employees.
Trust - We know that trust is the belief and confidence in the integrity, reliability, transparency and fairness of our organization. We are honest and ethical in all our interactions with employees, members, and the public.
Compassion - We provide loving concern for members and employees in a safe, non-judgmental atmosphere. We understand and consider the feelings of others. We strive to advocate for our employees work/life balance.
Diversity & Inclusivity - We welcome and embrace the contributions of all people with diverse personal characteristics without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, age, geographic location, sexual orientation, gender, social class and type of disability. We believe a diverse and inclusive community makes us stronger.
Innovation - We empower our employees to relentlessly search for better solutions, challenge prevailing assumptions, and try new things. Innovation means making meaningful change to improve our organization's products, services, programs, processes, and operations, with the purpose of creating new value for all stakeholders.
Empowerment - We empower our employees to own the member experience and immediately resolve service issues as good judgement dictates.
Stewardship - We fulfill our obligations to build a better, stronger, more durable credit union for future generations. We are committed to leveraging our resources for the financial well-being of our members.
Flexibility - We know that to be effective, we must be agile and adept. "The way it's always been done" will not be sufficient to bring us future success. We are a flexible organization that is willing to learn, create new ideas, and adapt to new environments.
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Join Our Team
If you want to make a positive difference in the financial lives of your neighbors, then a career with First Alliance Credit Union is where you should be. We offer a friendly and supportive working environment and competitive benefits package that includes:
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Generous health insurance options
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Dental insurance and vision coverage
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Short term disability and life insurance coverage
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PTO for vacations, illness, bereavement, holidays, and your birthday
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401K with employer match
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Rate discounts on loans and waived service charges
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Ongoing career development opportunities
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Remote work opportunities for many positions
Come join our dedicated and passionate team today! We are always looking for people who are motivated to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Explore all of our current job openings using the button below or email your resume to hr@firstalliancecu.com. Bilingual (Spanish/English) applicants are encouraged to apply. Plus, see our Volunteer Leadership Opportunities here.
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Meet Our Leadership Team
Brent Rempe
President/CEO
Andrea Allen
Chief Revenue Officer
Valerie Mathias, CPA
Controller
Jenna Taubel
AVP of Marketing
Jeremiah Halloran
AVP of Digital Services and Technology
Cesar Cortez
AVP of Risk Management
Kristina Kovacevic
AVP of Retail Experience
Robin Fries
Employee Experience Manager
Danielle Sommerfeldt
Community Lending Manager
Kim Ferraro
Real Estate Lending Manager
LeAnne Trom
Loan Administration Manager
Jordan Kaehler
Loan Portfolio Manager
Nathan Finney
Account Services Manager
Get to Know Our History
Where it all began
1932
City employees joined together to start a financial cooperative called Municipal Employees Credit Union, housed inside the firehouse in downtown Rochester
1932
1949
Credit Union reached 139 members, all were city employees.
1961
As the credit union continued to grow the firefighters began hiring employees to manage the credit union, still housed at the downtown fire house.
1961
1986
The first branch is built! Our first branch was built at 501 16th Street SE in Rochester.
1987
Seeing the need for our members to have a better credit card option, we began offering low interest rate credit cards to our members.
1987
1990
We were ahead of the technology curve by offering Online Banking to our members in 1990; most financial institutions did not begin offering this technology until 1994!
1996
A new name… The credit union continued to grow and expand beyond just municipal employees, a name change was needed, and First Alliance Credit Union was born.
1996
1997
Our second branch was built at 320 Alliance Place NE in Rochester.
2004
Obtained a Community Charter, broadening our field of membership even further and allowing us to help anyone who lives, works, worships, does business, or attends school in five South East MN counties of Olmsted, Dodge, Goodhue, Wabasha, and Winona.
2004
2005
To accommodate growing membership and staff, we expanded our 37th Street branch.
2006
Our third branch is built at 1011 Tompkins Drive NE in Byron.
2006
2012
We launched our Call Center housed inside our Byron branch to better assist our members.
The Dairy Credit Union was a modest-sized credit union with approximately 500 members, consisting entirely of Rochester Kemps employees; we took over the credit union when their sole employee was prepared to retire.
2013
We began offering our free mobile banking app to give our members easier access to their accounts, when and where they need it.
2013
2016
We adopted a new logo and tagline to better express our commitment to our members and the communities we serve.
2020
We opened our innovative, co-branded Commerce Drive branch in NE Rochester, introducing our Kiosks for the first time!
2020
2021
We opened a branch in Stewartville MN, providing both member service and expanded office space for our growing team.
Merged in AE Goetze Credit Union in Lake City MN when their CEO retired, we welcomed 1,000 new members into our First Alliance family and acquired their branch.
2023
We launched our Foundation to better serve our communities in Southeastern Minnesota.
2023
2024
Our field of membership expanded to include 9 more SE MN counties: Blue Earth, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Le Sueur, Mower, Nicollet, Rice, Steele, and Waseca.
Serving our members today