Jackson County 1st Credit Union
2025 Annual Meeting for 2026 CEO Speech
by Valena Alexander, CEO, Jackson County 1st Credit Union
When thinking of a theme for this year’s annual meeting, Spring into Action came to mind. I thought with it being in April, the weather’s warming up, flowers are blooming and everything seems new and renewed this had to be the theme.
When I started doing a little googling for Spring into Action catch phrases or quotes, I found several that seemed to fit my credit unions 2025 year of reflection and 2026 year of planning.
Robin Williams once said that “spring is nature’s way of saying ‘let’s party.’” I felt that was fitting since we were gathering to celebrate my credit union’s 2025 accomplishments.
“Spring: a lovely reminder of how beautiful change can truly be”—words from Edgar Guest. Well, how perfect is that? 2025 was a year for change at my credit union. A name change, a building change, a mindset change.
‘“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” — Audrey Hepburn.
I absolutely believe in tomorrow for my credit union.
But I think my favorite is “you better spring into action with the best people you have.” — Malcolm Forbes.
Well, my credit union has the best people, the best members, the best employees and the best volunteers, all living and working in the best county.
My team and volunteers were very courageous in 2025, stepping into unchartered territory with a name change. After 70 years of being known as Jackson County Teachers Credit Union, always putting our community 1st, it only seemed right to change our name to Jackson County 1st Credit Union.
With that name change came questions as well as praise. That one-word change has made a complete mindset change for my credit union. Not in the way we do business but in the way our community does business with us. That small word 1st is very impactful. It is a constant reminder that my credit union always puts its members 1st and always reminds its members that they are 1st.
My board volunteers always put our members 1st when making decisions and 2026 is another year of action.
Some of you have already noticed our new ATM at 3670 Caverns Rd, conveniently located between Marianna High School and Marianna K8, all while being right across from the MERE Sports Park.
Several years ago, the board decided to purchase that perfectly located property if we would like to have an ATM or an additional branch. As many of you know, that area of Marianna is extremely busy with school traffic, MERE events, FCI employees, school board and county offices, as well as businesses at the industrial park — not to forget Sunland, the airport and the health department.
That area of Marianna deserves the convenience of banking, and we will be the ones to give it to them. We will soon be starting on an additional branch office that will be located on that property. We hope to start by September of this year, with a 12-month prospective time frame of completion. We are very excited about this addition for our members and our community 1st commitment. We will keep you all updated as things move along.
The city has agreed to work with us on making this as simple as possible, all while documenting the process for new business owner hopefuls within the city limits. We are thankful for this streamline collaboration with the city of Marianna.
I want to thank each of you again for giving Jackson County 1st the opportunity to be your 1st choice. I want each of you to be proud of Jackson County 1st and always refer to it as “my credit union,” each of you being equal owners of a credit union that always puts its members 1st.
We look forward to serving you for many years to come.