It is with great anticipation that Education First Federal Credit Union announces the groundbreaking of its newest branch, a 7,700 square foot facility located on a three-acre site at the corner of Hwy 69 and FM 421 in Lumberton, Texas.

The $7.5 million facility has been designed to capture the distinctive brand identity of Education First while fully complimenting the credit union’s administrative headquarters in Beaumont.

The newly designed branch will feature “Universal Bankers” who will be trained to provide a wide variety of member services offered by the credit union through an open and efficient design. Traditional teller lines will be replaced by interactive teller machines designed to allow members the flexibility of efficient self-service options for cash and check transactions, loan payments and more. The branch will also offer Mortgage and Business loan origination and Wealth Management and Investment services. The branch will also include a 1,500-square-foot multipurpose room for internal training and credit union hosted events that will also be available for community use of similar events.

President and CEO, Kevin M. Conn, stated, “We have seen explosive growth in the last couple of years, and our ability to better accommodate our members in Lumberton and surrounding portions of Hardin County is a direct reflection of that success. Our goal is to bridge the gap between our branches in Jefferson County and those in Jasper, Tyler and Newton counties.

Education First has partnered with NewGround on this exciting project, a St. Louis-based architecture and design firm that has specialized in growth solutions for the financial industry for over 100 years. This will be the eighth project that Education First has partnered on with NewGround, and the sixth building project in as many years. Construction on the new facility will begin immediately, with a projected completion date of early 2024.