Historic Omaha

there were 157-chartered credit unions in
Nebraska; today there are 86.
President/CEO Rich Kounkel, has worked
in the financial industry since 1968 and
piloted First Nebraska since 1987. Chairman
of the Board Gene Lyons, a credit union
member since 1960 at World Insurance, has
been chairman of the board at First Nebraska
for twenty-five years. All total, FNECU Board
of Directors boasts more than two hundred
years of collective volunteer service—a truly
remarkable credit union characteristic.
First Nebraska Educators Credit Union,
“Where members always come first!” defines
their service to the community. With
membership at 17,700 and growing, FNECU
is the third largest credit union in the
state. They were one of the first to upgrade
their management information system to
computers in the 1980s. Information and
on-line banking services are readily accessible,
and they maintain the human interaction of
branch banking with the friendliest staff in
the industry. “People Helping People!” It made
sense yesterday, it makes sense today, and it
will make perfect sense tomorrow.
Previous mergers continued benefits to
credit union members at Alegent Health,
Nebraska Methodist Health System,
Lutherans, World Insurance, Physicians
Mutual Insurance, and employee groups with
as few as five employees. With the Educators
merger in April 2000, the name changed to
First Nebraska Educators and Employee
Groups Credit Unions to more accurately
reflect the membership served. In addition to
SEG’s, FNECU now serves all public school
employees throughout Nebraska. The primary
headquarters is at 10655 Bedford Avenue,
Omaha. Other branches are at 120th and I
Street, Forty-eighth and Center in Omaha, and
4741 North Twenty-sixth Street in Lincoln.
New facilities opened in May 2000
at Fourteenth and Stockwell in Lincoln
and Forty-eighth and L in Omaha. In October
2003, another facility was opened at 5070
North Fifty-second Street in Lincoln. FNECU
can be found on the web at www.1stne-cu.org.
✧
Top, left: First Nebraska Educators Credit
Union Main Branch at 10655 Bedford
Avenue in Omaha.
Above: Gene Lyons has served as the
chairman of the board for FNECU for the
past twenty-five years
Below: The new South Lincoln Branch at
Fourteenth Street and Stockwell.
THE MARKETPLACE
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