In June of 1939, seven employees of Ingalls Shipyard met on the east bank of the Pascagoula River and drafted documents forming a credit union for themselves and their fellow workers.
The laborers at the shipyard, which had opened the year before, needed access to credit to buy vehicles, appliances, and other items to improve their families’ quality of life. The new credit union became essential to their financial health — encouraging saving and providing affordable loans.
Although it has a different name, that institution remains vital to the local shipbuilding community 82 years later.
“The fact that Ingalls Employees Credit Union could grow into today’s Navigator Credit Union, serving so many more people and communities while retaining a commitment to continuing to meet the needs of the hardworking men and women of Ingalls Shipbuilding, is especially impressive to me,” says Cheryl Jackson Cooper, director of marketing for Navigator Credit Union.
Starting with one location in the Ingalls human resources office, Navigator now has 12 full-service branches in two states. The credit union has the distinction of being the second largest in Mississippi and among the largest in Alabama. Its member ranks have swollen from the seven original founders to more than 45,000 today.
Throughout its history, Cooper says, Navigator has strived to live up to its original motto: “People mean more than money.”
“Navigator is uniquely committed to meeting the needs of working men and women and their families by offering only personal banking products and services,” she says. “Individual checking, savings and loans are what we do; they’re our priorities and not afterthoughts or add-ons to business services, as is the case with so many other financial institutions.”
Also setting Navigator apart, Cooper adds, is its four-part pledge to its members to simplify their lives, protect their privacy, work in their best interest and help them achieve financial success. She notes that one of the ways Navigator makes good on that promise is its call center. When members dial the credit union’s toll-free line, they will be speaking with someone who lives on the Coast rather than a person in a distant office or call center.
“We believe Credit Union membership is for life,” Cooper says, “and it’s our aim to build strong relationships.”
Through their stories and survey comments, she adds, members have shared the numerous ways Navigator has served them in times of need — such as helping after the death of a spouse, providing a back-to-school loan or stepping in after a hurricane. During the pandemic, Navigator’s #CommunityStrong initiative supported 35 local restaurants that were impacted, saluted health care workers and provided more than 10,000 meals through Feeding the Gulf Coast.
The phrase that comes to mind when Cooper thinks of her employer is “We’ll navigate this together.”
“(This) means Navigator is here for our members and the communities where they live, work, worship and attend school,” she says, “no matter what happens on life’s journey.”