Launch Credit Union Featured in Paradise Living Magazine

Paradise Living Magazine in Ormond Beach recently featured Launch Credit Union in their June edition! Continue reading to check out the full article below!

by Sean Donovan

I recently had a chance to chat with Adria Symons, branch manager of the Orange City Launch Credit Union location. She was more than happy to share a bit of history and some unique services offered by Launch Credit Union.

“Launch Credit Union has been serving our communities for almost sixty years. The credit union began as Kennedy Space Center Federal Credit Union and served only those who worked at KSC. As years passed, we chartered to include anyone who lives, works or worships in Brevard or Volusia counties. Since people still thought by the name that you had to work at the Space Center, in 2014, we rebranded to Launch Credit Union. Just last year, we changed to a state-chartered credit union. This has enabled the credit union to add Seminole, Osceola, Orange and Flagler to our county base. In addition, this gave us the ability to add a larger mix of financial products and services for our members’ needs.

“Launch Credit Union now offers business and commercial real estate lending. We have recently added retirement and investment services, as well as an alternative to payday lending. We are also partnering with businesses to help them grow by providing merchant lending. This makes it easier for smaller companies to provide on the spot lending for their customers. We are constantly expanding and growing to make sure we meet the needs of our membership.

Community Involvement

“Launch CU is always looking for ways to help our local communities. Twice a year we offer free shred days for our members, which helps prevent fraud. We also offer free educational seminars with helpful information on building your credit, how to buy a home, how to protect your identity, and more. Launch holds food drives to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. Right now we’re collecting pet supplies to donate to local animal shelters. One of the best things about working for a credit union is that we are for the people. We want to make sure we are doing things to better our communities and the people who live in them.

“One of the biggest differences between banks and credit unions is that we are not for profit. Our members are our shareholders, not Wall Street. We pass our profits back to our members. This is done in the form of fewer fees, lower interest rates, and higher dividends on their deposits. And we invest it back into better products for our members.

“Something that’s really unique about Launch is that we have branches in two different local high schools in Volusia County: University High School and Spruce Creek High School. In these two branches, we have the ability to offer teller transactions, ATM withdrawals, new account setup, and educational initiatives on credit score, preparing to qualify for a mortgage, and other financial topics. Pre-pandemic, we used to interview high school students for internships to work in their high school branch. They gained valuable experience and life skills by conducting transactions, learning the systems and interacting with peers as members. It’s a unique program that I haven’t heard of anywhere else.

Become A Member

“Launch offers a checking account with no minimum balance and no monthly maintenance fees, which is a great reason to start using our credit union. All of the Publix Presto ATMs are free to our members. If you are looking to buy land to build your home on, we offer lot loans, which many lenders do not offer. We also offer fixed and variable rate home equity loans for people who are looking to utilize their equity in their home for projects or expenses.

“One of our accolades that we’re extremely proud of is that we were recently named the 4th best credit union in the state of Florida. Like many businesses, we’ve had to pivot due to the pandemic, but we’ve still been able to provide exceptional service for our members. We call our customers ‘members’ because they’re like family. All you have to do to become a Launch member is to deposit $5 to start a savings account with us.”

Launch welcomes you to stop by any of their 16 branch locations and meet their team. If you have questions, call 800-662-5257 or visit Launch online at www.LaunchCU.com. You can open your account online or in person, and you can apply for any loan online. So whether it’s online or face to face, Launch is happy to welcome you to the family.