Five Star Grew from the Trees of Early County Georgia
Rooted in Our History. Growing With Our Communities.
Five Star Credit Union’s story began in 1964 with eight members, $5 each and an office in a storage closet. Founded as Cedar Springs Federal Credit Union in Cedar Springs, Georgia, the credit union served employees of the Great Southern Paper Company. A mill employee managed the credit union part time as its treasurer. By the end of its first year, it had grown to 262 members and $81,363 in assets.
Over the next 15 years, the credit union moved out of the storage closet and opened its first financial center on mill property. Assistant Treasurer Martha Fussell became its first manager, leading an organization with 3,500 members, $3 million in assets and seven full-time employees. By 1984, assets had reached $9 million, and Earl Griffin joined as manager and later became president. A merger with Engelhard Credit Union in 1985 added a financial center in Attapulgus, Georgia.
By the late 1980s, Cedar Springs FCU had expanded into Alabama with locations in Dothan and Eufaula, reaching more than 5,000 members and $23 million in assets. A second Dothan location and a financial center in Cairo, Georgia, followed in 1991. As its reach expanded, the credit union adopted the name Five Star Federal Credit Union, along with its familiar red, white and blue colors and shield logo.
In 1997, Five Star moved its headquarters to North Foster Street in Dothan. A community charter opened membership to more people across Alabama and Georgia. By 2000, Five Star served 14,000 members through eight financial centers and held $70 million in assets.
Robert Steensma joined Five Star in 2007 as its third president and CEO. Under his leadership, Five Star continued expanding into new communities. A 2012 merger with Frederica Credit Union added locations in Brunswick and St. Simons Island, extending Five Star’s reach to Georgia’s coast.
In 2014, Five Star became the fourth credit union in the nation to acquire a bank through its purchase of Flint River National Bank in Camilla, Georgia. A merger with Georgia Coastal Federal Credit Union around the same time brought Five Star to 11 financial centers. The purchase of Farmers State Bank in 2015 expanded that network to 15 locations across 18 counties in Alabama and Georgia.
Five Star continued investing in its communities and member experience. In 2019, it built two financial centers in Dothan and one in Blakely, Georgia, each equipped with interactive teller machines to provide convenient service and give employees more time to help members with complex financial needs.
The Five Star Foundation was incorporated in 2020 to support educational opportunities through scholarship grants. By 2024, it had provided more than $400,000 in grants and endowments, including endowed scholarships at the College of Coastal Georgia, Enterprise State Community College, Southern Regional Technical College and Wallace Community College’s Dothan and Eufaula campuses.
A new headquarters opened in Dothan in 2021, providing twice the space of the North Foster Street building. In 2023, Five Star opened its first financial center in Coffee County in Enterprise and a new location in Dothan’s Lincolnshire area. Financial centers in Abbeville and Headland, Alabama, followed in 2024.
Later in 2024, Five Star’s purchases of Wilcox County State Bank and OneSouth Bank added eight financial centers in Georgia, bringing service to communities including Leesburg, Macon, Ocilla, Rochelle and Milan. These acquisitions brought Five Star to $1.2 billion in assets and 29 financial centers.
On Oct. 1, 2026, Five Star acquired Jackson Area Federal Credit Union, expanding into Mississippi. Today, Five Star has $1.3 billion in assets and 31 financial centers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.
From its beginnings in a paper mill storage closet to the communities it serves today, Five Star remains focused on helping working people and families build brighter financial futures. As a CDFI-certified credit union, Five Star is committed to increasing financial security and opportunity through access to safe, fair and affordable financial services.
Our reach has grown, but our purpose remains the same: brightening the financial futures of the communities we serve.
Let’s brighten your future!