Following severe storms that blew through North Florida’s panhandle area on Tuesday, January 9, spawning damaging tornadoes in Marianna, Fla., First Commerce Credit Union (FCCU) and its team members jumped into action Wednesday morning to show support for the community. Many residents were without power, and “boil water” advisories had been issued for the area. In response, FCCU team members from Tallahassee and Marianna gathered supplies and purchased food to host a Free Community Cookout, giving away more than 300 hot meals and bottled water to those in need.
FCCU team members offered freshly grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for nearly two hours, along with water and chips, to families and businesses who were without power and clean drinking water. One team member shared that several people they met were incredibly grateful to First Commerce for being there. Local residents also posted on social media with comments, such as, “Thank you for all you did for the community!” “This is part of why I love this credit union. Ya’ll rock!” and “Thank you for giving and supporting our community!”
“I am incredibly proud of how quickly our team responded to meet the needs of the Marianna community when they needed it most,” said Cecilia Homison, First Commerce CEO. “Our team members are a shining example of the culture of care we strive to provide for our members and the communities we serve.”
Each year, First Commerce supports hundreds of organizations through donations, sponsorships, and volunteer service hours. Wednesday’s cookout repeated First Commerce’s efforts in Marianna following the impacts of Hurricane Michael five years ago. And last October in the days following Hurricane Idalia, the credit union hosted two cookouts, serving more than 1,000 hot meals in Nashville and Valdosta, Ga., as well as a number of automatic and immediate financial relief programs to members who were impacted.
To learn more about how First Commerce supports our members and communities, visit FirstCommerceCU.org.
First Commerce team members Faith Capps, Jessica Doolan, Jacob Hedrick, Sean Johnson, Jimmy Turner, Michele Grissett and Joy Sanders are ready to serve hot meals to Marianna first responders and community members.
