TIC Federal Credit Union to change name to Kinetic Credit Union on March 10

Feb. 27--It's name has been TIC -- or The Infantry Center -- Credit Union since its original charter in 1956.

But come March 10, the only credit union doing brick-and-mortar business on Fort Benning will change its name to Kinetic.

"This is an exciting time for our credit union," Janet Davis, president and chief executive officer, said Thursday in a statement. "The name TIC has served us well and I am proud of what we have accomplished as TIC. Moving forward, we think Kinetic Credit Union truly captures what we are about -- passionate, people-focused, and progressive. We think it will resonate with a variety of generations and allow us to expand our brand."

The move comes with TIC looking to grow its presence in the Chattahoochee Valley. When it was founded in the mid-1950s, the financial institution served the military post's civilian workers. That was expanded to soldiers in 1965 as the Vietnam War was flaring up.

But in 2005, the credit union expanded its charter to include anyone -- with or without a military connection -- in the Georgia counties of Muscogee, Chattahoochee, Harris and Marion, as well as the Alabama counties of Russell, Lee and Macon.

The move also comes with the local market becoming more crowded with both credit unions and traditional national, regional and community banks. USAA, a military-centric insurance and bank, opened a financial center in north Columbus in December, while Navy Federal Credit Union entered the market in recent years.

TIC said it hired an Atlanta research firm, Adrenaline Inc., to study whether or not a new name was necessary, or if a new logo would suffice.

"But as we got into the process, the research confirmed that the majority of consumers did not know what TIC stood for, so we started work on a new name. We really liked Kinetic from the beginning," said Mark Littleton, TIC vice president and chief strategy and marketing officer, said in a statement.

Both the name and logo will be change in two weeks, although the credit union said customers should see nothing different in their accounts or staffers working at its offices.

There will be a redesigned website, along with a new address -- www.kineticcu.com -- with office or branch signs having the new moniker as of March 6. There also will be a new slogan, "Energized Banking."

Davis stressed the credit union's commmitment to Fort Benning will not change.

"But just as Fort Benning has evolved through the years, our credit union is also growing and preparing for the future. Fort Benning is no longer the Infantry Center," she said, a reference to its current name of U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence. That came about with the relocation of the U.S. Army Armor School to the installation, blending its mission with that of the infantry.

TIC has five large branches in Columbus and Phenix City, along with two smaller service centers and an office at the Pratt & Whitney complex on Macon Road. It also has 17 automated teller machines scattered throughout the area.

Data from Atlanta-based Georgia Credit Union Affiliates show TIC is the 9th-largest credit union in the state, with assets of more than $254 million at the end of 2012. It has about 41,000 members and 151 full-time equivalent employees.

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