Gather Federal Credit Union breaks ground in Kilauea
Thursday, March 23, 2023 12:05 am
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Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island
Gather Federal Credit Union President and CEO Tess Shimabukuro, eighth from left, and Hope Kahu Ku‘ulei Wichimai of Ke Akua Mana Church, third from left, are joined by Gather FCU board members, its leadership team, and special guests from the community at the groundbreaking for the credit union’s Kilauea branch, its seventh on the island.
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Gather Federal Credit Union President and CEO Tess Shimabukuro moves the digging sticks into place for the groundbreaking of Gather’s Kilauea branch on Wednesday.
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Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island
Mark Ventura meets with some of the Gather Federal Credit Union management team on Wednesday at the groundbreaking of the credit union’s Kilauea branch that will rise across from the Kilauea post office.
Dennis Fujimoto The Garden Island
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KILAUEA — Gather Federal Credit Union will be present in Kilauea following a period of absence, said Gather FCU President and CEO Tess Shimabukuro on Wednesday, as she led a small group during the groundbreaking for the credit union’s newest branch.
KILAUEA — Gather Federal Credit Union will be present in Kilauea following a period of absence, said Gather FCU President and CEO Tess Shimabukuro on Wednesday, as she led a small group during the groundbreaking for the credit union’s newest branch.
Shimabukuro said Gather had a presence in Kilauea after the credit union was founded by a group of eastside farmers. That eventually disappeared until the groundbreaking.
A sign with an architect’s rendering of the seventh Gather FCU branch on the island welcomed guests to the new location, which is directly across from the Kilauea post office, and sandwiched between a pair of Permanently Affordable Living Kaua‘i housing projects.
The gathering included Hope, pronounced “ho-pay,” Kahu Ku‘ulei Wichimai of Ke Akua Mana Church, board members of the Gather FCU, and the credit union’s management team. Prominent guests included Gary Pacheco, who has been a Gather FCU member since 1964, and Bill “2 Sticks” Chase of the Kilauea Neighborhood Association and Permanently Affordable Living Kaua‘i.
Shioi Construction is the contractor of the project, which is expected to be finished by early 2024.
Additional details were not available Wednesday, but a Gather FCU official promised more details in the near future.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
