Community First Credit Union Installs New Chair of the Board
Malinda “Lindy” Prudencio installed at 88th Annual Meeting held
March 10, 2022
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 24, 2021 - Community First Credit Union, one of Florida’s largest credit unions, announces its board has elected a new board chair. Malinda “Lindy” Prudencio has been installed as the credit union’s board chair and will serve a four-year term. Community First Credit Union's Board of Directors comprises nine elected volunteers who establish policies to be implemented by management and staff.
Prudencio has served on the board of the credit union since 2016 and most recently served as the board’s vice chair. She has also served on the board’s CEO compensation committee and the Raymond A. Vinson Scholarship Committee. Prudencio is a career risk officer and is VP and chief risk officer at The Energy Authority.
In addition to the board for Community First, Prudencio has served as a board member of The Committee of Chief Risk Officers and is a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee. Her current and former community involvement includes serving as a board member for the UNF Foundation, president of the UNF Alumni Association, a member of the City of Jacksonville Health Facilities Authority and a member of the School Advisory Council at Twin Lakes Academy Middle School. Prudencio earned an MBA at the University of North Florida and a bachelor’s in business administration at the University of Florida. She is a native of Jacksonville and is a current resident.
Prudencio succeeds Board Chair Elvia Singleton Williams who has served as chair since 2018. Williams, the communications specialist at JEA, was the institution’s first African American chair of the board and helped the credit union with support and counsel about diversity, equity and inclusion during 2020’s national racial reckoning. During Williams’ tenure, the credit union has grown exponentially, and her leadership was crucial to the policies and governance that helped the credit union and its members weather the pandemic economy. Since 2018, the credit union has grown from 126,000 members to more than 160,000 members, a growth of 27%. Total assets have grown from $1.5 billion to almost $2.5 billion, a 64% increase. Loans during the four-year period increased 51% from $1 billion to $1.53 billion. Community First exceeded the monumental $2 billion mark in 2020 when it grew at its fastest rate in the 15 years prior and two years earlier than originally projected.
Williams has been a member of the credit union since the mid-80s when she returned to her hometown of Jacksonville after college. Her volunteer service to the credit union began as a founding member of the credit union’s Community Advisory Council in 2009 and is credited with improving diversity on the Council. In 2010, she was elected to the Community First Board of Directors and has served as treasurer and secretary as well as vice chair and chair. She has also chaired the Raymond A. Vinson Scholarship Committee, the Financial Literacy Committee and the Core Values (Annual Awards) Committee.
“We are proud of the legacy of service Elvia has provided the credit union,” said John Hirabayashi, CEO and president of Community First. “Our volunteer board provides leadership and governance and we look forward to our future under the direction of Ms. Prudencio.”
Community First Credit Union of Florida is a state-chartered credit union based in Jacksonville serving anyone who lives or works on the First Coast. Community First is one of the largest credit unions in Florida with $2.5 billion in assets and serving 160,000 members. Community First has 19 locations and 355 employees. A not-for-profit, Community First is a full-service financial institution offering banking, loans, mortgages and investments for consumers and businesses across the First Coast.
