In 1936, during the Depression, a group of Asbury Park schoolteachers organized themselves into one of the earliest Credit Unions in America. It was named Monmouth County, NJ Teachers Federal Credit Union. Under the leadership of Harold “Pop” Shannon, this Credit Union grew to include employees of both Monmouth and Ocean County Boards of Education, at which time the name was changed to Mon-Oc Teachers Federal Credit Union. From a small office in Asbury Park, over the years the Credit Union expanded its field of membership to include municipal employees (and the name changed to Mon-Oc Public Employees Federal Credit Union), employees of some local hospitals and nursing facilities, and several small businesses (when the name then became Mon-Oc Federal Credit Union). In April 2003, Mon-Oc became a community Credit Union, serving anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers or attends school in Monmouth or Ocean Counties. The cooperative spirit that was created in the early days of Mon-Oc is still at the heart of our philosophy, as we became First Financial Federal Credit Union in July 2006.