PENSACOLA, Fla.-Navy Federal Credit Union celebrated the grand opening of its first remote call center in Pensacola. Navy Federal held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new 56,000 square foot facility on Friday, April 16. The call center is housed in the Navy Federal Heritage Oaks Center, which also includes a branch office. It is the first large operational facility outside the credit union's Vienna, Va.-headquarters. "Today marks a very significant moment in Navy Federal's operational history," NAFCU Federal Credit Union President and CEO Brian McDonnell said. "The Navy Federal Heritage Oaks Center and our first remote call center operation reinforce our mission to be a world class credit union.providing the men, women and families of the Navy and Marine Corps the highest level of member services possible. This facility is proof of our commitment and investment to this project and this community." More than 130 people work at the call center currently and Navy Federal anticipates hiring an additional 170 employees by the end of the year. By 2005, it will be fully staffed at 500 employees. At present, the call center takes an average of 3,800 member calls and 175 loan applications a day. The world's largest credit union broke ground on the facility a little over a year ago and opened for Business Nov. 10, 2003. The building and grounds include a fitness center, walking trails, places to eat, and training and conferencing facilities, among other things. "We created a workplace environment that promotes employee comfort and job satisfaction-a place where people will want to work for years to come," McDonnell said.