Gilbert Awong is pictured in front of the HFS FCU branch that honors his family store Gilbert Awong is pictured in front of the HFS FCU branch that honors his family store. (Credit/HFS FCU)

HFS Federal Credit Union recently hung a new sign at its branch in Honoka'a, Hawaii, located on the state's Big Island, in honor of what was once housed there – the historic, family-owned Awong Brothers Store.

Lettering that spells out "AWONG 1924" now sits above the $880 million, Hilo, Hawaii-based credit union's name and logo on the outside of the building, which is the oldest structure in Honoka'a and listed in the National Register of Historic Places with the United States Department of the Interior. What's more, 102-year-old Gilbert Awong, the last owner of the Awong Brothers Store, recently met with an HFS staff member along with his daughter, Beverly, and had the opportunity to see his family's name displayed on the branch, according to HFS.

Gilbert Awong next to building plaque According to HFS FCU, when asked how he felt about seeing his name on the building, Gilbert said, "Oh, that's wonderful! At least people will recognize that it was Awong's before." His daughter Beverly added that she "wanted it to happen in his lifetime, and it did." (Credit/HFS FCU)

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Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.