The TIP of the Flood: FedChoice FCU Now on Dry Ground

WASHINGTON – A life-sized mannequin wearing a raincoat and boots and toting an umbrella stands in the lobby of the federal office building at 1111 Constitution Ave. as a reminder of the day last summer when the IRS headquarters and the main branch of IR FCU were flooded by torrential rains that soaked the basement and shut down the branch. Two days of heavy rain in the Washington area last June 24th and 25th left as much as 25 feet of water in the basement and sub-basement at IRS headquarters, forcing a closure of the building until this week while furniture, equipment, carpeting and drywall were all replaced. Along with IRS headquarters, the branch was reopened yesterday, celebrating a new name for the $220 million credit union, FedChoice FCU, and a new TIP charter, allowing it to serve some 250,000 federal employees in the Washington corridor, stretching all the way to Baltimore and Philadelphia. “We are thrilled to be home again, this time on dry ground,” exclaimed Karen Sandor, executive vice president of FedChoice. “We’re looking for a flood, but this time we hope it will be a flood of new members.”