Citadel Celebrates its 80th Anniversary with Owner of Oldest Account

Doug Thompson, Citadel, presents the owner of the oldest Citadel account, Sophia Juhas, with a cake in her honor.

On Friday, November 17, Citadel celebrated its 80th anniversary as an institution in all of its 22 branches. In Citadel’s original branch in South Coatesville, the company celebrated the owner of the oldest Citadel account – Sophia Juhas. Sophia has been a Citadel customer since 1951, and has lived in the Coatesville area since that time. 

Citadel took Sophia completely by surprise on Friday, with management telling her to “stop by” without indicating the branch would be celebrating Sophia’s customer loyalty. Sophia was presented with a large gift basket, a cake, and flowers.

“I’ve been a loyal Citadel customer for over 65 years because of the people here,” said Sophia. “Everyone at Citadel is friendly and helpful, and that’s never changed. When I come to the South Coatesville branch, it feels like home. I’m completely overwhelmed with this surprise, I just can’t believe it.” 

Sophia enjoyed her celebration by dancing to live tunes by the Lukens Band, who played at the event as a nod to Citadel’s roots as the Lukens Employee Credit Union. Surrounded by friends and Citadel employees, Sophia was proud to be celebrated for owning the oldest account held at Citadel. 

“It’s because of customers like Sophia that Citadel has grown into the successful institution it is today,” said Pam Krupansky, vice president, Citadel. “Citadel has expanded throughout the years, and now has $3 billion in assets, but we have maintained our longtime customers. We’re very proud of our customer loyalty, which shows true success.”  

Today, Citadel is one of the Greater Philadelphia area’s largest locally owned financial institutions, proudly serving residents of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.