Going the Extra (Nautical) Mile

Financing your next boat

Self-Help member Jim Roach, of Sunnyside, Washington, grew up on the water. His father taught him everything he knew about boating, and now that Jim himself is a father, it’s an important tradition he is passing down to his children. Weekend jaunts on the lake, sometimes meeting up with other family members, are a tradition in Jim’s family.

Last year, though, as Jim was checking over his boat in preparation for a long-awaited family reunion on the water, he noticed it wasn’t watertight, and, well, that’s a problem for a boat.

Jim is employed, but, as he put it, “I don’t come from money. I needed to try to repair the boat.”

And then Jim did the math: the cost of repair was high - only a bit less than the price of the better-quality second-hand boat he had just seen advertised. He went to go see the boat and loved it, but he’d need to finance it, and the reunion was that weekend.

"Without the credit union, I wouldn’t have been able to do so many things. The credit union always had my back."

Jim went into his financial institution, where he had banked for over 10 years, to see if they could finance the purchase. They told him no. Because the boat was an older model, it wouldn’t have the collateral value they would need to lend on it.

Although he wasn’t a Self-Help member, Jim knew of the Self-Help branch in Sunnyside. He visited the branch, even though it was ten minutes before closing. “It was Friday,” he said. “I was a walk-in. This was a long shot.”

What Jim didn’t realize, though, is that Member Services Manager Maria Garcia, was on duty. Maria grew up in a credit union family. Her father, a longtime member of Self-Help (then Lower Valley Credit Union), had always told Maria, “Without the credit union, I wouldn’t have been able to do so many things. The credit union always had my back.”

When Maria showed up as a Self-Help employee years later, she took her father’s words to heart: always have the member’s back.

Maria agreed to stay late and work with Jim to get the financing for his boat. They were successful: Jim got financing for his purchase and he and his family attended the reunion.

So many of our members share positive stories of feeling a human connection in our branches – a sense of being “at home.” Jim says he’s glad he walked into the branch that day. We’re glad he did too.