Do you enjoy being a member of the Bronco team?
I love it! Bronco is like a family. It doesn’t really feel like work.

Even when members are in a bad mood?
Everybody has good days and bad. You can just see it all over their face when they walk in that they’re not having the best day. But to change that, you need to approach each member with a smile. Because you never know what someone is going through. Your smile could literally change someone’s whole day. And a little conversation about anything could just make their day better.

Sounds like you get to know the people who come in.
Yes. We see the same ones a lot of times. You get to know them, know their personalities. You learn things about each member that you want to keep tucked away with you. For example, one of our members doesn’t like envelopes. So, you know not to offer him an envelope because he doesn’t like them. Those things go a long way with members. They think, “okay, she remembers me.”

What makes you good at what you do?
I love it. If you don’t love your job, you’re not going to be good at it. If you hate getting up every morning and coming to your job, you’re not going to perform like you’re supposed to.

And members react to that.
Right. Being in member service is like a whole different ball game. You have to be a special type of person to be in customer service. You have to sometimes push whatever you’re doing to the back and put your best foot forward for the members.

What do you think makes Bronco special to members besides your stellar member service?
I feel like when they come in, they know that we’re going to do our best to serve them. We’re going to go the extra mile to make them comfortable. Dealing with money is a big thing. No one wants their money messed up. When they come into Bronco, they know they’re going to get the help they need and walk away feeling good about their decision of banking with the credit union.

What do you like to do outside of work?
I have three kids—three girls—and they keep me very active. They’re all involved in sports, so I either live my life at the football field with my daughter, the cheerleader, or one is a dancer, and I have a little one who plays softball, basketball and football. So, I’m always at someone’s field or school. That is my life.

So, it doesn’t sound like you have time for much else.
Right. Bronco is like a vacation for me when I come here.

Anything outside your children that interests you or things you like to do with the girls besides their sporting events?
I like traveling. I do try to travel a lot. I went to New Orleans, I’ve been to Texas, I lived in Washington state for a little bit. I do like traveling, and I’m really big on family, so I like to spend a lot of time with my family. We’re all very close.

Is your family spread around the country or do they all live nearby?
We’re all nearby. Josh Wyche is the sheriff (Southampton County Sheriff’s Office) and he’s my uncle, so we’re all in this area.

So, when you travel, you’re just doing it for fun.
Doing it for fun, yes. And I’m in the Praise Dance Ministry at my church. So, just having fun and laughing. I really love to laugh.

You’ve been to a lot of different places. What’s your favorite?
My favorite spot was New Orleans. You have to go. The food there alone is amazing. I was there from a Thursday to a Sunday, and I felt like I gained 10 pounds. The food is that amazing. I could just go back and eat all day. And the people are so nice there, too.

You work from home. Do you miss the team interaction?
I have been working from home since April 2020. I actually haven’t had face-to-face contact with members since I worked the greeter desk 10 to 12 years ago, but I do interact with them over the phone, which has been a big part of my job for a very long time. But I do miss seeing our members and my coworkers and being in that space with them, so I make it a point to come in and see everyone when I can.

What makes you successful at what you do?
Patience and compassion. Because when you have a member whose card isn’t working for one reason or another, they’re frustrated and they want answers. Sometimes you just have to listen and help them along on getting that fixed. Ultimately, I want it to be a one-stop type of thing. You call me, tell me what’s going on with your card and let me get that fixed. That way, when you hang up the phone, you’re not still upset or waiting to be transferred to someone else.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
The people. And I actually enjoy what I do. Every day is different. There are a lot of different things that come into play. I just enjoy talking to people and seeing how they’re doing and getting their issues fixed. But I also like the part of my job where there’s something new going on. I’m learning about new products; I’m learning about new things. It’s not just the same old everyday thing. There’s always something new. Cards are out there everywhere, and there’s always something going on.

What do you think makes Bronco special to members?
It’s definitely the personalized service. When you bank at Bronco, you always know someone there, or you know someone who knows someone. So, when you have an issue or when you need something done, you can always reach out to someone that can help you get to someone locally. And we’re local, so that helps a lot. I also just like the small-town feel. We become like a family because we interact with each other. We’re small and we all know about each other’s families.

What do you like to do outside of work?
In the past couple of years, I have started to do some traveling, and I really enjoy that. I get together with a few friends and we go off and do things, and I get to experience different parts of the world that I normally only see on TV. When COVID happened, it opened my mind to, “I have to get out. I have to do things. I have to experience life.” Because, when you’re closed off to everything, you realize what you haven’t experienced in life, and you have to get out and do those things.

What are some of the favorite spots you’ve visited?
I went to Ellijay, Georgia, for my 40th birthday. That was a lot of fun. It’s rural and it’s beautiful out there. You get to see the mountains. It’s quiet, but they have a lot of things to do. I actually went ziplining. It was insane. It was way out of my comfort zone at first, but then it was really great. I had a great time. We also went to Nashville, Tennessee, a couple of months ago, and that whole world—that nightlife, the music—it was just amazing. A few years ago, I got to see my brother out in Portland, Oregon, and the West Coast is absolutely beautiful. It’s a whole different atmosphere, a whole different world out there. The people and the scenery. It was just a great experience. So much fun and beautiful and eye opening.

How long have you been with Bronco?
I’ve been here since August of 2000. I’ve got a lot of history here. My kids were born and grew up in this area, so, it’s just been great to be here. It’s not like a job to be here. It’s like family. And I love that. I love coming to work, and everyone is just so happy to see you. It’s not like that dreaded, “Oh gosh, I have to go to work today.” Bronco is just such a great place. I’ve decided to stick around for 22 years, and I hope they want me to stick around for another 22. It’s been fun.

What qualities should an effective loan officer have?
Knowing what people need. And I’m one of them—I’m just like our members. I can look at a loan and see what they need because I’m on the same level with them. So, if they’re looking for a vehicle loan, a home loan, looking to consolidate debt, I can see the picture the way they’re requesting it.

What is your philosophy for serving members?
Just to be kind. Everybody needs a helping hand. That’s what they’re calling you for. They know what they want, but they may not know what they need. That’s what I like to do. Direct people the way that’s going to help them most, and help their dreams come true, too.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
Helping people. That’s what I like to do. I like helping people every way that I can. So, if somebody comes in and I can make their financial dreams come true, they are leaving smiling and happy. I’m happy, too.

It sounds like personalized service is a big part of your job.
Exactly, yes. Members may have their car loan financed somewhere else and they don’t know they can actually refinance it with us at a better rate. They think they may be stuck at that 5.00% rate and not realize that they can refinance with us at our 3.00% rate. Or that they can use the equity in their home to pay off a high-interest credit card, or something else like that. So absolutely, educating people of what we have that they may not know about is a big part of the personalization I can provide.

What do you think makes Bronco so special to members?
We are the community. We are people that they know. If they call in or they come in, they’re going to talk to people or see people they may have gone to school with, or church with, that they’re going to see out in the community, people that they know, people they can put faces with names. They’re not going to get somebody they have never seen or never heard of before. They may even know our parents.

Outside of work, is there something fun you like to do?
Absolutely. My kids keep me busy. So, anything dealing with my kids. I do like to do things in the community. My family actually adopted our road to clean it up, and I try to spread that information around. I try to get my friends and my kids’ friends to also participate in that to help keep our roads clean, our community clean. We also participate in blood drives. We like to give back to the community. I just hope that me doing that will spread kindness and other people will do that as well.

This is a new feature for “Hometown.” How do you feel about being the guinea pig?
Yeah, they take the old guy to see what they can do with him.

I was told you threaten to quit every day.
I actually quit five years ago, and they don’t know it. Always threaten to quit. That gives you options.

To what do you attribute your longevity with Bronco?
Hunger…[laughs]. Honestly, I enjoy working with people, and sometimes it’s rewarding because you’ve helped them. In this business of finance, you can’t always help people, but you can try.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
The most enjoyable thing is when I’ve helped someone. That’s the feeling you get they can’t pay you for.

Is that your philosophy on serving members?
My philosophy is basically I’m a jokester. When people come into my office, I want them to instantly be comfortable. I don’t want them to feel stiff-shirted, like I’m the guy on the other side of the desk, and they have to be careful about what they say. I want them to be comfortable. If they are comfortable, they’ll open up to me. Then I’ll learn more and be able to make more of a professional decision on what to do with them. But basically, I try to treat people just like I would expect if I were on the other side of the desk.

Which makes personalized service that much more important.
Absolutely. And there are people that do not plan to be happy. They get up that morning and their theme is not happiness. Most of the time I can break that and get them laughing. And they’ll say, “Gosh, I needed that.” But what’s kept me here is I enjoy working with the people. Member service is first on my agenda, and if I can make them happy and still stay within Bronco guidelines and get a paycheck, I’m happy, too.

What makes Bronco special to members?
We go out of our way to spoil them. We go absolutely out of our way to give you member services, to make you happy. They can’t get it anywhere else. We care whether or not you leave the building happy.

What do you like to do outside of work?
I do estate sales. I have a little business with a partner, and we do estate sales. We liquidate households for families whose loved ones have passed or gone to a nursing home. That keeps me busy.

Anything else?
Don’t say, “he’s a nice guy” because it’ll ruin my reputation. Honestly, I’m not a person who welcomes being in the spotlight. I prefer to be anonymous and do for people. I don’t do it for the spotlight. So, just try to make me sound semi-good. If you can slip in something about “he’s barely making ends meet and needs more money,” that would also be great.