When Richard Shephard, 48, moved to the area in 2006, his sister, a member of 1st Advantage, encouraged him to join the credit union. He's been a member ever since. "I needed a car and they gave me a chance to get the loan for my car and went all out for me," says Richard. "It was a fresh beginning, another stepping stone to getting my life back on track."
He works as a property caretaker in Carrollton, a job he loves, and sometimes goes to Langley Speedway for fun. "I'm a big race fan," he says. While he was there last fall, he recognized some of the 1A Colleagues he deals with at the 1st Advantage Branch in Kiln Creek. They were there, encouraging people to enter a drawing for a $1,000 1A Gift Card. So he entered. And he won. "At first, it was kind of a shock; I forgot I entered," says Richard. "I said, Man, that's going to really help! I'm getting married and that may go to our honeymoon or to help us furnish an apartment." Richard laughs. "They talked me into putting it into a new Money Market Account, so it's getting interest, and that's going to help me even more."
What has he learned? "You can enjoy life," he says with a smile. "The credit union tries to give everybody the same opportunity, to help them get ahead, especially in these bad times. We get to share the experience with each other because we're all members."
