Written by Bill Prescott *
"People do business with people they know, like and trust" -Bob Burg
One of the great parts about living in a small community is that you are not anonymous. We all are about two to three degrees of separation from each other. This becomes very important once you enter the business world.
In 2012, I wrote a Business Sense column for the Times Standard about Sun Valley’s Guiding Principles. Most of the time you write these articles and never hear much back, but in this case a woman I had never met reached out saying how much she liked the column, and we agreed to meet for lunch.
This was my introduction to Jennifer Budwig, now the President of Redwood Capital Bank. This lunch started a fourteen years (and counting) friendship. As I was ready to move on from Sun Valley, I mentioned my situation over lunch circa 2018, Jennifer connected me with Patrick Cleary, who was looking for a General Manager for Lost Coast Communications at the time.
As I moved over to this job, the Covid 19 pandemic hit. Remember the “Paycheck Protection Program”, called the “PPP” for short? I know, you may still be traumatized!
Every business in Humboldt was trying to figure out how to navigate this crazy system. Jennifer and her team cracked the code for Humboldt, and Lost Coast Communications, among many others became customers overnight to access their expertise.
During this time, interest rates plummeted, it was time to refinance our home mortgage. Of course, Redwood Capital was the first call, and even after many other calls, they still had the absolute best rate.
Over these years, Jennifer has been a great community supporter. I remember when we were on the Eureka Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors together, and I wondered if she ever went home, since she was at literally every community event.
Now, as a Humboldt Made Board Member, we are blessed to have Shannon Maciel, a Commercial Lender at Redwood Capital Bank, on our Board. She brings a strong financial background to the non-profit known for putting on Friday Night Market, promoting tourism and supporting local business.
Just last week, we both volunteered at the Farm to Table dinner following the Redwood Coast Region Economic Summit. We really hit our stride at the end of the event where we were tasked with serving fresh and very cold Jersey Scoops ice cream to over a hundred people.
This is hard work! However, Shannon and I (and the other volunteers) cracked each other up the entire time, no matter how sore our wrists got from scooping.
Both Shannon and Jennifer represent people I genuinely like and respect, why wouldn’t I want to do business with them?
They are not only knowledgeable and trustworthy, as you would expect from a bank. They are truly out in the community, showing up at events, donating their time and expertise. These are my kind of people!
By “Choosing Humboldt” you are investing in the people and institutions in our own community, it’s a win win!
*Bill Prescott is a Humboldt Made Board Member
