WASHINGTON-A credit union took a chance on Congressman Butch Otter's (R-Idaho) family business when no one else would. His father tried to get a loan from a bank to start a small dairy but was turned down. The Otters' credit union came to the rescue though. "That credit union took a chance on us and the reason they took a chance on us is because they had been there," Otter said. They were farmers and they knew the rural economy. That small dairy grew from a dozen cows to 84. Then, they got a subsequent loan from their credit union to grow feed for the livestock. When young Butch wanted to go to college-his catholic father insisted on the seminary – he again turned to his credit union for an $800 loan. He only lasted about a year-and-a-half there. But after he transferred to another school he wrote a paper on starting a business and decided to follow it up by actually starting a business. Again, he went to his credit union for a $1,500 loan. He sold the business at age 23 for $125,000 a few years later. "The main reason credit unions have such a great and rich history is because you maintained the fundamentals," Otter stated.
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