Blaine's Passion is Commendable

Like many, I have been reading all the letters about the Jim Blaine/Ken Fergeson debate. Jim’s comments on the Opinion page of the April 21 issue of Credit Union Times shows, to me, a passionate Jim Blaine. Prussian military philosopher Carl von Clausewitz once stated that the passions of the people are the engines of war. Continuing the passion theme, I recommend the small book “Who Moved My Cheese?” The author points out that passion is why changes occur and that the lack of passion explains, to a significant degree, why changes do not occur. Here is an example of Jim’s passion. The mortgage firm for my wife’s administrative assistant collected, via automatic withdrawal, one half of the amount of her mortgage payment for several months and then started foreclosure action when she could not pay in full the amount in arrears. Yes, she chased the firm many, many times – to no avail. She was not in the field of membership of my credit union. I called Jim Blaine and told him she had applied for a mortgage loan at one of his branches and that I was asking for his assistance in helping the application to be reviewed expeditiously since foreclosure was imminent. Jim took the time to call his branch manager and asked him to look into the situation. The loan was approved. This is, as Jim noted, helping “…folks trying to make ends meet each month.” This is passion. Know any banking CEO of an almost $12 billion dollar bank that will personally get involved like Jim does? Jim, the apology was good. Please keep the passion at a peak level. And I want a T-shirt. Carl Broadhurst Chair Fort Bragg FCU Fayetteville, N.C.