KOKOMO, Ind. — Cindy Brock faced a grim image of her credit union Sunday night when she examined the wreckage from a twister that swept through town, leveling 150 homes and badly damaging more than 1,000 businesses.
With just a flashlight, the CEO of Financial Builders FCU walked through the credit union that had several holes in its roof, broken windows, a collapsed conference room ceiling and water inside many areas.
"It looked pretty bad," Brock told Credit Union Journal. "I thought we were going to have to bring in a portable facility."
But that didn't happen, as Monday morning brought a better perspective. The city building inspector stopped by and said the facility was usable, as long as people stayed out of the badly damaged areas. The credit union was closed for two days and reopened Wednesday under generator power.
"I have to admit that Monday morning the building did not look as bad to me as it did in the darkness," said Brock, who noted that the core processing system was virtually untouched. "We lost one server and three PCs."
The daylight, too, let Brock know her $70 million, one-branch shop was fortunate to escape with the damage it suffered, as devastation surrounded the credit union. Tornadoes that swept through the Midwest Sunday, killing eight people, demolished the strip mall to the immediate south of FBFCU, took out the building to the north and leveled the bank across the street. "I don't know how the storm missed doing that same type of damage to the credit union," she said.
It's going to be a while before it's business as usual at Financial Builders, with Brock saying the damage total has yet to be assessed, as well as the date when the CU will be completely restored. Many areas of the credit unions are roped off. However teller lines are intact and the lobby was packed Wednesday.
"It was like the old days, before we got our drive-up window," said Brock, who pointed out the storm wiped out the three-lane drive-through.
Brock said no employees were injured during the storm and none lost their homes. In addition, the credit union is standing by to support the individual needs of members who lost their homes or whose homes suffered damage.
Power is expected back soon, and that has Brock feeling better.
"I was pretty devastated when I saw the credit union Sunday night. In fact, all that I knew about our disaster recovery plan left me for a short while. But I said to myself that I have to remain calm and lead our staff through this. Friday marked my 47th year at the credit union, and I only have five left until I retire, and I never faced a natural disaster like this. I recall thinking I will never have to invoke our disaster recovery plan — I guess I was wrong."
