Mount Pleasant Magazine July/August 2020

28 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.VOICEofMPpodcast.com anything less than $100,000, and we didn’t need that much.” She got in touch with Mount Pleasant Chamber President Shane Griffin, who pointed her in Peavey’s direction. The result was a $71,000 PPP loan that enabled them to retain all seven of their full-time employees. “Jon was awesome to deal with. He was calling us on Friday night and Saturday,” Rhodes said, adding that the PPP loan was “a huge blessing for us and for our employees.” Karen Stawicki, the sole proprietor of Compass Financial, received a $20,800 PPP loan, also with Peavey’s help and also through an introduction from Griffin. “The loan was definitely a breath of fresh air, a cushion to say ‘we’re going to be fine,’” she commented. Brooks Melton, chief executive officer of Beacon, which opened its doors in January 2018, said the bank had never made an SBA loan before this year. “We quickly dove in and got up to speed and got approved to make the loans,” he said. “We found that the folks we were dealing with were delighted to have that personal touch. Many banks made the decision to only do PPP loans for their existing customers. We decided this was a great opportunity to really live out our mission and serve our community. We truly had a number of business owners break down in tears when we told them their loan was approved.” Melton said Beacon helped local businesses with around 500 loans totaling more than $50 million. He pointed out that only about 25% to 30% were Beacon customers before the pandemic hit. The loans averaged around $140,000 during the first round of funding from the federal government and approximately $70,000 during the second round. “One of the great things for us, which was very rewarding, was that we have absolutely picked up long- term customers,” he said. “There were a lot of really anxious people, and we did a lot of hand-holding.” By mid-June, South Carolina Federal Credit Union had approved 400 loans for just over $13 million, an average of around $33,000 per loan. Vice President of Lending John Stanford pointed out that the credit union was not originally an SBA-approved lender, but its leadership team realized their customers might need help. “We wanted to be able to assist our members, so we got up and running with the SBA in about a week’s time so we could offer these loans,” he said. “We were working all night just to be able to get everyone in. Everyone was concerned that the money would go away. Fear is a big motivator. What we were trying to do was find a time when it would be easier to get into the system. Our team was working at night to get in as many applications as we could.” Photo provided. Karen Stawicki, owner of Compass Financial.