Lisa Richards, President and Rick Richards, Chief Financial Officer of Hospitality Inc.

Lisa: Our corporate business name is Hospitality Incorporated, and we have five operating divisions. Our business is a blend of corporate and business catering, and any personal celebration that people have. We have 125 full-time and 500 seasonal employees.

Rick: We were with another bank, and that bank was bought out by a larger bank. They brought in new upper management, and upper management defined our business as high risk because of cash flow deficiencies. We were not allowed the opportunity to explain to them the cyclical nature of our business.

Lisa: This was immediately following 9/11. They did not take the time to learn who we were. They didn't take the time to look at our record of success in the community. They didn't take the time to learn us at all. Senior management didn't know San Diego at all.

Rick: They, in essence, told us that we were going to have to leave the bank and gave us a timeline that wasn't practical.

John Nersesian
Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer, and Gary Bryant
Vice President, Business Services

Lisa: My first [North Island Credit Union] contact was with John Nersesian, and he had been a past client of mine. So, I approached him. He listened and said, "I'll be over. I'll be there to see you tomorrow." He literally came the next day and spent several hours with us and listened. He showed a great deal of interest in looking at, not just the current situation, but the success of the business over the years. Gary Bryant came with John.

Rick: They asked us what size of line of credit we needed. We told them. They agreed to it. They put it in place very quickly.

Lisa: On a handshake. John said, "We believe in you." And, they went ahead and got everything rolling without all the documentation finalized. That was probably the first time we slept in I don't know how many weeks.

They just are terrific, terrific partners. I would never go back to a bank. They have most of the services of a bank without the attitude of a bank. They've even gone so far as when we've had a lot of loan documents, Gary will come to our office and bring a notary with him. And save us the time and travel. That's terrific customer service for busy entrepreneurial business people.

Rick: We have had two occasions in our short business history [since 1984] of our bank being sold.

Lisa: The Island can never be sold. For me that's a big deal. It can't be gobbled up. It's owned by San Diegans and for San Diego. And, it's not going to go away.