BOISE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / November 15, 2021 / Bank of Idaho has helped the Record Exchange, a landmark business in downtown Boise since 1977, remain the fixture that locals know and love.
Bank of Idaho commercial bankers Machele DuBois and Saul Hernandez worked to help a trio of Record Exchange employees purchase the business from retiring owners Michael Bunnell and Jil Sevy.
"Maintaining continuity was important to everybody," DuBois said. "The Record Exchange is practically a civic treasure, so we wanted to do everything we could to make this as seamless as possible."
With more than 40 years combined experience working the aisles at Record Exchange, the new owners are Catherine Merrick, Glenn Newkirk and Chad Dryden, plus Dryden's wife, Erica Sparlin Dryden.
"All of us in our ownership group were brand new to this process. So we were essentially starting from scratch with our knowledge base," Chad Dryden said. "Bank of Idaho was really good about walking us through the process step-by-step so we understood everything that we were seeing. We felt we were taken care of very well."
He said the store's longtime owners announced their intentions to retire at an all-staff meeting early this year. Things moved quickly after that. The new owners have now been at the helm for two months.
And though the deal is done, the relationship with Bank of Idaho has only just begun. "There are some banks that are very transaction-minded, and if that works for them, that's good," Hernandez said. "But for us, we definitely want to be in a relationship, because in time they will need other things, and we can be there already knowing the history and performance of the company."
As a perennial force in the burgeoning Boise music scene, the Record Exchange is poised for future endeavors with Bank of Idaho.
"For us, It's the most ideal situation when employees can qualify to buy a business," DuBois said, "because we know that the employees have contributed to the current success, so it's a promising sign for success going forward."
And Bank of Idaho President and CEO Jeff Newgard is inspired by the prospect. "I've got a bit of vinyl myself, and the Record Exchange is only a couple blocks away from our downtown Boise office," he said. "So to me this deal is a perfect example of how community banking can transcend financial ties and make a real difference in our everyday lives."
PHOTO CUTLINE: Record Exchange owners (facing camera, from left) Catherine Merrick, Glenn Newkirk and Chad Dryden speak with Bank of Idaho loan officers Saul Hernandez and Machele DuBois outside of the downtown Boise business.
Contact: Tyler Kraupp
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SOURCE: Bank Of Idaho Holding Co