Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1001000
44 | SUMMER 2018 Spotlight Employee Spotlight J ulio Berrios, branch manager at Miami Blue Lagoon, remembers the fi rst car sales event he organized for the Miami-area American Air- lines Federal Credit Union locations a decade ago. "We were just working with one dealership, and we sold fi ve cars," he says. "It's just gotten bigger and better every single year." That might be an understatement. At their last event in April, they sold 74 cars from six dealer- ships, totaling $1.6 million in sales. The car sales events have become a twice- yearly tradition, always held in the spring (March or April) and fall (October). "The members are actually waiting for it, which is really nice," says Ivette Rivera, Credit Union branch manager in Fort Lauderdale. "Everybody wants to be a part of it, so it's a whole lot of fun." At the last event, a woman who recently moved from New York without a car waited for the sale on the advice of her coworkers. "She wanted a diff erent color, so the manager from one of the dealerships personally delivered the car to her apartment," says Berrios, who's been with the Credit Union since April 2001. "He also paid for her Uber ride." Members know that they're going to get a good deal from a trusted source, which is what has grown the event from its humble beginnings to the must-attend sale that it is today. "The dealers are there to give a no-hassle low price for our members, and they waive the dealer fees," says Rivera, who's been with the Credit Union since 1995. "We do the fi nancing for the members. It's all about getting lower rates." B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S : Branch managers make Miami car sales events a drive-away success B Y H A L E Y S H A P L E Y Berrios got the idea for the car sales event from a previous job he worked at, but the Credit Union version is much diff erent. "With what we do, we put the members' best interests ahead of everything," he says. "If they're not satisfi ed, it's not a success."