Protecting Members’ Financial—and Physical—Health

By: Allison Stevens

Navy Federal members expect the credit union to protect their financial health. But physical health? That’s a level of service that goes above and beyond—and for which Angelo Stone is deeply grateful as the school year comes to a close.

Ever since Navy Federal protected him from fraud a few years back, Stone has been a loyal member of the credit union. But his loyalty only deepened last fall, when a local assistant branch manager interrupted her day to come to his aid.

In October, Stone, a retiree who drives a school bus part-time, began his morning route through the streets of Suffolk, in the southeast corner of Virginia. As he rounded the streets of town, picking up students one by one, he began to feel light-headed. He pulled over, shifted into neutral and pulled the brake. He turned on his hazard lights, opened the front door and rested his head on the steering wheel.

“I was slowly trying to get that bus to the side of the road, so I didn’t hurt them kids,” he recalled.

Just then, Joi Parker, assistant manager at the Navy Federal branch in Suffolk, was heading into a local coffee shop for a morning cup of hot chocolate. As she passed the bus, she noticed Stone resting on the steering wheel. “If he’s still there when I come out,” she told herself, “I’ll check on him.”

Slumped Over the Steering Wheel

Sure enough, he was still there, but seemingly unconscious—with a bus full of kids in tow.

Instead of heading into work, Parker stepped onto the bus and asked Stone if he was okay, but he only mumbled something about feeling disoriented. She asked him his name and age, but he couldn’t answer.

Parker knew she needed to act.

She called 911 and stayed on the scene. She briefed the students, who had called school administrators, and calmly answered questions from the students while reassuring them that help was on the way.

The clock was ticking, though, and Parker knew the branch doors needed to open. “I was a leader, and it was already past the opening hour, so I grabbed another coworker and said, ‘Hey, this is the situation.’”

As sirens roared in the distance, Parker left the scene to attend to the branch needs, handing control over to Melissa Howell, a member service representative in the Suffolk branch. Howell ensured that Stone didn’t move, eat or drink until the ambulance arrived, per the 911 operator’s instructions.

When first responders arrived, Howell stood by as Stone was loaded onto an ambulance and briefed a school administrator, who had arrived on the scene. A third Navy Federal employee came out to help as Stone made his way to the hospital.

There, Stone regained consciousness and, after a series of normal tests, was released. Now fully recovered, he suspects he suffered from secondhand smoke from student marijuana use. Parker confirmed Stone’s suspicions, noting that several students were disciplined after the event. Stone now drives for a different school district.

“Nobody Else Came But Her”

In the meantime, Stone bought and delivered a fresh fruit basket to the branch to thank Parker. “I don’t know how long I would have been laying there if she hadn’t stopped in to check on me,” he says. “I’m overwhelmed. Nobody else came but her. Nobody else.”

Parker, for her part, is glad for the opportunity to help—and gave Stone a gift of her own: a small wooden cross, which he keeps on the dashboard of his bus. “I make sure that it’s standing straight up when I ride down the road.”

Stone thinks of Parker’s gift, and her thoughtful act of kindness, every day. “It’s good to know there are still kind people in this world,” he says. To which Parker simply says: “I did for him what I would want anyone to do for me or my loved one in that situation.”

Branch Manager Matthew Flauter praised Parker’s selflessness and calm during the emergency—and considers her a prime example of the “exceptional, personalized service that Navy Federal team members deliver day in and day out.”

Read more stories about Navy Federal’s “above and beyond” member service.