Membership Services
Bank of America's Debbie Edwards makes member's dream come true
First-time buyer guided through purchase process
AOPA member Tom Johnson with his Cessna 172.
“Every kid’s dream is to fly an airplane,” said AOPA member Tom Johnson. It wasn’t until his mid-40s, though, that Johnson was able to act on his dream. After earning his private pilot certificate and renting airplanes for a while, he decided that the time was right to buy his own airplane.
“I found an airplane I wanted: a great Cessna 172,” Johnson said. As a first-time airplane buyer, he had many questions and needed guidance. His call to AOPA Aircraft Financing was answered by Debbie Edwards at Bank of America, who made the whole buying process easier for Johnson.
“I had no clue, didn’t know what steps to take, or where to begin. … I can’t tell you enough how Debbie made this purchase easy for me,” said Johnson. Of all the help Edwards gave, the thing that sticks out in Johnson’s memory is that she always called when she said she would and always did what she promised.
Her guidance of Johnson continued to the day of the closing, which was the Friday before Memorial Day 2011. The airplane was in Portland, Ore., and Edwards was three time zones away. Johnson was worried that she might be leaving early for the holiday weekend, but she assured him she was working all day. The morning of the closing, she called him so he would know she was there when needed. “Plus, she wanted to double check the time I wanted to transfer the money,” Johnson added.
Edwards didn’t just impress Johnson—she impressed the airplane’s seller too. With Edwards’ support and knowledge of aircraft sales, Johnson went from nervous to confident—so confident, in fact, that his attitude impressed the seller, who saw that Johnson had everything under control. “The seller actually turned over the keys to the airplane to me before he had a penny in his hand from me,” Johnson said.
As for the joys of airplane ownership, Johnson said, “So far, so good. It’s been great.” Now with his airplane based at Lenawee County Airport in Adrian, Mich., he is just about to start work on his instrument rating and has as his goal an instrument rating in 2012.
Johnson summed up his experience with Bank of America and Edwards in one word: “Fantastic.” He added, “I cannot thank Debbie enough for everything she did to make purchasing an airplane as easy as possible, and a smooth transition. Thank you so much.”
December 13, 2011
