Credit Union’s Loans Help Bring Comfort to Prosthetics Patients' Lives

A series of unfortunate events led Bob Maniere to one of his greatest achievements – starting a successful prosthetics and orthotics company, now in business for 20 years and counting.

As a youth, Maniere was hopping trains and hoboing around the country when he got caught on a train that was going too fast and got run over, which resulted in the amputation of his right leg.

After the accident, Maniere was forced to return to where his mother lived in Detroit, Mich., so he could get fitted with a prosthetic leg. However, when Maniere went to try on the prosthetic, it was painful and didn’t fit well, and he said it was nearly impossible to walk in. Maniere recalled that when he expressed his concerns to the man fitting the prosthetic, he brushed off his concerns and said, “You know, that’s just the way it goes. You just gotta get used to it. You’ll be in pain the rest of your life, that’s the way it is.”

Maniere and his mom promptly left the office, as lifelong pain wasn’t a reality he was willing to accept. Determined to see a better outcome, Maniere visited another prosthetics business and got fitted for another prosthetic leg. This time, the man fitting him never told him he was going to be in pain for the rest of his life. Instead, when the prosthetic leg needed adjusting, he made the necessary adjustments to ensure he was comfortable and pain free.

After the fitting, the man told Maniere, “Hey, instead of putting these grey hairs on your mother’s head, why don’t you help me make prosthetic limbs? I could really use a helper.” Maniere accepted the job.

And so, what began as a series of unfortunate events had in fact resulted in a serendipitous meeting that would change the trajectory of Maniere’s life.

Maniere started working for the prosthetics business, and not too long after, he went back to school to get his GED and was later accepted to the prosthetic technician program at the University of Michigan. After graduating, he moved to South Carolina to work for another prosthetics company.

When his mother had a stroke, Maniere made his way back to Michigan, where he later started Comfort Prosthetics and Orthotics, all with the help of the $399 million Christian Financial Credit Union in Roseville, Mich.

Maniere successfully moved on with his life after his injury, and now, he’s helping others do the same. Because he’s been in their shoes, he can easily relate to and understand his patients’ worries.

“Bob wants to help people move on with their lives after something traumatic that has happened,” Donna Anargyros, chief lending officer for Christian Financial, commented.

Maniere said he’s been a member of Christian Financial since the age of 10, and he’s now going on 59 years old. Nearly every loan for his business has come from Christian Financial. “I just found that when I would go to the credit union versus a bank, the credit union was more open to my ideas. The credit union saw me grow and I saw them grow,” he emphasized.

When his business became too big for the building he was in, Maniere went searching for something that could accommodate the growth. He finally found a building, but the guy selling the business had received another offer as well. He told Maniere he would sell it to him as long as he was able to get it done within a short time frame.

“I called the credit union and we closed on the building in like three weeks. Most banks and other places you go to would have taken at least 30 to 40 days to get the paperwork together,” Maniere said.

He added, “It’s a good relationship because there’s nothing better than being able to call somebody, actually be able to talk to somebody and say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on in the business, this is what we need.’ They’ve always come back – they’ve always taken a very short period of time to come back and say, ‘Hey, that’s fine, let’s go ahead and do it.’ I don’t think I’ve ever been denied from them for anything, but I’ve always kept a very good relationship with them too. I’ve always paid my bills,” he said.

The credit union has supported him in his personal life as well. At one point, Maniere knew that both of his grandmothers may not live to see another year. So, as a way of celebrating them while they were still alive, he decided to rent a limo and take them out for an extravagant night on the town on St. Patrick’s Day. The only catch: The celebration was going to be expensive. So Maniere approached the credit union about a small loan, and they gave it to him.

“Neither one of my grandparents lived to see another year, so it was pretty amazing. It was one of those events you won’t forget in your life,” he recalled.

Tahira Hayes is a correspondent-at-large for CU Times. She can be reached at thayes@cutimes.com.