GLTC employees' group gets check for missing $50k

The chanting — “Show us the money! Show us the money!” — quickly gave way to gasps and cheers when the curtain was finally lifted Sunday. That was one big check.

“Oh wow,” someone gasped. “Yeah, baby, yeah,” another hollered. “Awesome,” said a third. “Awesome, awesome, awesome.”

Debbie Evans was visibly nervous. “I’ve never held this much money before in my life,” she said.

On Sunday afternoon, members of the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company’s employee benefits association were formally presented with the proceeds from their long-missing $50,000 certificate of deposit by representatives of the Virginia Department of the Treasury.

The check — which brings an end to a stressful chapter for GLTC employees — was bigger than expected due to interest accrued over the years.

But the precise amount is being kept under lock and key until Friday — when the employee association will be featured on “Good Morning America.”

“How often do you get national coverage of something?” Barry Williams, a GLTC transportation supervisor, said with a grin. “It’s just wonderful.”

Good Morning America, which plans to spotlight money-finding programs from several states as part of its “Show Me the Money” series, was in Lynchburg on Sunday to capture the check presentation.

Members of the employee association turned out en masse, bringing along their spouses and grandchildren, and decorating the break room with paper money for a party afterward. Food for the occasion was donated by Kroger, Super Dollar Discount Foods and Wal-Mart.

“I’m excited,” Don Richie, GLTC’s safety director, said as everyone gathered before the check presentation. “Folks have been waiting for this for awhile. You see all the smiling faces here. It’s a good thing.”

The money, which had been missing for going on two years, was found last month by Evans, a GLTC bus driver, during an online search of the state’s unclaimed property database.

Financial assets that are left dormant for a specified period can end up with the state treasury’s Unclaimed Property Division. The assets are temporarily used to support the state’s Literary Fund, but can be reclaimed by their owner at any time.

Since finding the employee association’s dough, Evans has been approached for help by a number of people, including co-workers, relatives and passengers on her bus route.

“You’d be surprised by how much you can find,” she said. “I’ve found money for a lot of people who didn’t even know it was out there. I found money for myself.”

Evans said she’d encourage anyone to go onto the state’s website, which can be searched for free, and see what might be waiting there for them.

The money for GLTC’s employee association will be split up among its members, giving each a welcome influx of cash.

“To get this money back feels really good,” said James Woodruff, a retired bus driver who lives on a fixed income. “It will really help out a lot.”

Good Morning America filmed the check presentation outside of GLTC’s administrative headquarters on Kemper Street. The prospect of being on national television had the employees nervously excited.

“I’ve never felt nothing like it,” Evans said afterward. “I’ve never been on camera before.”

Many of the employees said they were grateful to Evans and Williams, who spearheaded the renewed search for the certificate of deposit after its whereabouts seemed to have become an unsolvable mystery. During the Good Morning America taping, someone held a sign that said, “Thanks Debbie and Barry.”

The missing money had been a source of growing tension for GLTC’s staff. Christian DePaul, a member of GLTC’s board of directors, recalled morale was already low when the situation first came to his attention late last year.

“I thought they were about ready to give up,” he said. “But they stuck with it. I am really proud of these guys.”

DePaul tried to help the employees and, at their request, recommended several attorneys where they were considering legal action. The association invited him to Sunday’s presentation to thank him for his support.

After the Good Morning America taping, the group gathered in the break room to celebrate together.

“We are just overjoyed,” Evans said. “There’s a whole lot of smiling, happy people in there.”