Chris Pace had a successful career in real estate for 12 years. She said she had not shared this with anyone before, but after surviving breast cancer and finding a new appreciation for life, she started questioning things. Missing out on family time to show houses or write offers, she asked herself, “Is this the life I want?”
It wasn’t long after placing her resume online that she was recruited by Marine Credit Union (MCU). She had never heard of MCU before and said, “I asked God to give me a sign.” Shortly after, she received a payment from a friend in the form of a check issued from MCU. “She went on and on about how wonderful the (MCU) branch was,” Chris shared. She had gotten her sign and started at MCU in May of 2019. “I love what I’m doing,” Chris added. “I love working for MCU. I love their mission.”
Chris said that as a realtor she specialized in helping first-time home buyers. “I’ve always had a mothering personality. I want to take care of everyone,” Chris shared. “The first loan here, I helped a couple who had a 20-year work history, but they weren’t able to develop credit. I helped them to be homeowners. They took a leap of faith with MCU. It’s a special place.”
“My mom,” Chris shared, “has always been nurturing. She always wants to help take care of people. It’s inherited,” she added with a smile.
“I try to bring everybody together,” Chris added. “It bothers me when there is turmoil. It upsets me when that happens. If my manager was upset with me, I would take it to heart. I want to see everyone happy. It’s not so easy in today’s world. You can’t make everyone happy,” she continued, “but when someone else hurts, I hurt.”
Chris said that what she felt made her successful as a realtor now helps her as a Mortgage Loan Representative at MCU. “I could close the deal and overcome objections in a manner the consumer understood,” she said and added that selling is really about building relationships. “Ninety-nine percent of my business has been through referral,” she shared. Even now, after leaving the real-estate world, Chris gets calls from people she has served in the past asking for referrals, “Because,” she said, “they knew me. They loved and trusted me.”
Chris shared she feels she has an ability to connect with people. “Walking into an MCU branch is like walking into a bank in Mayberry,” Chris said with a sparkle in her eye. “This is home.”
“I’m blessed,” Chris added. “Everyday … to have the team I have and to be able to help people. I love helping people get into a better financial position when no one else would give them the opportunity. That’s what I love about it.” In addition, Chris said, “I feel 100 percent supported by my management and fellow employees at MCU. We have a great team.”
Chris is originally from the Rock Island, Illinois area, and graduated from Moline High School. She only had two careers prior to coming to MCU, working in a family-owned factory for 22 years, and her career in real-estate.
“I honestly think God had a plan,” she said. “I almost died … my blood count was to like zero,” she said during the time she was being treated for cancer. “It actually allowed me to see things differently. Life’s too short.”
Chris still lives in the Rock Island area with her husband Jim, whom she said she has been “happily married” to for almost 34 years. They have two girls, Tiffany and Taylor and have been blessed with four granddaughters – Kailyn, Maci, Ellie and JoJo. Her and her family love to camp and “people-watch” riding around on their six-person golf cart.
Chris shared that along with some personal goals, she wants to be as successful in her career at MCU as she was in her past careers. “I want to grow to the next level in my position,” she said.
“It makes me happy that the word about MCU is getting out in the community,” she shared. By “word-of-mouth,” Chris said she is happy her name is getting out as someone who can help when no one else can. She said her goal is to continue to make relationships in the community, so people know the good work that MCU does. “There is so much more to tap into,” Chris added. “We are going to rock this community!”
