It would take a rare occasion for ABC’s “Good Morning America” to find its way to Lynchburg, Va. But when a Greater Lynchburg Transit Company (GLTC) employee found a missing $50,000 dollars online, the popular morning show took notice and filmed the celebration that later aired on Feb. 17.
For 21 months, Debbie Evans and the 39 members of GLTC’s employee benefit association had been searching for the missing money they were owed when the association dissolved. Evans, who has been employed at GLTC for nearly six years, found the money on the Virginia Department of the Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Program’s website. With the certificate of deposit accumulating interest, the total came to over $84,000.
“It was just an awesome, awesome feeling. Not just for myself, but for the other members,” Evans said.
Barry Williams, transportation supervisor at GLTC, assisted Evans in her search. For Williams, Evans, and the rest of the GLTC members, the lost money was a difficult burden to fight in a tough time.
“We were really disappointed and let down,” Williams said. “We felt like within a few weeks or so they would find the lost CD. And the longer it dragged on with no update, we had really gotten down about it, and most of us felt it was never going to be found.”
“Things had been on shaky ground, and it was so exciting to have something good to report,” Evans added. “When everybody found out, there were a lot of people that were overjoyed for all of us.”
According to Williams, members of the association were told that the money was lost, and they could only receive one payment back on their investment. The members received explanations that were clouded with issues that resulted from the closing of Central Fidelity Bank and the transformation of Wachovia bank into Wells Fargo.
“Other people had been looking for the last 21 months, and we weren’t getting much update,” Williams said. “So I pushed the issue to all the members involved. Once that took place, Debbie sort of took the ball up and got looking for the money.”
Once Good Morning America heard of GLTC’s story, Evans was contacted about being apart of their “Show Me the Money” segment.
“Well, I really thought it was a joke at first,” Evans said. “I was very excited, and I was very nervous. I wanted to try to do it when all the members could be there. It wasn’t just about me. It was for everybody. I wanted as many members that were in it to be there.”
Evans and the other members were able to share the memory Feb. 12 with each other, as well as family members, in a celebration filled with food, fun and cameras.
“It was just an awesome feeling seeing my grandson and one of my daughters on TV,” Evans said.
Although she confesses she is far from an expert on computers and the Internet, friends and family have approached Evans about helping them find unclaimed cash, and just as before, her search has been a success.
“Now, I need them all to take up a collection to buy myself a new computer. It’s been used so much it’s got steam coming off of it.”