Going the extra mile(s)

Stranded on an island with no way home, see how the CEO of Project Management Associates (PMA) still managed to get a PPP Loan through Citizens.

On March 10, 2020, Lou Pereira boarded a flight from Boston to the Azores, an autonomous island region of Portugal located in the North Atlantic Ocean. What was suppose to be a quick business trip ended up becoming a three-month-long crash course in how to run and save a business remotely.

Pereira is the CEO of Project Management Associates (PMA), a software development company out of Canton, Massachusetts, that provides enterprise solutions to help government and private sectors manage project time allocation and expenses. PMA consists of six full-time employees who have each worked with Pereira for more than 30 years. They were all employed at a previous company together until it was forced to close its doors due to the 2008 financial crisis.

In the wake of his unemployment, Pereira decided to start PMA. He employed his old coworkers to help him build the business and its been thriving ever since. So much so, that three years ago, a dedicated software development department was added. Pereira chose to open the department in an unlikely yet meaningful location, the Azores. When he was only three years old, his parents emigrated with him and his siblings from the island chain to America in search of more opportunities for their children. Now, he saw this new business expansion as a way to give back to his parent’s beloved home country.

Fast forward to 2020. It was just days after he had arrived to the Azores to meet with his new development team that Pereira found himself stranded there. Seemingly overnight, COVID-19 had gone from being a distant threat to an inescapable global pandemic. Planes were grounded. People were stranded. Confusion was quickly replaced by panic. There didn’t seem to be a place on Earth that was exempt from the sudden chaos brought on by the virus. Not even an island. Pereira didn’t know it quite yet, but he was going to have to act fast to keep his business afloat and his employs safe through one of the darkest times in recent history.

Now that's dedication

Back in Massachusetts, Citizens Business Banking Relationship Manager Michele Roberts was fast and furiously reaching out to all of her small business clients to offer her support during the hectic early days and weeks of COVID-19. That included helping them apply for the upcoming Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)- backed program that provides loans to businesses so they could keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 crisis.

Roberts has worked at Citizens for 19 years, but only recently joined the Business Banking team in 2018 as a Relationship Manager. PMA was one of the first clients she acquired in her new role, and she has worked closely with Pereira ever since to ensure the company continues to reach its financial goals. So closely, in fact, that she instinctively knew something wasn’t right when days turned into weeks and she still hadn’t heard from him regarding the PPP Loan for PMA.

“He expressed interested in the PPP loan before he left for his trip [to the Azores], but he never ended up submitting an application which I thought was odd,” noted Roberts. “So, I emailed him to make sure everything was OK.”

Turned out, everything wasn’t OK.

“I was more than 2,000 miles away from my business and my employees, and I was unprepared and completely at a loss for how to proceed,” admitted Pereira. “But then Michele reached out to remind me how helpful the loan could be for my business, and she instantly made me feel less alone.”

He confided in her that he was overwhelmed by everything going on, and that he hadn’t found the time to complete the application process. He also voiced concern that it may not even be possible for him to access all of the necessary documentation needed to apply for the loan due to the fact that he was out of the country. After hearing all of this, Roberts made it her mission to help Pereira, because she knew how much the PPP Loan could help him and his employees through this difficult time.

Even though PMA’s clients aren’t necessarily at-risk small businesses, their clients rely on independent vendors, and the pandemic was making it nearly impossible for these vendors to complete any jobs.

The result? No one gets paid.

Roberts wasted no time breaking down exactly how a PPP Loan would allow Pereira to continue with his pay roll, even when his clients weren’t able to provide steady income. She explained to him what forms he’d need to fill out, and how to submit his paperwork remotely. Roberts’ normal workdays were extended to accommodate the time difference, persisting when his poor internet connection cut off their conversations.

“Small businesses are a really important part of our economy,” said Roberts. “Knowing that I’m going to be able to help some of them stay in business and get through the pandemic when the economy bounces back feels really good.”

Roberts and Pereira have one very important thing in common; they both take their work to heart. And their mutual dedication to their jobs paid off when PMA met the PPP Loan deadline and was approved for one through Citizens. Pereira arrived back in Massachusetts safely on June 30 with good news for his employees. Their jobs were safe thanks to the loan, and once again, they had survive another crisis together.

“Michele made the loan process manageable for me, even though I was out of the country and feeling completely out of the loop,” Pereira said. “Despite our physical distance, I always felt like Michele was right by my side the entire time.”

Ready for what's next

As a company that helps its clients with time tracking and management, PMA hasn’t wasted a second dwelling on the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, its remained focused on its future, which includes new software updates that offer even more features and efficiencies to its clients. And who better to spearhead this new initiative than the development team in the Azores.

“Exciting things are on the way for us, and I’m thrilled to be working more closely with our new development team,” concluded Pereira. “After this past year, we’re ready for what’s next.”

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