BUSINESS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2022
Company off ers services to help with student debt
Business works with
educators to obtain loan
forgiveness through
federal programs
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Matthew Cecil said he is help-
ing free people from student loan
debt.
He is a licensed insurance pro-
ducer with Horace Mann Insur-
ance Company, 662 E. Main St.,
Hermiston.
“We work primarily with edu-
cators,” he said. “We have a ser-
vice called ‘Student Loan Solu-
tions.’ What it provides is a way
for the educators to obtain student
loan forgiveness through federal
programs that are available.”
He said he will sit down with
a client for an assessment, going
over the size of the debt, the types
of loans and determine eligibil-
ity for forgiveness. Then, he will
assist with paperwork.
If he is not able to get the loan
totally forgiven, he said he can
often get a portion forgiven or
payments reduced.
That consultation is free, he
said, and he can help other pub-
lic service employees, too. If a
person works for a governmental
employer or a 501(c)(3) tax-ex-
empt employer, they can qualify.
Other employees of not-for-profi t
organizations also may be helped,
he said.
He listed emergency manage-
ment, military, public safety, law
enforcement, public legal ser-
vices, disability services, ser-
vices for the elderly, public
health, library services and other
school-based services as profes-
sions covered by loan-forgive-
ness programs.
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Matthew Cecil on April 22, 2022, stands outside Horace Mann Insurance, 662 E. Main St., Hermiston. Cecil said he
has been able to help several people manage their student loans.
“HELPING PEOPLE
IS SOMETHING I
REALLY LIKE TO
DO.”
— Matthew Cecil, Horace Mann
Insurance Co.
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Matthew Cecil looks over paperwork April 22, 2022, in his offi ce at Horace
Mann Insurance in Hermiston. The paperwork documents his eff orts in
helping people manage their student loan debts.
“I currently have 249 active
clients from the Northwest,”
Cecil said.
He added he has 506 records,
including people who have
expressed interest in the program
and around 52 who were declined
because of ineligibility. He has
helped 50 people to date, he said.
And those 50 have had a total
of nearly $1.4 million forgiven.
He called student loan “a bur-
den” for many people, and he is
thankful he was able to pay for
his own schooling without such
an albatross.
“Unfortunately, with the struc-
ture of their careers, (educators
and other public servants) have to
pursue higher education and get
that degree to be certifi ed, so it’s
required for them,” he said. “A lot
of them go back for their masters,
but then they’re saddled with stu-
dent loan debt.”
Increasing interest, forbear-
ance, life problems and more can
complicate a person’s situation
and make the end of debt seem
impossible.
“I’ve heard all kinds of stories,
whether it’s a small amount or
hundreds of thousands of dollars,
and (borrowers) are not going to
be able to pay (the loans) on their
own,” he said.
Cecil spoke of a few sto-
ries from people he has helped.
He shared the written testimo-
nial of one Umatilla educator
who said he had $110,000 before
Cecil could help him. This educa-
tor, according to the testimonial,
started an income-based repay-
ment plan with lower payments.
He also got $65,000 worth of stu-
dent loan debt forgiven.
“I still have $40,000 that I still
need to pay on, and some of those
payments have been counted
toward forgiveness. Thirty-nine
more payments and I’ll be
done,” he said, according to the
testimonial.
A second written testimo-
nial told of how another educa-
tor, from Walla Walla, was able
to reduce his loan by more than
$10,000. He, too, expressed
gratitude to Cecil for his work.
Cecil stated this sort of help,
assisting people at no cost to
them, makes sense from a busi-
ness standpoint. By helping peo-
ple with their student loans, he
is attracting potential custom-
ers. Also, he is better serving his
existing customers.
His agency sells auto, home,
life and other forms of insurance.
In addition to being good for
his company’s bottom line, help-
ing people cancel their student
debt is personally satisfying,
Cecil said.
“The looks on people’s faces
are worth it alone,” he said.
“Helping people is something I
really like to do.”
Hermiston resident hired for community health leadership role
Hermiston Herald
Greater Oregon Behav-
ioral Health, Inc., hired
Lourdes Reyna Alcala to
be its regional community
health development man-
ager. She started the position
April 11.
“I’m really happy to join
the team,” she said.
GOBHI is an administra- CHI St. Anthony Hospital
tive services orga-
and Yakima Farm
nization for Eastern
Workers Clinic.
Oregon Coordinated
In her new posi-
Care Organization.
tion, she oversees
EOCCO is a part-
the department as
nership
between
it works with other
local health agen-
EOCCO providers
Alcala
cies, which also
in 12 counties.
includes Good Shep-
She said that the
herd Health Care System, biggest challenge of her new
position is maintaining key
community partners and col-
laborating on changes when
they are needed.
A recent GOBHI press
release states that she is a
“familiar face among local
civic and human services
workgroups,” as she is a
longtime Hermiston res-
ident. She said housing
and food costs have been
important to her, and her
job includes working on
these issues, as they relate to
health.
She holds a bachelor’s
degree from Washington
State University and is com-
pleting a master’s degree in
special education from the
University of Oregon.
“We’re
thrilled
for
Lourdes to come aboard and
lead this community role,”
Karen Wheeler, GOBHI
CEO, said. “Her expertise
in collaboration with diverse
communities in Eastern Ore-
gon will help take us to the
next level in uplifting local
voices and improving ser-
vices for residents.
Hotel wins platinum award
Umatilla’s Econo Lodge
hotel manager credits
community for award
Hermiston Herald
Econo Lodge recently
won an award, according to
Lynne Kitrel, hotel manager.
“We’ve received a plat-
inum award from Choice,”
she said.
Choice Hotels Interna-
tional, Inc., owns Econo
Lodge and several other
hotel brands.
This is a big deal, she
said, for the former Tillicum
Inn, 1481 Sixth St., Uma-
tilla. Its history under its
former name includes a fi re
in 2017. It was renovated,
rebranded and reopened in
2018, but has faced recent
challenges, Kitrel said, com-
ing back from the pandemic.
She said the hotel
received its award based on
customer reviews. On the
Choice website, customers
have given the hotel a rating
of 3.9 out of 5 stars, with
83% of customers recom-
mending it.
Recommendations praise
the service, comfort, food
and more.
Kitrel said she and her
staff is working hard to cre-
ate a positive experience
for their customers, though
she added that the entire
city of Umatilla deserves
credit.
“It was very much a team
eff ort,” she said. “If you look
at those reviews, it’s not just
us that made this. It’s the
Bridge Bistro (& Brews),
Java Junkies, Harvest Foods
and the people of this com-
munity in Umatilla.”
She added that she could
have “the cleanest hotel in
the world,” and it would not
have mattered if her neigh-
bors were not stellar. Thanks
to them, she said, visitors to
her hotel are pleased with
their experience.
“It’s really nice to see
Umatilla sprouting up so
nicely,” she said.
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