Jeremy Hubbard feels he got lucky. After his Army service, he applied to work as a bail bondsman and got the job. Fourteen years later he still likes what he is doing. “More than 85 percent of my clients have never needed me before. They are good people that made a mistake,” Hubbard says.
Name: Jeremy Hubbard.
Job/employer: Corporate manager of A-Affordable Bail Bonds. Hubbard is also president of Washington State Bail Agents Association.
Age: 36.
Education/professional background: I got lucky in getting into the bail bonds business. After high school I served in the Army and when I got out, I worked in Portland as a recovery agent, aka bounty hunter, for a spell. One of agents liked the way I worked and told me about a job opening. I applied and got the job. I am still here 14 years later. I love the job. More than 85 percent of my clients have never needed me before. They are good people that made a mistake.
Residence: Hazel Dell.
Working in Clark County, a brief profile of interesting Clark County business owners or a worker in the public, private, or nonprofit sector. Send ideas to Mary Ricks: mary.ricks@columbian.com; fax 360-735-4598; phone 360-735-4550.
One word to describe yourself: Outgoing.
When to call a bail bondsman: When you are charged with a crime and are in jail, you may want to get out of jail as soon as possible. You, the defendant, decide who to contact first: your family, friends, your boss, a lawyer or a bail bondsman. There are viable reasons about who you should contact first. Should you decide it is a bail bondsman there are about 15 to choose from in Clark County.
The person posting bail (paying the fee to get out of jail) may go to the bonds office. The bail amount is set by the judge and most bail bond premiums are 10 percent of the full bail amount. Example: if full bail is $10,000, the fee to the bail bondsman would be $1,000.
Once the bail bond is posted and accepted by a court or jail, the bondsman is responsible for the entire bail amount. If the defendant attends all court appearances, the bondsman’s work is done. If the defendant does not show up for their court appearance, the bondsman will try to reach the defendant to get him to return to court. If the defendant is not back in court after 60 days the bondsman is responsible for the full bail amount and has one year from the missed court date to return the defendant to authorities to get his money back.
Most rewarding part of job: Definitely the most rewarding for me is getting to help people through difficult situations. I like to make it easier for them.
Most challenging part of job: This is a stressful job. If you let out the wrong person, many things can happen that are not good. They could harm someone, plus it could cost you a lot of money.
Personal/business philosophy: My business philosophy is twofold: customer service, first and foremost, and knowledge of the industry.
Something you would like to do over: I would not do anything different, all the struggles I have had have helped me get better at what I do.
Best feature of my Vancouver/Clark County community: The best feature is the friendliness of the people.
What would make your community a better place: It would be better if there were more community outreach from small businesses and if everyone gave back to the community.
Favorite restaurant/pub/coffee shop/store: I like El Tapatio restaurant and the Icehouse bar and grill, both in Hazel Dell.
Hobbies: I play softball until I coach my son’s baseball team. Baseball is over now, so it’s back to softball.
Volunteer activities: I participate in fundraising activities for Muscular Dystrophy.
Favorite travel destination: Disneyland now because of my kids.
Most interesting book in last 12 months: “Forever Odd” by Dean Koontz.
Most interesting play/movie/arts event: The last movie I saw was “The Lego Movie.”
One thing you want to do this year: I would like to go skydiving again.
Something you want to do within five years: I want to run for city council.
Person you’d most like to meet: Yasiel Puig, outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
