On Tuesday, Feb. 23, hundreds of guests gathered at the Renaissance Washington during CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference for CU Times' 11th Annual Trailblazer Awards reception to honor the shining stars of the credit union industry. This year, CU Times honored five executives, one volunteer and two credit unions for their outstanding service and leadership.
NAFCU Director of Regulatory Affairs Alicia Nealon and NCUA Vice Chairman Rick Metsger showed their support for Trailblazer Award winners.
CU Times Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Sarah Snell Cooke introduces Robert L. Scott, chair of the board of the directors for Mendo Lake Credit Union in Ukiah, Calif. MLCU received the award for Outstanding Service to the Underserved.
Attendees of CU Times' Trailblazer Award reception learn more about the winners prior to the ceremony.
Notre Dame Federal Credit Union's Tom Gryp received the Trailblazer Award for CEO of the Year.
Kenneth Leonard, vice president of commercial loan services for ECCU in Kalamazoo, Mich., received the honor of Lending Officer of the Year.
Tim Marquardt, CFO for MAX Credit Union, traveled from Montgomery, Ala. to accept his Trailblazer Award for CFO of the Year.
Mark Andrews, chief marketing officer for Clark County Credit Union in Las Vegas, accepted the award for Marketing Executive of the Year. Andrews is pictured at left with CCCU's president/CEO, Matt Kershaw.
The GAC Crashers also made an appearance at CU Times' Trailblazer Award reception.
Mendo Lake Credit Union's CFO, David Rhoades, and the credit union's chair of the board of the directors, Robert L. Scott, represented MLCU at the Trailblazer Awards reception. MLCU was honored for Outstanding Service for the Underserved.
John Richards, board director and former chairman of The Partnership Federal Credit Union, was honored as Volunteer of the Year. He is pictured at left with The Partnership's president/CEO, Theresa Mann.
Bonnie Ortiz, COO for The Partnership Federal Credit Union in Arlington, Va., accepted her award for IT Executive of the Year along with other members of The Partnership team.
Redwood Credit Union President/CEO Brett Martinez, second from left, took home the award for Outstanding Political Action. He is pictured with other members of the Redwood team, whose fundraising and outreach efforts helped Northern California communities devastated by the Valley Fire get back on their feet.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
