NWFCU President/CEO Jeff Bentley with Sam Howell. (Credit/NWFCU)
Two months after announcing its partnership with the Washington Commanders, Northwest Federal Credit Union ($4.5 billion, Herndon, Va.) said it is specifically teaming up with Sam Howell, quarterback of the Washington, D.C.-based NFL team.
The new partnership, which NWFCU said was brokered by Howell's marketing firm, the Greenville, S.C.-based ESM, will help "shine the light on (NWFCU and Howell's) shared commitment to serving the community," according to the credit union.
Howell, a Korean-American in his second NFL season, ranks in the top 10 of all NFL quarterbacks in passing yards, completions and passing touchdowns.
"I'm looking forward to collaborating with Northwest and working together on our shared philanthropic and charitable passions," Howell stated. "I recently became a member of Northwest and had an awesome experience learning more about the credit union mission and how Northwest is an active part of that."
NWFCU President/CEO Jeff Bentley noted, "Sam Howell is such an impressive young man and amazing athlete, and we are so happy to welcome him as a new member of Northwest. He'll be so much more than a spokesperson for Northwest as we'll be working side by side on upcoming charitable efforts and community activities."
For one of their first joint community service initiatives, Howell will volunteer at NWFCU's upcoming Northwest Federal Credit Union Foundation Food for Kids Drive, held in coordination with nonprofits Helping Hungry Kids and Seven Loaves Services, Inc. At the event, Howell will fill backpacks alongside NWFCU volunteers with nutritious weekend food for children who are paying free and reduced meal rates for lunch at school on weekdays.
"It's a great opportunity for me to be able to work with Northwest in this effort to help these kids in need," Howell commented. "This is already a cause that is dear to me as I partner with TABLE, an organization that works to help alleviate hunger in Orange County, North Carolina. Working with Northwest gives me another way to help make a difference here in the DMV."
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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.
