Ascentra Credit Union Wins Three Diamond Awards in 2022 Competition

April 14, 2022

Bettendorf, IA - The marketing team at Ascentra Credit Union was awarded three Diamond Awards by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) in recognition for outstanding marketing and business development achievements in the credit union industry.

The awards, earned in each of the three categories entered, included two best of class awards. The categories and campaigns submitted were:

• Complete Campaign – Ascentra won a Diamond Award for its Elf Holiday Campaign that was themed around the holiday movie favorite “Elf”. The campaign featured creative content for in-branch signage, printed materials, social media, website, and video marketing.
• One-Time Event – Ascentra won Category’s Best for its home office building dedication event that was held in honor of the late Dale Owen in July 2021. The former President and CEO of the credit union lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in November of 2020.
• Ongoing Event – Ascentra won Category’s Best for its foundation’s annual golf outing. The outing, once called the Paul Lensmeyer Golf Outing, now renamed the Paul & Dale Hack N’ Give Back Golf Outing, is an annual celebration of past president and CEOs Paul Lensmeyer and Dale Owen. This event is the largest fundraising event for the Ascentra Credit Union Foundation each year.

“This year’s awards hold a special place in the hearts of Ascentra’s staff,” said Jennifer Naeve, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Ascentra Credit Union. “Two of these awards were earned from events dedicated to our past and beloved CEOs, two people who made a significant difference in the lives of family, friends and the credit union’s members and staff. We are honored to bring home these awards for them”.

The awards were presented by the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council, a national network comprised of more than 1,200 credit union marketing and business development professionals. Judges evaluated entries based on strategy, design, production, creative concept, copy, communications, and results. This year’s competition received 1,195 entries and awards were given in each of 35 categories.

“Diamond Awards are the gold standard of achievement in credit union marketing and business development,” said Marella Nardotti, chair, Diamond Awards, and VP of marketing, NextMark Credit Union. “Inventiveness in effectively achieving and exceeding objectives is what awards honor.”

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About Ascentra
Founded in 1950, Ascentra Credit Union is Iowa's premier credit union with more than $541 million in assets and nine branches serving the communities of Bettendorf, Clinton, Davenport, Muscatine, Iowa and Moline, Illinois. Learn more about Ascentra Credit Union at ascentra.org.  Follow Ascentra on Facebook (@ascentra), Twitter (@ascentra), Instagram (@ascentracu), TikTok (@ascentra) and on the Ascentra Credit Union YouTube channel. 

About CUNA
Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America's credit unions, which are owned by 120 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions. For more information about CUNA, visit cuna.org. To find your nearest credit union, visit YourMoneyFurther.com.

About CUNA Councils
CUNA Councils is a member-led, collaborative community of credit union leaders providing vibrant peer interaction, new ideas and innovation to foster professional development for our members while advocating for the overall success of the credit union movement. There are eight CUNA Councils with a network of more than 7,300 credit union professionals. For more information, visit cunacouncils.org.