For Fifth Straight Year, BayPort Wins in America's Credit Unions' Diamond Awards for Creative Excellence and Honored with Three Awards

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., April 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- For the fifth consecutive year, BayPort Credit Union has won in the Diamond Awards by America's Credit Unions' Marketing, PR and Business Development Council. This year, BayPort is honored with three awards in the Public Relations, Financial Education, and Ongoing Event categories.

BayPort is one of nine credit unions in Virginia and only three in Hampton Roads to have won. BayPort is pleased to be the only credit union in Virginia to win three Diamond Awards this year, attributing its continuous success to its marketing department's in-house creative and promotional efforts.

In the Public Relations category, BayPort was recognized for the second launch of the $500,000 Accelerating Change Together (ACT) Grant, a strategic partnership involving BayPort and three leading companies based in Hampton Roads. The award acknowledges BayPort's in-house development of all ACT Grant communications, public relations, media initiatives, and outreach efforts. From March 2024 to December 2024, these public relations efforts resulted in 43 news media promotions, including 21 TV features and 22 website articles. The 2024 ACT Grant was awarded to the Newport News Public Schools' New Teacher Institute program, aimed at enhancing support for first- and second-year teachers and investing in Career and Technical Education and English as a Second Language instruction.

In the Financial Education category, BayPort was recognized for its "12 Days of Holiday Wellness" social media campaign. This engaging and interactive contest combined financial education with friendly competition. Over 12 days in December, BayPort provided holiday budgeting tips on social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X) and encouraged users to participate to win family-friendly holiday prizes. The campaign featured 47 posts that generated nearly 15,000 impressions.

In the Ongoing Event category, BayPort received an award for the Surf-N-Santa 5-Miler Race, which has become a cherished holiday tradition in Virginia Beach. This year's event was particularly successful, attracting over 4,000 participants dressed as Santa. The race route runs beneath the BayPort Credit Union Holiday Lights at the Beach on the boardwalk. Additionally, due to the cross-promotional efforts of BayPort and race partner J&A Racing, more than $3,500 in registration donations were raised for the BayPort Foundation, our 501(c)(3) philanthropic arm.

The Diamond Awards are the most prestigious annual competition in the credit union industry. This year's competition saw a record-breaking 1,400 submissions, with 180 credit unions, agencies, and associations from 42 states earning distinctions for their outstanding work.

About BayPort
In 1928, 12 shipyard workers from Newport News Shipbuilding formed an organization with a specific purpose as a low-interest source of loans and a trusted place to deposit money. Today, BayPort Credit Union is rated a Superior 5-Star Credit Union by Bauer Financial, managing $2.6 billion in assets and servicing over 154,000 individuals and businesses with 29 branch locations across the Virginia Peninsula and Southside communities.

About America's Credit Unions
America's Credit Unions is the unified voice for not-for-profit credit unions and their more than140 million members nationwide. America's Credit Unions provides strong advocacy, resources and services to protect, empower and advance credit unions and the people and communities they serve.

About Councils
Councils is a member-led, collaborative community of credit union leaders providing vibrant peer interaction, new ideas and innovation to foster professional development while advocating for the overall success of the credit union movement. There are eight Councils with a network of more than 8,000 credit union professionals.

SOURCE BayPort Credit Union