Geneva Financial Names 2019 'Hero of the Year', Raises $10,000 for His Youth Organization
CHANDLER, Ariz., Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Geneva Financial (Geneva) today announces the company has named Sgt. Guillermo Arrubla of the Phoenix Police Department as its inaugural Geneva Gives Hero of the Year award recipient.
"Geneva Gives was born out of a desire to make an impact on a very personal level in the communities we serve," said Telle´ VanTrojen, COO/Partner of Geneva Financial and the heart behind Geneva Gives. "We always want to give to those in need, but we also wanted to seek out the unsung heroes who impact their communities, be it through charitable work, leadership, stories of survival or pure inspiration."
Sgt. Arrubla was an NYPD Police Officer when the events of 9/11 unfolded. He spent 190 days at ground zero – a time that impacted him greatly. Born into a family with Colombian drug cartel ties, Guillermo's youth in New York City was filled with negative influences that may have led him down another path. Instead, he was drawn to the police officers he encountered during family difficulties and tragedies.
Seemingly destined to be placed in situations where selfless acts would be his natural instinct, Arrubla was on vacation in Hawaii after relocating to Phoenix and rescued a cliff diver from drowning – and was later featured on local news. Later, on a separate vacation in Las Vegas, he stopped a robbery in process at a mall with his wife and children nearby.
"The moral of the story is you don't want to travel with me," Arrubla jokes.
In 2014, Guillermo created a non-profit named Beat Street AZ and operates this organization on his days off from being a police sergeant. This program targets at-risk youth by utilizing the elements of Hip-Hop culture to teach introductory technological skills in the areas of music production, dance, graphic design through graffiti among others. The students also learn valuable life skills and have found a family at Beat Street that helps guide them to a brighter future.
"We are truly honored to have Guillermo as our inaugural Hero," says James Polinori, Chief Marketing Officer for Geneva Financial.
"When we developed this program and thought about what our Geneva Gives Hero should be, I don't think we realized the first Hero would set the bar so high. We hope to work with Guillermo for many years to come by supporting his multiple youth organizations and we openly welcome his as an Ambassador on the Geneva Gives team, helping us improve and grow," Polinori continued.
Throughout most of 2019, Geneva Financial accepted nominations for local heroes nationally across multiple categories. Finalists were selected and featured on GenevaGives.com. Arrubla was asked to speak, as a finalist, at the company's Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was not aware he had already been chosen for the honor.
Employees of Geneva Financial mobilized through the year in an effort to build the Grant Fund for Heroes to support the inaugural hero's cause. Guillermo was presented with a check for $10,000 – funds he plans to use to supply the kids at Beat Street Arizona with iPads to help further their education.
Nominations for the 2020 Hero of the Year open May 1st at www.GenevaGives.com
For more information, contact [email protected]
To donate or volunteer with Beat Street AZ, visit www.BeatStreetAZ.org
About Geneva Financial
Founded in 2007 by Aaron VanTrojen, Geneva Financial is a direct mortgage lender headquartered in Chandler, Arizona with more than 100 branch locations nationwide. Our mission at Geneva Financial is to approach every aspect of our business from the "inside-out". With a culture-forward mindset, we focus on our loan originators and support staff first in order to ensure an unbeatable experience for our customers.
Our Core Values were created as a daily reminder to operate with the inside-out approach in mind. Core Value #1 is the backbone of all our Core Values, our mission and our brand vision: Home Loans Powered by Humans®.
SOURCE Geneva Financial, LLC
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