Business Focus Podcast | Strength in Community

you know it's not about F Cushing it's about understanding your needs so and uh and and I feel like I think being involved in the community when you understand the need of the community you can really understand how you can get back to the [Music] audio welcome to business focus produced by the greater Reston Chamber of Commerce my name is Angela inzerillo with impact Business Solution and I'm privileged to be a host as we highlight the great work our local businesses are doing in the community speaking of community I have the man and the legend here Mr no man aak with Northwest Federal Credit Union which if you look it up in the dictionary that stands for Community Nan welcome my friend how are you well great thank you so much for having me I love it is so excited to finally get you on the show this week I'm very very excited to share what you do especially now you know being have what a week or so under your belt with being the chairman of the board and I lot ofing to happen me so off this find new wife and ni and absolutely I love it I love it we're gonna discuss all that a little personal a little professional what you do so I'm really excited to share with the audience so stay tuned uh comment like share you know all that stuff you do on social media this is going to be all over the Internet it's going to go viral in them on so get ready for that all right Notting at all okay good you're fine you're good so my friend you know I don't even know if I know much of your history you've just been at the credit union as long as I've known you so share a little bit about your background and kind of how you got to the credit union and we'll talk a little bit about that sure yeah uh well you know I've been with at Credit Union for a little over nine years now I been in banking for past 25 years of my career I did a 10 plus year I one di as the business development officer uh there some years at sou Bay but you know um my well if I back all back I started at working at bur King Drive that's how it was and and at that time you know I I a family and IED the king for Haan in 1996 and uh was done Ving second job at se and I was working and I was staying to college at a nor Community College in L now through a mainting as the teller wanted to stay for school as I you know as I was pressing and um 2 find years later I I'm here but in a in place at a CR Union and a Northwest feral Union so could not have have SP back well I love the story I love it I did not know that at all this is great this is a great start so um you know you talk about banking right we've got a lot of Bankers in the chambers and I don't know if I really know the difference between a credit union and a bank and I know it's pretty distinct so why don't you share a little bit about the difference so you know what the biggest difference when it comes to the C Union and B are CR unions are not so POS right and they are member owned so and um and and the banks they are for so basically the income that is earned it goes back to shareholders for for the qu unions the income that is earned they have to give it back to the community in the in the terms of uh Community involvement and you know lower interest rate on loans and hire dividends back on your deposit so that's what the need does we are remember Focus so that's kind of like the key difference but when it talks to products and services you know everyone has the same thing so if the bank has longues have to to the products in life uh no it's really the structure of the organization that's different and and you're right you said it perfectly it really is the people and I said in any industry it's uh it's always about the people so uh very good well I think you're you're certainly in the right place um and you probably have moved up so you said nine years so what's your current role um at the credit union yeah so when I decided at the credit union I was working as a as a brass manager uh by in hland uh moved throughout the years uh had a career gr within Union currently I am a wi presentent for retail visit development and uh byly partnership progam um just to give you a little um inide of what the public partnership program is this is repon tank which is a s fory grou and in that program we serve around CL two right now around 600 employees so for proit not for proit businesses a gway for us to provide uh membership benefits to their employees so you know if you think for employer uh and if they're looking to um like hey we want you want to offer pen union benefits to our employee so we come in through this program and we build this partnership uh we provide Financial education or just last week we did a seminar on how to build their repair credit which will very well received so there's different types of topics that we can do and this is the L one of the big benefit of the this on which it's all the same and is it something that's a free member benefit for part so once the company join it is a completely free uh to for vo to become a member so let's just say compan a has 200 vo now all 200 and no cost and the same thing with the chamber correct so all of the members is that correct yeah so as you know the FR Union is involved in the community we are part of many different chamber rest in chamber being one of them so you know we have a partnership with the partnership program with the rest in chamber so all chamber member can go to Northwest website and they can select the need I to Western tber and I would like to join the nor and that's how we can become a member for free what's your member your member for life right so you can extend that to your fames live fans so that you're doing great things and you've got a great team too before I get to the team though can't help but see the big banner behind you right Northwest Commander Credit Unit of the commanders why don't you just share a little B about that while we got you there other than your adorable son there that's picture yeah I'll a little so what of credit union is now the official Credit Union of the Washington fanders right so that that that is a big deal for us especially in this area right so we as a commanders R Union we serve their employees we serve their volunteers uh you know it it it brings us to exposure as well um so you know it is a new partnership we it was bu last season so you know the future is great so we are heading that way we are going these partnership so I think there a last that we will be able to do through that partnership yeah when you go to the game you see the BS you see the is the five 12 say spons from perion uh we have aing table at the GM as well so we are engaging with the community and the fast that's coming in so you will see as we start the next season there going lot of great things that they will talk on this especially when it com to being involved in the community now you guys are the little boy yeah that's one son je and 6 years old now and I have a do she turned four in July there always a party get home uh but imagine yeah but the life is fine I mean then so life is good and you know it's about being in the community and people get to know you know everyone and you guys are like a family really you are over at the credit union and I know a lot of your team so I mean you probably just sit back all day long n man and just you know because your team is so fabulous so not that you g to do any work but certainly um you know you do a great job of managing it setting expectations setting accountability right but you know people still have to deliver so um yeah share a little bit more about your role as a manager maybe and some of the challenges that you might have and obviously benefits yeah yeah definitely well uh well you as my RO with the vice president of R bu well and I have you you you have met my team as I was any team I cannot ask for a better team uh they are great they they do make my life my job anything easier I I believe when it comes to team right now but this yeah you Havey ask and they just help because they know that this this is how we keep blowing so I'm just to have teammate they they are involved um in the community they they do L phys development um and you there's a reason that my of for the button keeps goinging so I to me and da her and so you know some but do you remember the I had been his kitchen was relation manager he was Inola little she came from world is well not the community which show s you know with un for over 27 years now so she's she's amazing um Denise Adam I'm sure you met her as well so she C over work market in Arlington and WW and in a different area for and ch Green Hill by relation man so they not be happy Dusty actually brings up a good point too as far as coverage um does Northwest cover the is their National Organization you know you guys are growing on expanding yeah so when it comes to Branch SP pl we have um we have branches all over J arean um but our foot CR is Nationwide and we we serve other members of our country um with their ring needs one good example that I tell my uh members is uh you know if there the largest bank like Bank of America with most F but we are are of a share banking Network which is called a a CO network of fed Union so you can be anywhere in the country and pick your phone out and go to your our website and put your de code in it will tell you that you go to a different BR Union and do your banking meet and use their ATM without paying any agent fees so when it comes to a me cl called like hey I'm a member and I don't want to pay a fee to pick money out or 10 bees anywhere in do banking you know the CL pull off sh granting that for is huge that's huge great partnership yeah yeah so yeah so we keep talking about community and engagement and I know that's a big mission for you this year as chairman and I could not not agree more about the you know kind of that philosophy because that's how business is done so I I know you have the chairman hat um but how else are you involved in the community because it's not just the rest in chamber and Northwest what else are you doing out there well yeah you a new highlight it's new to my leadership team like so that as you know the F in t Community it I as should have the community myself I invol with ra Chambers I have SE on R chamber b in a pass to give B uh my time to the community cently I'm a I'm a chair man for wrestling CH so met an ex ch right so yeah thank you for everything that you have done just try to follow your lead so yeah you in a good place so to do our part with the help of our board will be to keep us moving forward keep being B man forus and you know give something back to our existing member base at the G um I do serve as a chairman for dolls area transportation Association so which is also known as beta um so you know all the transportation need for a weapon but beta doesn't have work right when it comes to BU forance we have you know helping our Elder senior citizen metrans uh to get to their doctor appartments their bilingual programming that data does uh I'm just grateful that you know I was chosen to to lead that for as well and there there's a lot more in the future that's come din as well so yeah so have some plan going on with the rest chamber with with those um I'm also involved with our internal not Union emerging profession group um that is a program uh under my unhip sted in 2018 and you know then at that time the whole world like Hey how do we how do we get to know each other working in a FR Union how do we Closter that networking uh you know that connection you know this meditation how do we work together and also be the future leader for the C Union space right and as I share uh being involved in the community we you one average of over 8,000 a volunteer time in the community and this professional group is very involved in giving back and back of the volteer so you we are looking to do way for Professor we are the leader of professional when it com to the CL Union space So within the Virginia Plan unions um we have a special Pro is guest our want to professional for fair for those leadership Ro so you know we do various classes looking to do one hopefully with the AI the on of using AI right so we we say Ai and everybody will show up yeah well look a couple weeks ago we did an event at ourspace M it was an impro uh impro night and uh it was and it was also a fundraiser supporting our veterans moving forward non profy so you know these first on they SP out they rais money for it and have benefit a plus you have fun like so is this something n man that these it sounds like it is it something like your these guys and GS come up with this uh programming or is it something that's kind of given to these emerging professionals so uh the programming it comes out with because the I there we have a lgic professional Ambassador here are no t so the RO the CH you have your Bo correct def is Ambassador and the Ambassador support Ro uh AR one they are coming up with the you know opportunities for the rest of the mar profession Network the group to get involved right it could be hey you know we want to go overse onor SL at Washington right we do a lot of that hey we want to we we want to be a a panel of different CEOs that come to us to talk about leadership development there's not different programming so we always looking for ideas yeah you know and we always keep changing to to stay up toate on different programing available you in 100% And you know I'm hearing more and more about emerging professionals just like you guys have within the organization I know that when we were we had Li us on the panel for women's event last couple months ago actually they talked about that group coming in so I think it's really important to have um topics being discussed right and and maybe even bringing these organizations together to kind of do some joint efforts but you know that's definitely something because the chamber's got a very robust emerging professionals group as well and we are you know we're very conscious about bringing the ideas and programming into what the chamber is doing it's the only way we're going to grow it's the only way we're going to evolve as well you know so I think not that we're Notting in a category of emerging professionals uh however comma well we are right so I think you definitely working professional at any age or any time right so oh but I do love the idea of like let take out few four walls and yeah if fot opportunities for people do in network with the other individuals and it which house uh on both sides when it coms to you absolutely and partnership so absolutely absolutely well you are constantly just I don't even know you know your where your uh what's the word the line is with regards to work Community kids family so I guess is there a balance that you have for work life I've got to ask the questions and as we wrap but because I know there's got you got so much passion in what you do your team does the organization it just exudes when I you talk with anybody from Northwest from Jeff Bentley on down I mean so my question is how is there a balance because you guys Lally could Network and be partner looking for partners 247 so is there is there a balance I know Northwest supports it but well I know know the suppos it and uh the unay had it um it it is it is a job that requires uh no set schedule of time and if they have who Su and what we do there person have the astion of really U covering all angles way so you you are the community you got know what you do you know you got real relationship so I think when you have to work like that yeah you there's upside down I think uh well you love what to do it things to help you do and especially when you have a when you have a B Team people help each other right so uh what we do here at Northwest or what we do personally as as the business development or relationship manager toic Union um you know there's no set schedule we we have weekends we have weekday we have evening EV we have night night right week now we try to do what we can but other departments within the they have power right cuz everyone wants to make a difference everyone wants to share their story or their um you know and how be and M the community that's thing about right you're not left alone you have people and people that I my team and and you have the and and more well uh when no I just really appreciate you taking the time today to to kind of share your story a little bit about the credit union of course Northwest is a fantastic partner of the chamber so having you here sharing just a little bit of that sound bite is fantastic so thank you for that and I just again congratulations on your I didn't get you it's so funny I was this close to getting the Burger King Crown so that I could have given that to you when you know we transferred uh the gavl slash my crown um and but I didn't do it because you got me a nice gift right so I gotta put little sauce on and then maging pile on and come up and and see and do one of those EV right you one I with right um um what I have t to understand in in being in a is in a financial institution right it's it's not the college you so it's it's how you talk about your with it what makes you different you know I tell my my team as well you know think of us as uh your financial doctors right when you come to a doctor you tell them like hey I'm sick give me TI and all that what I need that's be better what we do here at F Union and as business developers is you know we want get to know you first and understand your like like you know it's not about F cushy it's about understanding your needs so and and and I feel like I think being involved in a community when you understand the need of the community you can really understand how you can get back to the St really you know I'm going to go do this in new service or I'm going to do this I'm going to be involved here you have to be strategic you have to you know really make do a quality work with quties guys that both really going to make a difference well that that's a differentiator and a lot of people don't even see that you know it's not it's not table Stakes anymore so it really is something that that separates you so it should be table Stakes but it is a huge differentiate and like I said you guys do it really well so thrilled to have had you today uh make sure and I know you are because you are on my board that you are a YouTube channel subscriber for the chamber and I encourage everybody to reach out to n man reach out to his team they are everywhere if you've got any questions on what North how Northwest can potentially help you or honestly you guys are also just good advisers you know it's not always about you know coming to Northwest you can help direct people as well I know you were really favorable during covid for a lot of people that I knew and just kind of helping give directions um you know to just support the community and support businesses small businesses too I think both wife so so we we have AR like you with ch the community time so it makes us both together so we so thank you for your leadership and your partnership right so uh you know and this opportunity to get on your podcast right a feel special yeah know we're excited yeah took a little while what we got here so anyway thank you and uh I look forward to seeing you soon and yeah for everyone listening and watching I look forward to seeing you at our next episode thank you take care stay in touch with us for future episodes like subscribe and share see you next time