Annual Antioch Awards: Business of the Year – Rick Fuller Team and Travis Credit Union
Jennifer and Rick Fuller and The Rick Fuller Team, 2019 Antioch Small Business of the Year. Photo courtesy of Rick Fuller.
This is a second in a series of articles on the annual awards presented Friday night, Sept. 24 by the Antioch Chamber of Commerce during its Gala Dinner. It was held virtually, this year and honored the city’s most outstanding residents and organizations with their annual awards.
Business of the Year
The Business of the Year is chosen based on the way the company gives back to community outside its normal business practice. Recipients usually support multiple groups in our community and realize that a strong local economy is based on a strong community. This category has been divided into Large/Corporate and Small Business Categories.
Rick Fuller speaks as his wife and business partner Jennifer looks on thanking the Chamber for the honor. Photo courtesy of the Chamber.
Small Business – Rick Fuller Team
Rick Fuller grew up in Antioch and graduated from Antioch High School in 1994. Rick and his wife Jennifer have three amazing daughters: April, Autumn & Summer. Rick serves the City of Antioch on the Economic Development Commission.
The Rick Fuller Team is dedicated to providing the kind of service their clients would be happy to tell a friend about. With passion and hard work, the Rick Fuller Team had the privilege of serving over 250 families in 2019 and have received nearly 1,000 five-star reviews online.
The Rick Fuller Team has raised over $1.25 Million and served over 2100 local homeless and foster children through the nonprofit Royal Family Kids since 2001. Royal Family Kids provides camps, clubs and mentoring for homeless and foster children. In 2019, With community support, they also raised $100,000 in 12 weeks for a young lady named Malysa (Melissa) who desperately needed a second heart transplant.
Travis Credit Union Antioch Branch Manager Marivel Branco and Assistant Vice President & Regional Manager Jennifer Victor receive the plaque and honors from Mayor Sean Wright, COO of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce. Photo courtesy of the Chamber.
Large Business – Travis Credit Union
Travis Credit Union works every day to make a difference in the lives of the people they serve. As a secure and trusted financial institution, they advocate for the financial education and wellbeing of each of their members, assist the underserved, and invest in our communities. Travis Credit Union has offered free financial education seminars for over a decade, which has resulted in many community members of all ages educated and financially literate. Monthly financial education seminars provided in partnership with the Antioch Public Library cover topics such as Building Budgets, Understanding Credit, ID Theft and Prevention, Organizing Financial Records, and many more.
As part of their efforts in educating the communities we serve, Travis Credit Union focuses on the underserved population of young adults. Travis Credit Union has offered Mad City Money to over 10,000 young adults, which include residents of Antioch. Building skills that will last a lifetime, participants in Mad City Money learn how handling adult finances doesn’t have to be difficult. The 3Y,-hour simulation allows young adults to make decisions about budgeting, spending, borrowing, and saving in an assigned-life scenario. Financial education is not part of the school curriculum, and it is our responsibility as a community to ensure young adults are walking into adulthood with the tools necessary to be financially healthy.
Travis Credit Union is passionate about changing lives and lifting communities through financial well ness. What sets Travis Credit Union apart from the rest is its commitment and dedication toward building authentic community impact through its “Awesome Cause”- Financial Education, Financial Literacy, and Financial Advocacy. Through the Awesome Cause, Travis Credit Union has established partnerships with many non-profit organizations such as; Opportunity Junction, The Lighthouse Mentoring Center, Courageous and Emerging Leadership Academy (CELA), Antioch Parks and Recreation, and Antioch Public Library to name a few.
Further demonstrating their commitment to the Antioch community, the local branch staff engages in community events such as the Antioch 4th of July Parade, Chamber Mixers, and many fundraising events.
Travis Credit Union has established many local partnerships, including the city of Antioch, to be able to offer Mad City Money to young adults between the ages of 14-24. Each participant receives a temporary identity, including occupation, salary, debt, marital status, children to give participants a sense of adulthood, and paying bills. Participants visit “merchants” in Mad City to choose housing, transportation, necessities and wants. The goal is ultimately to simulate the realities of approaching financial responsibilities and teach the tools to make better financial decisions. The Antioch Chamber of Commerce has participated for many years providing volunteers to become merchants at Mad City Money. Having the business community involved and allowing the youth to see their local merchants is positive community engagement. Mad City Money is more than just financial education. It is an opportunity for the entire community to come together and support the new generation.
the attachments to this post:
TCU Branch Mgr Marivel Branco & AVP Reg Mgr Jennifer Victor
Rick & Jennifer Fuller with honors
