For Immediate Release:
May 31, 2011

For more information, contact:
Francine Patella Ryan
ESL Public Affairs Manager
fpatella@esl.org
585.336.1089 or 585.261.6220 (cell)

ESL FEDERAL CREDIT UNION PARTICIPATES AS MAJOR SPONSOR of the 62nd ANNUAL ROCHESTER PRESS-RADIO CLUB'S DAY OF CHAMPIONS DINNER

Rochester, New York... It was a night for honoring professional, amateur, and student athletes and for recognizing those who serve the youth in our community. ESL Federal Credit Union was once again a major sponsor of the 62nd Annual Rochester Press-Radio Club Day of Champions Dinner.

This year's event featured Green Bay Packers Linebacker Clay Matthews. He received the Coca-Cola Sports Personality of the Year Award at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center on Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Prior to the dinner and his speech, Matthews posed for photos with guests at a special VIP reception.

Matthews comes from a long lineage of football players. His grandfather, Clay, played with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1950s. His father, Clay Jr., played 19 NFL seasons as a linebacker with the Cleveland Browns and then the Atlanta Falcons. His uncle, Bruce, played 19 NFL seasons on the offensive line for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise. His cousin, Kevin, is a center for the Titans and...his brother, Casey, another linebacker, was drafted in April by the Philadelphia Eagles.

This annual dinner was created in 1949 as a fundraiser for local children's charities. Since that time, more than $2 million has been raised.

ESL has played a major role in this event for the past nine years. In addition to being one of the seven presenting sponsors, we were also privileged to present the ESL Volunteer of the Year Award, which is given annually to an individual or a couple for exemplary volunteerism through a single act, or a number of acts, that have made our community a better place in which to live. This year we honored Sylvia Korn. Sylvia was recognized for her work with Rochester area youth. The award was presented to Sylvia by ESL President and CEO David Fiedler.

Founded by George Eastman in 1920, ESL Federal Credit Union is a full-service financial institution with $3.8 billion in assets. ESL employs more than 600 people locally and has about 300,000 members world-wide. The company was recently ranked 12^th as one of 2010 Best Small and Medium Work Places in America by the Great Place to Work^® Institute and presented by Entrepreneur^®. Access to the credit union includes 19 branch locations and more than 40 ATM locations, a Tele-Banking Center, and Internet and online banking channels. The company is headquartered at 225 Chestnut Street, in Rochester, and can be found on the Internet at www.esl.org.

 

Green Bay Packers Linebacker Clay Matthews (left) is jokingly presented with a Buffalo Bills sports cap by sports writer and book author Scott Pitoniak.

 

ESL President and CEO Dave Fiedler and Sylvia Korn, the ESL Volunteer of the Year