HOUSTON, June 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA Compass and the
Houston Dynamo have crowned Reason2Race as the winner of their 2018
installment of The Pitch contest, awarding the organization the
$10,000 prize to put towards growing
their business.
Reason2Race is an organization focused on community impact and
supporting individuals, nonprofits and event organizers to spread
awareness and raise funds for a good cause. The organization helps
raise funds with a "simple model" designed to help people reach a
big audience and create a substantial, positive impact.
"Reason2Race has a solid business growth plan, but it also has a
plan to create positive change in many communities - for various
causes," said BBVA Compass Houston CEO Mark
Montgomery. "BBVA Compass is focused on helping businesses
flourish. We want to create opportunities for our communities.
Reason2Race works for the greater good and is enabling
organizations to find ways to make an impact. They align perfectly
with what BBVA Compass stands for and we are proud to call them
this year's winners."
Per the contest, Reason2Race will receive $10,000 and consultation with Dynamo and bank
executives, among other prizes. The organization will be honored at
halftime of the June 9 Dynamo match
at BBVA Compass Stadium.
"We are excited about being recognized as a top small business
and voted as this year's winner," said Reason2Race Chief Operating
Officer Bill Baumeyer. "This unique
opportunity allows us to launch a new Charity Challenge for
companies, nonprofits, and individuals. The Charity Challenge is
designed to support businesses in fulfilling their health and
wellness initiatives and involve our new and existing nonprofits in
smart, effective online fundraising. The end result is individuals
exercising in fun ways while making a difference for the cause
close to their hearts. It's a win for everyone."
The Pitch aligns with one of the core values of the Houston
Dynamo – to be leaders in the Houston community, including the business
community.
"The entrepreneurial spirit of this town is a big part of what
makes Houston great, and we are
honored to work with our partners at BBVA Compass to be able to
help build the small business community in Houston," said Dynamo president Chris Canetti.
"Reason2Race exemplifies the best of our city – that can-do spirit
combined with a desire to help friends and neighbors – and we are
proud to honor them as the winners of The Pitch 2018."
The Pitch has seen two other winners during its existence, with
JC Sports being crowned as the inaugural winner in 2016. Based in
Humble, Texas, JC Sports operates
as a youth indoor sports facility. The most recent winner, Small
Places LLC, took home the top prize in 2017. The urban farm focuses
on making agriculture in an urban setting sustainable, supporting
of its community and profitable.
JC Sports has now expanded and developed a sister company called
Toca Football and goes on mission trips to countries that include
Kenya, Haiti and Laos.
"After The Pitch, we did grow in clientele, we did grow in
revenue," said JC Sports Co-Owner Cesar
Coronel. "But the most important part is growing in the
community, becoming part of the community. That's probably the most
satisfying part. We donated the full amount of the $10,000 to six schools in our area."
Small Places LLC is now able to provide more produce for
customers and is currently looking to expand into a second farm in
the Houston area.
"The Pitch really opened us up to a whole new group of people,
outlets and markets that have helped us grow over the last year,"
said Small Places LLC Co-Owner Tommy Garcia
Pratts. "With the money that we won, we invested in some
vital infrastructure that we were lacking, particularly a walk-in
cooler. That also helped us set up the professionalism of our
space."
To learn more about BBVA Compass, visit:
www.bbvacompass.com.
For more news visit: www.bbva.com and
newsroom.bbvacompass.com.
About BBVA Group
BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) is a
customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857.
The Group has a strong leadership position in the Spanish market,
is the largest financial institution in Mexico, it has leading franchises in
South America and the Sunbelt
Region of the United States; and
it is also the leading shareholder in Garanti, Turkey's biggest bank for market
capitalization. Its diversified business is focused on high-growth
markets and it relies on technology as a key sustainable
competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of
its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion,
and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the
highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best
practices. More information about BBVA Group can be found at
bbva.com.
About BBVA Compass
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based
financial institution that operates 649 branches, including 336 in
Texas, 89 in Alabama, 63 in Arizona, 61 in California, 45 in Florida, 37 in Colorado and 18 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top
25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and
ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (6th). BBVA Compass has been
recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the
Small Business Administration (SBA) and ranked 6th nationally in
the total number of SBA loans originated in fiscal year 2017.
Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at
www.bbvacompass.com. For more BBVA Compass news, follow
@BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visit
newsroom.bbvacompass.com.
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SOURCE BBVA Compass