RIVERSIDE, Calif. — It's been a great year for Altura Credit Union's marketing department.

The team recently received a number of awards recognizing the quality of their marketing efforts for print ads, e-newsletters, billboards, radio and TV spots and more.

Altura and its subsidiary Auto Expert, earned 17 awards from the Inland Empire Ad Club at its annual ADDY Awards. The awards program, sponsored by the American Advertising Federal, is the first of a three-tier national competition.

This year's Inland Empire competition received 455 entries and is the largest in Southern California and Southern Nevada.

Altura earned four gold, five silver and five bronze ADDY Awards for its consumer print, radio, TV and outdoor advertising. Auto Expert earned two gold and one silver for its business to business ads and campaigns.

In addition, Altura received three Diamond Merit Awards from the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council. Altura was recognized for single print ad, single statement insert and newsletters for its e-newsletter in the category for credit unions with assets between $500 and $1 billion.

“To say we are thrilled with this recognition is an understatement,” said Ricki McManuis, senior vice president of corporate communications at Altura CU. “We have a very creative, hard-working team, and we had some terrific help from our vendors. It's wonderful to get this kind of recognition for your work. But, ultimately, the real measure is the success of our efforts in communicating the value of membership.”