20 Winners Awarded $75,000 in BayPort's Debt Paydown Sweepstakes

BayPort Credit Union announced it has awarded 20 members $75,000 in cash to pay down their existing balance on any BayPort debt as part of its fifth annual Debt Paydown Sweepstakes.

Pictured L to R: Jim Mears, BayPort President/CEO; $10,000 Winner, Jeremy Mittelstaedt; $10,000 Winner, Keith Hamlin; and $25,000 Winner, Alice and Christopher Ostein

For five straight years, BayPort has awarded members with Debt Paydown cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 to help improve their financial wellness. The annual Sweepstakes encourages entrants to utilize the credit union's free education tools, such as the financial literacy app Zogo and its Credit Score monitoring with full credit report access.

This year's top prize of $25,000 was awarded to Alice Ostein of Williamsburg, Virginia. Ostein and two $10,000 Sweepstakes winners were surprised by BayPort President/CEO Jim Mears in-studio of local NBC affiliates WAVY-TV 10 and WVBT FOX 43. The surprise segment aired on the Hampton Roads Show on Friday, September 15.

BayPort's 2023 Debt Paydown winners span 10 different cities and counties in the Greater Hampton Roads area and range in age from 26 to 64, including Newport News Shipbuilding employees, new small business owners, and the president of a local non-profit organization that feeds people experiencing homelessness. This year's winners illustrate the diversity and breadth of BayPort's membership. The sweepstakes launched April 3 and ran through July 31.

In the five years since launching the Debt Paydown, BayPort has awarded $275,000 to 116 members of all ages and backgrounds. This year, BayPort had its most outstanding participation, with more than 22,000 people entered to win the Sweepstakes.