As I look ahead to a busy summer, including plenty of respite for a change (two 50th high school reunions!), I also look back with gratitude on a very successful spring calendar, including three five-star major events within four weeks between mid-April and mid-May. You and your colleagues turned out in force for numerous education events and another beautiful day on the links for our 24th Annual Golf Tournament. Thank you.

But the crown jewel of that time, an event that has the potential to supercharge the future of our association, was the ICBA Capital Summit, where nearly 30 VACB bankers showed up to advocate for their profession and their communities. Only Illinois and Minnesota, with hundreds more charters than Virginia, sent more bankers to Washington for the event. Despite the challenge of working with so many bankers and the logistics of scheduling 13 congressional meetings, I found the work to be inspirational, because of the power of the diversity in our group. Sixteen banks were represented. Eleven bankers attended for the first time. Every congressional district was represented — a first!

With special thanks to those who took part, and those who enabled them to do so, we’ll list the names of participating banks and bankers on the next page and add a few photos to reflect the enthusiasm of these crucial meetings. Thanks again for your engagement. There’s more work to do, of course, and we hope our team of direct advocates continues to grow. Onward!