Pub.7 2018 Issue 4

The CommunityBanker 8 VACB 41st Annual Convention October 14 – 16, 2018 Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center V ACB members gathered in Roanoke for this year’s An- nual Convention, Trade Show at Hotel Roanoke, October 14- 16, 2018. Kicking off autumn at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, VACB members gathered for three days of learning, fellowship and fun. VACB’s continuing formula for convention success was on full display this fall. The convention continues to focus on trends in the banking environment, exposure to the latest offerings from our associate members and great networking opportunities. Our two business sessions were on target with valu- able information, insight and inspiration. The morn- ing began with the membership approving the slate of officers for 2019. We are very pleased to have Bill Foster from Village Bank in Midlothian entering the process of “moving through the chairs” of the association. Next, Dr. Roger Tut- terow, Economics Professor from Kennesaw State University provided an economic overview from a global perspective down to the local economies across Virginia. In addition to his economic forecast, Dr. Tutterow touched on the looming mid- term elections and their potential impacts on the economy. Next on the agenda was Jason Schemmel from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Jason provided a Corporate Governance Update to attendees. Jason ended his session discussing corporate governance and audit best practices for community banks, as well as sharing examiners’ top gover- nance and audit red flags. Our third session Monday morning featured David Kemp with Bankers Management with a session titled, “Buckle Up! Wild Ride Ahead”, and his presentation was a wild ride! David challenged bankers to bring innovative thinking and performance enhancing ideas to their banks. He also dis- cussed the qualities of top “winning” banks which ranged from top customer service practices, talent acquisition and development to what the board of a high performing commu- nity bank looks like. David’s discussion was lively, engaging and humorous as he shared many banking stories from his many years in the banking and consulting arenas. FYI, David Kemp is also one of the presenters for our Essentials of Bank- ing program that VACB offers for member banks wanting to develop banking talent. Immediately following the business session, attendees gathered outside to head to Big Lick Brewing Company in downtown Roanoke for an afternoon of food and fun. At- tendees enjoyed a delicious meal and sampled all the different types of beer offered at Big Lick Brewing Company. It was an excellent way to spend a warm, fall afternoon. Our evening Chairman’s activities began with the Chair- man’s reception. VACB had asked that all attendees wear their favorite sports gear to the Monday night activities, and convention attendees did not disappoint! Our Chairman’s reception was a sea of football, baseball, and hockey jerseys, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats; even down to a few collegiate bow- ties! We were pleased to see how everyone embraced our win- ning spirit celebration theme for this year’s convention and supported their favorite teams! Our Chairman’s dinner was a strolling buffet and guests went from station to station trying all the amazing dinner offerings, which provided a great way to mix and mingle with other dinner guests and not be anchored in one area for the evening. Continuing our sports bar theme, the décor for the evening felt like being at a sports bar. We had lots of fun and games, along with a DJ spinning great music, dancing and raffle prizes to be won by attendees. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed a fun and relaxing evening celebrating our 2018 Chairman, Lyn Hayth. Tuesday’s breakfast gave attendees the chance to hear from two Virginia members of Congress: U.S. Representatives Bob Goodlatte and Morgan Griffith. Griffith spoke enthusiastically about the strengthening economy and the role of community banks in its resurgence, while Goodlatte’s comments were broader and more reflective. He finishes his 25-year career in public service when he leaves office at the end of the year. From breakfast, attendees headed to the second business ses- sion where Pres Kennedy, ICBA Chairman Elect, spoke on the state of community banking, regulatory relief and the political scene in Washington. Following Pres Kennedy, Tina Giorgio, President and CEO of ICBA Bancard presented a lively discussion on the impor- tance of banks fitting faster payments into their strategic plan. Tina shared how quickly the payments arena is evolving and how the speed and volume of credit, debit and ACH payments is driving the need for developing ways to deliver payments ever faster. Tina also shared insights from the Federal Re- serve’s Faster Payments Task Force (FPTF) and its foray into Real Time Payments (RTP). She then urged attendees to evalu- ate their bank’s payments landscape and develop a payments strategy that fits their culture, customer expectations and risk appetite. Technology and the Internet of Things is not going anywhere. Tina cautioned attendees to prepare now or be roadkill on the payments highway in the future. The Business Session ended with Dave Sanderson sharing how moments matter. Dave was on US Airways flight 1549 that made an emergency landing in the Hudson River. In a moment of clarity, he chose to help his fellow passengers to safety and was one of the last to exit the plane. He shared how the day unfolded for him as a survivor of the flight as he was one of only two passengers hospitalized after the crash. Dave told the group how much in demand he was with vari- ous agencies investigating, as not many people survive plane crashes. Because the crash was such a defining moment in Dave’s life, he now works with groups to help them develop their own “flight plans” and live their best lives. It was a rivet - ing session to be sure. Our convention concluded with the Yount, Hyde & Bar- bour Grand Prize Drawing, where one lucky banker won one of several prize choices and it was shipped to their home. Our big winner at this year’s convention was Lloyd Harrison, Vir- ginia Partners Bank. Lyn Hayth, in his last act as Chairman, declared the 41st Annual Convention of VACB convened and wished all a safe trip home and urged everyone to make plans now to attend the fall convention at The Williamsburg Lodge, in October of 2019. C O N V E N T I O N