PRESIDENT’S COLUMN Get Energized at the Annual Convention On May 11,12, and 13, more than 350 ABA members, directors, stockholders, and guests will converge in Little Rock for the 126th Annual Convention, celebrating our 125th Anniversary as an association. It will be a meeting of motivation, leadership, recognition and rekindling of old friendships. The ABA team organizes, plans, and conducts this meeting filled with high energy, inspiration, and celebration. During the Convention, there will be a plethora of opportunities to engage in: leadership presentations, official business sessions that will direct the future of an industry that has 19,000+ employees in Arkansas, hear from nationally recognized keynote speakers, as well as an award session that honors individual milestones in banking for their 40 and 50 years of service. And speaking of recognizing ABA members — at this year’s convention we will honor two banks who are turning 125 along with the Association, and three additional banks celebrating their 100-, 50-, and 25-year anniversaries.
Our Convention is an outstanding professional development opportunity. The ABA team showcases impactful keynote sessions addressing key industry issues and opportunities facing our banks. Our educational sessions and the Day with the Commissioner focus on delivering actionable ideas to help our bankers grow their institutions. Our Convention is also a family reunion. Come and reconnect with old friends and make new friends as well. Feel the support of bankers from across the state. Experience the energy of our
younger bankers and emerging leaders as they grow into our next bank leaders. Our Convention is informative. Come to the Day with the Commissioner and hear from the ASBD, CSBS, FED and FDIC. After lunch you will meet Dan Blanton, Chairman of the American Bankers Association and hear the latest developments going on in the financial services industry. Be sure and visit the Trade Show to explore the latest trends and products available to make our banks better.
PRESIDENT & CEO BILL HOLMES
I look forward to the Convention every year as my best opportunity to be professionally recharged. I always return to my desk with new knowledge, new ideas, and new materials. But for all the tangible, practice-related takeaways the convention represents, the best part is the chance to reconnect with our members. This, I believe, is the best of what banking offers us all: connections to something bigger than ourselves. Please join us at our annual Convention where we gather to celebrate our accomplishments, educate ourselves on issues that affect our banks and our communities, and plan for the future of our association. It is critical that each of our local banks are represented to share their voice as we elect officers to the board, adopt resolutions to support and strengthen our legislative platform, and talk to each other about our challenges and successes as bankers and guardians of our communities. I know you’ll be energized by all that the Convention has to offer.
ABA Convention, circa 1940
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The Arkansas Banker | April 2016
