PRESIDENT’S COLUMN Closing Out 2017
Another year draws to a close – and what a year it has been! This time last year you would have needed the very best crystal ball to see the seismic changes which the world was due to undergo during the last 12 months. Whether the election of Donald Trump, and new heads of the OCC, FDIC and CFPB filled you with hope or despair, those events are behind us now and we have to refocus on doing our best for the future. Not to engage is simply “not an option,” as the old saying goes. Change is always a challenge and the changes we face are on a monumental scale and at an increasing pace, so the next few months and years will keep us busy, if nothing else. Over the last year, we have organized a busy program of events which have been well attended and covered a wide range of topics; our membership has shrunk due to consolidation, but I am pleased to say that our banks grew larger assets, larger deposits, and larger number of employees. The staff re-envisioned the Annual Convention and made it a great networking and impactful
event. The addition of Game Night to start it off was an overwhelming success and this year’s Game Night will be even better. We also have attracted a number of younger members, which bodes well for the future. 2018 is poised to deliver the promise for great economic growth, tax cuts and at long last meaningful Reg Reform. I would like take this opportunity to wish you all a very restful and revitalizing Christmas. I would like to wish all members of the Arkansas Bankers Association, our Associate Members, Partners and Vendors the Happiest of Holiday Seasons. I would like to thank you for supporting the work we have been doing to celebrate and expand this wonderfully complex and endlessly changing industry we all work in. Let’s close out 2017 celebrating the Christmas spirit with our families and friends. Here are some favorite toasts to help get you in the Christmas Spirit: “The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.” - Burton Hills
ABA STAFF
BILL HOLMES
PRESIDENT/CEO 501.978.3602 | bill.holmes@arkbankers.org
CARLA BRINKLEY
VP/CONTROLLER 501.978.3608 | carla.brinkley@arkbankers.org
AVA F. ROBERTS
BARRY JACKSON
SVP/COO 501.978.3613 | barry.jackson@arkbankers.org
KAMI T. COLEMAN
VP/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 501.978.3614 | kami.coleman@arkbankers.org
TRACI LOGSDON
VP/DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS 501.978.3606 | ava.roberts@arkbankers.org
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS 501.978.3603 | traci.logsdon@arkbankers.org
JESSICA SAHENE
BRENDA SCARBROUGH
MARKETING COORDINATOR 501.978.3609 | jessica.sahene@arkbankers.org
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PRESIDENT & CEO BILL HOLMES
The TheArkansas ArkansasBanker Banker || December December2017 2017
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT 501.978.3607 | brenda.scarbrough@arkbankers.org
