Past, Present, and Future of the EBA

A Message from the President

EBA President

Bill Sloan

EBA Journal – Summer 2021 Edition I must first put on my glasses just to see my crystal ball. And I really don’t trust my memory to accurately inform me of my own past, not to mention the past of a vibrant trade association. Happily, I won’t concern myself too much with accuracy and instead stick with the emotions related to my limited perception.

The EBA started without me a long time ago. I was a latecomer, an interloper to a party and without an invitation. Jeff Telego even kindly asked me to leave the “Bankers Only” session because I was a stranger and therefore could be an affiliate? Hmmm. He of course corrected himself immediately when I showed him my nametag. I reminded Jeff of that sometime after we became devoted friends, and he laughed as only he can – loudly.

So, my first EBA memory was of a somewhat exclusive club made up of people who knew each other well but were sometimes distant from newcomers. Sure, I sat in the back and didn’t interact well, being a very shy, geekish, reformed consultant trying to emulate any one of the golden seasoned bankers.

The perceived distance was replaced soon enough with a long list of great friends and loud laughter. And the leadership of the EBA changed. Affiliates were placed on the Board of Governors. The membership of the EBA started to expand and grow. The content of the presentations at a conference seemed to get better and better. Mike Kulka gave us a glimpse of his inner Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. We set records for attendance. Then COVID threw a wrench into our business model.

I assure you the COVID wrench bounced around making a lot of noise, and still may, but due to the foresight of leaders like Sharon Valverde the EBA had already planned for the unplannable by making financial stability the first goal of the EBA. We made it, we’re making it and since the COVID wrench hit some of us on the head, we’re thinking strategically about our future.

From where I sit, the future of the EBA looks very bright. The EBA I wandered into about 10 years ago seemed more like a club than an association. We’re more inclusive now. We reach farther outside the EBA than we have before. EBA Leadership is partnering more and more with our own members. It’s very hard to build a conference, but we’ve learned that even planning a conference is easier when volunteers are engaged and empowered.

The EBA is evolving. The Board of Governors is currently challenging everything from our business model to our deliverables with a long-term strategic mindset. The EBA is seen as an industry leader by many, including several agencies, most notably the SBA. We must accept that leadership role and position ourselves as THE leader of our industry. As I write this, we’re considering new goals for the EBA. Stay tuned.

If you want evidence of our potential, consider the 200+ bankers that signed up to attend the last winter virtual conference. Never in our history have we had a conference where the attendance of banker members outpaced the number of affiliates. There’s a message there and for me it’s a sign of things to come.