May 18 - CBA Today eNewsletter - COMMUNITY BANKERS ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA

The Community Bankers Association of Georgia is pleased to announce and congratulate the winners of the annual Julian & Jan Hester Memorial Scholarship. The 2022 scholarships were open to Georgia high school seniors who intend to enter a Georgia college, university or technical school in the fall semester of 2022. Applications were submitted to the association through CBA member community banks. Four $1,000 scholarships are awarded each year.

The scholarship is named for the late Jan Hester, daughter of Lalia and the late Julian Hester, long-time CEO of the CBA. The scholarship program began in 1991 and is based on academic merit, not financial need. To compete, students must write a short essay on the characteristics of a community bank, and the continuing benefits they offer to their communities. In addition to supporting community banking this scholarship fund is an opportunity to pass on the positive qualities both Julian and Jan Hester exemplified to further the development of tomorrow’s generations.

CBA would also like to thank the panel of judges, which included Dr. Marguerite Brickman, University of Georgia, Athens; Kristy Brown, Greater Community Bank, Rome; Trudy Eller, American Commerce Bank, Bremen; Drew Kessler, Genesys Technology Group, Norcross, and Brian Reed, College Avenue, Wilmington, DE.

Emily Lariscy
University of Georgia
Farmers & Merchants Bank
Sylvania | Mr. Hoke Reeves, III

Gentry Walker Tootle
Mercer University
Durden Banking Company
Twin City | Mr. H. Wade Johnson

Dylan Savannah Lee
Georgia Southern University
Durden Banking Company
Twin City | Mr. H. Wade Johnson

Graham Spires
University of Georgia
Bank of Lumber City
Lumber City | Ms. Virginia Hand

New this year, CBA Preferred Service Provider, College Ave Student Loans, has graciously offered a $500 scholarship to the two alternates. Special thanks to College Ave. This year’s alternates are:

Luke White, North Georgia National Bank, Calhoun
Savannah Reynolds, Durden Banking Company, Twin City

Community Bankers Recognized at First Titan 100
Titan CEO and sponsor Wipfli LLP recognized the 2022 Georgia Titan 100 last week at an awards ceremony. The Titan 100 program recognizes Georgia’s Top 100 CEOs and C-level executives who are the area’s most accomplished business leaders in their industry.

Congratulations to the following CBA bankers who were named to the 2022 Georgia Titan 100:

Charlie Crawford, Hyperion Bank, Atlanta
John McNair, Community Bankers Association of Georgia, Marietta
Bartow Morgan, Georgia Banking Company, Atlanta
Ron Quinn, Peach State Bank & Trust, Gainesville
Neil Stevens, Oconee State Bank, Watkinsville

“It was truly an honor for me to represent Georgia's community banking industry along with fellow recipients and great community bankers,” said John McNair, President & CEO of Community Bankers Association of Georgia. “A special thanks to all the sponsors, especially Wipfli for making the evening happen. I am very grateful that the two special ladies in my life, Lisa and Lauren McNair, were there to celebrate as well.”

HR & Talent Development Conference on Jekyll Island
They asked. We delivered! Our HR and TD league continues to be very involved and thorough as they participate in various education and networking opportunities provided by your Community Bankers Association. Last week, we gathered on the beautiful Jekyll Island, where HR professionals dug into lots of great materials and topics, including legal lessons and developments, building a business case for HR innovation & efficiency tools, employee investigations, top 10 reasons why employees are resigning and what banks can do to keep them on their team, employee engagement and talent retention strategies.

“Over the many years in this industry, this group is near and dear to my heart,” said Kristi Greer, SVP, CBA of GA. “These HR managers have a heart for the business while supporting their employees. I am proud to be in the room with them not only to hear their needs but bring excellent instructors all while learning right alongside them.”

CBA is thankful to our bankers for choosing CBA programming, and we are also thankful for our program sponsors: SHAZAM, James—Bates--Brannan--Groover, Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and CBIZ. Bankers had the opportunity to visit with HR providers who exhibited at the conference: CBIZ, Engage PEO, Flex HR and Insperity.

Hear from attendees:
“SHAZAM’s mission—strengthening community financial institutions – starts with strengthening the people that make our community banks great. Human resources staff in community banks do so much to attract, develop, engage and retain employees so that those employees can do their best work for customers. We’re proud to partner with the Community Bankers Association of Georgia to host this Human Resources and Talent Development League conference. Strong community banks make strong communities, and we’re looking forward to working with Georgia’s community bankers to continue that important work.”--Joey Spivey, L&D Manager, Diversity Officer, Shazam

“All was beneficial. I learned something in each session.”--Cheryl Winfrey, Bank of Dudley

“Joey's excitement was contagious. He made you want to go get started with his ideas!”--Alice Sellers, Bank of Hazlehurst

“Such enjoyable and useful information provided in these sessions! Top notch!”--Stacey Warren, First Port City Bank

Learn more about CBA’s HR & Talent Development League, which includes an upcoming HR Rap session in July.

Margaret Ayers Celebrates 78 Years in
Community Banking
Last week, Northeast Georgia Bank in Lavonia celebrated long-time employee Margaret Ayers for her 78th anniversary with the bank. Margaret started at the bank shortly after graduating from high school in 1944, and she still has no plans to retire anytime soon. The widow of the late Lavonia mayor Herman Ayers, Margaret works as an Accounts Payable clerk and is the bank’s official public relations person. Read more about the celebration in the 92.1 WLHR article.

Margaret was featured in an article and on the cover of a May 2011 CBA magazine. Read more about Margaret, her amazing community service, and love for her family, friends, customers and community. Read more.

Highlights from the Georgia Legislative Session
In the latest issue of Georgia Communities First magazine, Lori Godfrey, CBA’s Executive Vice President, Government and Regulatory Relations, offers an inside look at the 2022 Georgia Legislative Session. In the recap, Lori explains that from a community banking industry perspective, CBA’s Government Affairs Team worked to stave off efforts that would have a significant negative impact to your bank’s operations. For others, the Association was proud to support passage. While the next regular legislative session doesn’t begin until January 2023, work is already underway for items that may come to fruition next session. Read entire article.

Lori Godfrey
CBA Executive Vice President & Chief of Staff
Government and Regulatory Relations

Georgia’s community bankers do great things in their communities every day. Here is the latest on community outreach and news from CBA Members:

Oconee State Bank, Watkinsville, was awarded the "Thank God It’s Monday!® Internal Culture" 2022 Banky Award by the Institute of Extraordinary Banking, which recognizes extraordinary community banks throughout the country.
Remarkable Mortgage, a Division of Oconee State Bank, was the presenting sponsor of Oconee State Bank’s Spring Shred Day. The mortgage team and the bank’s 2022 Junior Board of Directors were able to interact with over 140 cars of customers and members of the community.

First National Community Bank, Chatsworth, has appointed Jerry Chatman as Senior Vice President and Market President for the bank’s Calhoun and Adairsville markets.

Jason Faulkner has joined First National Community Bank, Chatsworth, as Vice President and Commercial Lender for the Cobb and Paulding County markets.

Mike Orlov has joined United Community Bank, Greenville, SC, in the Middle Market and Asset Based Lending team as Senior Vice President, Franchise Division Manager.

Amanda Morris has joined James Bates Brannan Groover LLP, Macon, in the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice group.

Tommie Williams has been elected to the Board of Directors of Altamaha Bank and Trust in Vidalia.

Jessica Trull was promoted to Senior Vice President, Director of Retail at PrimeSouth Bank, Waycross.

Maggie Burch was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Waycross Branch Manager at PrimeSouth Bank.

Laurie Stevenson has joined Planters First Bank as Banking Officer/Portfolio Manager in the Macon Banking Center.

Chris Howe has joined Planters First Bank as SVP, Commercial Lender in the Warner Robins Banking Center.

Think CBA First for Your Professional Development Needs!
Be sure to think of CBA first when it comes to your training and Professional Development needs. Here are some upcoming CBA events:

Innovation Exploration Regulatory Series: Regulatory Scrutiny of
BAAS Partnerships
May 25, 2022 | STREAM
James Stevens of Troutman Pepper, and retired Regional Director of the FDIC, John Henrie, will talk about the overall topic of the regulatory scrutiny of these programs and the regulatory guidance that applies to them. Specifically, the panel will talk in-depth about the federal bank agencies’ guidance regarding third-party vendor management that applies to all of these programs. Register today.

James Stevens
Troutman Pepper

John Henrie
Retired Regional Director of the FDIC

WINSPIRE—Your Best Self
We invite our ladies in community banking to join us for a day to relax, learn, be encouraged, and gain tools for personal wellness. We will be at the brand new hotel in Macon, Hotel 45, for a hot breakfast, sit-down lunch, networking, and a fitness class for all levels. Come dressed in your yoga pants.

Sessions Include:

IceBreakers & Networking
Two sessions with dynamic speakers who are preparing to encourage us to be our best self
Banker Panel: The Many Hats of Women in Community Banking-Wellness, Self-Care Best Practices, and Tips that make your life easier
Wellness Activity—Strength & Stretch Circut for all levels of fitness
And much more!

WEBINAR: Building a Business Case for CRM at Your Bank
June 7, 2022 | 10 AM | STREAM
Most marketing and sales professionals know if they do not already have one, that their financial institution needs CRM. Getting the buy-in and presenting the business case to your executive team can be challenging, especially when you consider that choosing, preparing for, and implementing a CRM is not a simple task.

This presentation offers basic information about how to build an effective business case for implementing CRM, including the benefits of CRM and more specific details on how it impacts sales, revenues, and bottom-line productivity—all things on which the C-suite is focused.

Topics Include:

Basic CRM knowledge (What is a CRM? How does it work?)
Well-documented benefits of CRM including: Better segmentation, Improved marketing campaign success, More productive workflow, Improved customer retention, Top questions to expect from your executives

Agenda:

Welcome/Meet fellow bank marketers
Upcoming Marketing Events/Networking
Presentation

Learn more and register.

WEBINAR: BOLI—The Time Tested Asset
on Community Banks’ Balance Sheets
May 25, 2022 | 11 AM | STREAM
Bank Compensation Consulting is pleased to present an educational webinar that dives into the various uses of BOLI and how it can be a useful tool for community banks. With the continued excess liquidity on banks’ balance sheets and its effect on profitability, banks are looking for yield in a still-low interest rate environment. Additionally, an integral component of community banks is their human capital and the ability to recruit and retain key employees, but there is a cost that is associated with providing benefits to those select employees.

Topics to be discussed include:

What is Bank-Owned Life Insurance (BOLI) and what are its benefits?
BOLI’s strategic uses in the current market environment
The current BOLI marketplace and the incremental value it can add to community banks’ bottom lines
Comparison of income produced by BOLI to alternative investments
How BOLI can be used to offset existing and new employee benefit expenses
Clarification of misconceptions surrounding BOLI

Learn more and register.

2022 Crowe Bank Compensation & Benefits
Survey—Deadline Extended to Participate
The deadline to participate in the 2022 Crowe Financial Institutions Compensation and Benefits Survey has been extended to June 10.

Participating in the survey is the first step to accessing bank compensation benchmarks and trends across 273 jobs, including salary trends and incentive payouts, employee turnover and staffing levels, board compensation, and more.

Participants receive a substantial discount on the survey report, which will be available this fall. Learn more.

William Mills Agency Releases Financial Industry
Trade Show and Conference Guide
William Mills Agency, the largest independent public relations and marketing firm specializing in the financial industry, announces the release of its 2022 Financial Trade Show Guide. The report showcases payments, fintech, banking, mortgage and credit-union focused conferences and tradeshows for the remainder of 2022. “More and more fintech events are coming back in-person after being put on hold during the pandemic,” said William Mills, CEO of William Mills Agency. “People are eager to get back to these events, as they are necessary to create effective networking opportunities, showcase new financial technologies and ascertain industry trends.” Download the free report.

Fitech Payments is a merchant services provider that was founded to serve community banks exclusively. With their relationship-first approach, Fitech has been able to assist community banks in being more competitive with merchant services resulting in growth for the bank and adding many benefits for their business customers.

Contact Matt Mingenback at 316-518-8850 or visit their website.

Here are some of the latest news stories relevant to community banking and the financial services industry:

May 18, 2022