Grass Roots Day at the Dome

On Wednesday, February 13th, CBA held our Grass Roots Day at the Dome.  We were thrilled to show off our new format for Advocacy for our community bankers.  This year, CBA provided transportation to and from the Capitol so our bankers did not have to stress with traffic and parking.  We had two buses running from the North and South of Atlanta.  CBA is thankful for our sponsor, Promontory Interfinancial Network, for providing our bankers with this opportunity.  
 
Upon arriving at the Capitol, CBA had a photo opportunity with Governor Brian Kemp.  Then, our bankers began working the halls of the Capitol equipped with talking points for our priority municipal deposit bill and page slips for both the House and Senate.  Our bankers paged their respective Representatives and Senators to explain the importance of the municipal deposit legislation for their banks.  The legislators love having their constituents at the Capitol to voice their concerns first hand.  Grass roots advocacy is so powerful!  This was the first time many of our bankers had actually experienced an “on the ropes” experience at the Capitol.  It certainly gives you a different perspective on how things work, but it also a humbling experience as everyone had to wait in line just like everyone else.  
 
At noon, everyone convened at the Georgia Freight Depot for a luncheon with our legislators.  Governor Brian Kemp was gracious with him time and took the opportunity to join our event to kick things off.  Governor Kemp’s message was the importance of making Georgia the #1 state for small businesses.  Community banks are uniquely positioned to help with this opportunity as community banks provide small business loans for exactly these purposes.  Bankers were seated with legislators from their districts so they could have one on one conversations about things relevant to their respective districts.  Some of the freshman legislators were not familiar with bankers within their districts so this was a great place to make the introductions.  
 
CBA is thankful for all of our bankers for stepping up and making this event a huge success!  We are also thankful for Governor Kemp, Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck, Kevin Hagler of Department of Banking and Finance, members of the legislature, and staff members of various government offices for joining our event.  In addition, we would like to thank James-Bates-Brannan-Groover-LLP for their sponsorship of our event and their ongoing support throughout the legislative session.