Community Bank Leadership Academy



Register one time by March 18 and attend all 4 sessions! 

Session 1: 
March 18 - 19 

Session 2:
April 22 - 23

Session 3:
October 1 - 2  


Session 4:
November 5 - 6 



2024 CBA's CBLA Leadership Class

The Community Bank Leadership Academy, inspired by CBA’s LEAD Board, is a four-session program designed for future community bank leaders. Participants will gain personal and professional growth, create a personal development plan, and build skills in leadership, team building, and continuous learning. The Academy supports Georgia’s community banks by developing impactful leaders who positively influence their banks, communities, and themselves. Attendees completing all four sessions within a year will earn a Certificate of Completion.

Investing in professional development boosts employee retention and engagement. The Association for Talent Development emphasizes the importance of leadership's commitment to employee growth. CBA urges our Georgia’s community banks to provide learning opportunities for their future leaders.


INSTRUCTOR:
April Farlow



The Series - The "Tool Belt"

Leaders choose to professionally grow their knowledge. This series will encourage not only workshop participation but also ongoing self-development. The sessions are designed to build upon each other so that each leader can create action plans for successful practice in their banks. You will see value plus change.

In 2025, each session will cover 1.5 days of learning and development and will take place on Tuesday afternoon & evening and all day Wednesday.

Expectations for Earning a CBA CBLA Certificate:
  • Attend and participate in all four sessions. Bring materials with you.
  • Complete Pre & Post session assignments. Such as:
    • Write learning goals and action plans for improved leadership performance.
    • Complete a self-assessment (personality and leadership skills).
  • Pick a sponsor at your bank (i.e. supervisor or mentor) that you will update along the learning process.
  • Read books assigned: The Anatomy of Peace & The 21 Laws of Leadership

*Registration automatically signs up attendees for all four 2025 sessions.
**The registration fee includes all materials needed including a assessments, two books, and electronically sent handouts; covered meals include four dinners, four continental breakfasts, four lunches and social/team-building activities. *No cancellations nor substitutions once the academy has started.
***Only 20 spots are available for the annual leadership academy. Register early to secure your spot and attend all four sessions within a year to earn a certificate. Details will be provided upon registration, and hotel information will be emailed by Becky Soto a week before each session.

 

SESSION TOPICS: 

Session 1: Winning Together: Becoming the Leader Your Team Needs Wants
Tuesday-Wednesday, March 18 - 19, 2025
  • Individual and Team Skill assessments with workplace application.
  • How to interact and communicate effectively with a variety of communication styles.
  • Focus on vision, values, conversations with difficult communication styles.
  • Leadership insights
Session 2: Leadership Impact and Mindset Training
Tuesday-Wednesday, April 22 - 23, 2025
  • What would it take for you to be great right now?
  • Heart of Peace versus Heart of War
  • Turning a negative ally into a positive collaborator.
  • Learn to be your best self in situations.
Session 3: More than Words: Communication Session
Tuesday-Wednesday, October 1 -2, 2025
  • Speaking and listening, Clarifying Complex Information
  • How to communicate with confidence, even in uncomfortable situations
  • The art of story telling with persuasion. 
  • Answering difficult questions.
  • How to read and control a room.   
Session 4: Utilizing the Tool Belt in Your Bank
Tuesday-Wednesday, November 5 - 6, 2025
  • Leadership Development Action.
  • Blinding Flash of Insight with tools for continual growth.
  • Building Your personal roadmap for successful leadership.
  • Leadership Contacts (advice, aid, and motivation going forward).
Who Should Attend?

Across all spectrums of the bank - those who seek to be in leadership positions and those who are seeking to enhance their leadership skills. 
Sponsorships Available:

Sponsors are invited to join the group for Tuesday evening dinner or Wednesday lunch and will have the opportunity to speak to attendees. Contact Lindsay Greene for details.



INSTRUCTOR INFO: 
April Farlow has spent 20 years motivating audiences to get out of their comfort zone, speak up and represent their values.   As a corporate trainer, April has taught over 30,000 individuals and honed her skills to motivate hard to reach audiences.  She has ranked in the top 1% of facilitators out of 3,000 for Dale Carnegie Training. 

April delivers! On topics such as vision development, self-confidence, communication, presentation skills, and leadership, she has led to measurable behavioral change impacting the bottom line in multiple industries.  

Organizations who have heard from April include UPS (United Parcel Service), CDC (Centers for Disease Control), United States Air Force, Federal Home Loan Bank Atlanta, Home Depot, Kroger Company, Microsoft, Chick-Fil-A, Wal-Mart, Bank South and Spanx.

While speaking at a conference for foster youth in 2009, April was moved by the students in the audience.  As a result, she founded, Lydia’s Place, a non-profit serving young adults who have experienced foster care or homelessness.  Since its start in 2017, Lydia’s Place has served over 1000 students on more than 20 college campuses around the state of Georgia.  A cornerstone of Lydia’s Place is to provide housing and through partnerships with local non-profits the organization has opened 20 bedrooms to care for young adults in need on an on-going basis.  

Today, April is an advocate for the voice of young people in their transition to independence.   She lives in Athens, Georgia on a mini-farm with her husband and four girls.   




What Your Peers Are Saying about CBA's Leadership Academy: 


 “I believe the CBA Leadership course is relevant at all stages of your career. It has helped me to recognize and understand my own style and to see areas where I can improve. If you are new to a leadership position the knowledge gained from the program, correctly applied would provide an opportunity to succeed in your position and be ready to grow into the next one. I would recommend the program to anyone willing to take a hard look at themselves and be ready to be a better leader.”

Angelia Alfred, American Commerce Bank


Jamie Arnold, BankSouth


"When BankSouth pointed out the CBA Leadership Scholarship & program to me, I thought why not. I had no idea what to expect and really wasn’t sure it was for me. I do not have direct reports, how am I to be a leader?? My bank elected me as one of 4 to attend the 2024 Academy. I knew the speaker for the first 3 sessions and Love her. What I found after that first session was, excitement on what was to come & more questions. How I would apply this to my life and what Does leadership mean to me? Over the next sessions I gained so much knowledge, peers and friendships. The networking and ability to have like minds in the room is priceless. I gained the understanding that anyone can be a leader. I learned Leadership is hard and with groups and programs like this one, it feels attainable and critical for success."

Amy Everett, BankSouth,
IT Systems Engineer
Class of 2021

“This leadership class has been a beneficial time of self-reflection on both a professional and personal level. I am closing out this course with an immense understanding of different leadership styles, and how those around me respond to those techniques. The curriculum exposed my leadership strengths and weaknesses for the benefit of my team and other relationships in my life.”

Jonathon Guthrie, The Peoples Bank

“This is, by far, the best training I’ve ever attended. The program has been so well thought out and organized. I feel I’ve flourished as a leader and as a person in general. All aspects of my life have been touched and enhanced. I attribute so much of my recent success to this Academy. I’ve been able to take lessons learned here and apply them to situations at my bank to make positive changes. I would recommend this Academy to any aspiring leaders.”

Stephanie Jordan, SunMark Bank


"This leader class has been a huge blessing for me.  I have grown both personally and professionally.  I have been able to now overcome obstacles that I had feared before.  This class has been exciting, interesting, informative, engaging, and challenging.  It has taught me to self reflect.  I feel that I have made a huge step forward by attending this class.  Everyone that has the opportunity, should take this class.  It has also taught me that change and growth is good.  This is the best class I have attended, ever. 
CBA is the absolute best!"

 Bonnie Kitchens, The Citizens Bank of Cochran
Class of 2024


 "CBA’s Leadership Academy was not your ordinary leadership-training course, and far exceeded my personal expectations! Not only was the training material valuable and engaging, the trainers and attendees brought the program to another level! Early on, the training staff had compelled group participation without us even knowing it, and this not only allowed our leadership skills to blossom, but also, created networking friendships that we know will last a lifetime. The trainers were focus driven and spent time relating techniques to real life situations for both work and personal life.
The program was very much about self-reflection, and putting into play, the changes we can make to better our teams, our overall workplace, and ourselves."

Ashley Lanier-Elston, First National Bank of Coffee County

“I chose to attend CBLA because I want to grow as not only a leader, but as a person also. By attending these sessions, not only have I learned more about myself, but I have also developed a skill set and acquired tools needed to continue to become a successful leader. Leadership Academy provided us with great speakers, who have coached us and helped with our growth and professional development as leaders and people. I feel I have connected with a network of people that will also help continue my evolvement as a leader, not only in my career, but in my family, and community as well. I recommend this class to everyone. To be able to lead is to be humble, and to have the knowledge that continued growth is ongoing.”

Priscilla A Morris, The Claxton Bank


"Having been in supervisory roles majority of my working career, this class has been amazing to open my eyes to the areas of leadership that I am already strong in from all my past experience.  It has also shown me the areas where I can continue to grow from a supervisor to a strong leader.  I love that I was able to obtain more tools to continue to grow and learn how to communicate and work with others that may view things differently than me.  I look forward to using the lessons and tools personally and professionally. "

Jessy Piscitelli, BankSouth
Class of 2024


"First let me say thank you to Exchange bank for sending me to the Leadership Academy second to Kristi Greer and April Farlow. They both made this program enjoyable. Was scared when I was informed that I would be going to this program, but they made it a fun learning experience.  I would recommend the Leadership Academy to anyone who is looking to be a good leader."

 

Melissa Prosser, Exchange Bank
BSA Specialist / Internal Auditor & Teller Trainer
Class of 2024