Pub. 5 2015-2016 Issue 3

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S November • December 2015 5 The World is Run by Those Who Show Up We all know how easy it is to get bogged down in our everyday lives and forget to stop and look around once in a while. But our friends at the Colorado Bankers Association have been doing their best to step away from their desks – and bring us along with them this summer and fall. CBA staff, accompanied by board members and repre- sentatives frommember banks and associatemembers have traveled to Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Washington D.C. andmost recently, Glenwood Springs tomeet with bankers, advocates and their lawmakers, discussing key issues for the industry and working to further our work toward regulatory relief for financial institutions. In September, my fellowboardmembers BrendanZahl of Peoples Bank and Jonathan Fox of Fowler State Bank hosted an informational luncheon with southern Colora- do bankers to fill them in on CBA’s efforts to protect and promote our industry at both the state and federal levels. Bankers also gathered in Fort Collins for a similar meeting I co-hosted with Mark Driscoll of First National Bank Fort Collins and Shawn Osthoff of Bank of Colorado. Our organization has a stellar success rate for champion- ing bills that are good for banks, and for quashing proposals that would harm or hinder our industry. CBA has been at the forefront of a number of campaigns aimed at making life easier for banks and, more importantly, their customers. CBA is helping to lead the charge toward regulatory relief, having assisted in authoring the TAILOR Act, being carried by Colorado federal Representative Scott Tipton, which would require regulators to carefully tailor rules to the different kinds of banks they supervise, based on banks’ business model and risk profile. Bankers who traveled with us to Washington D.C. in October got hands-on experience in advocating for their banks and their jobs. They met face-to-face with federal lawmakers and regulators to provide them with real-world anecdotes and examples of how our customers are being harmed by overly burdensome regulation. The number of bankers who made the trip this year is the highest we’ve seen in 15 years. It is exciting to see more bankers seeking to grow their relationships with CBA and to better educate themselves on the state of the industry here at home as well as across the country. Every person at every level in your bank can – and should – serve as an advocate. CBA has a number of tools ready for you to implement at your bank to ensure your employees are well-versed in how to bolster and foster support for our industry. I encourage you to take advantage of those tools, especially by having your bankers participate in the Center for Bank Advocacy Training Practicum. Spots are already filling up for the 2016 class. If you are interested, or know someone in your bankwho is, please sign up soon. It is integral that we do our level best to continue to make an impact on the laws that govern us. As the old saying goes, “the world is run by those who show up,” and I encourage you and your colleagues to show up along with me.  Mark Bower Home State Bank 2015 CBA Chairman