Pub. 7 2017-2018 Issue 2

6 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 A Word From CBA... Money Talks and Advocacy Rocks T he slate of individuals considering or actively vying for Colorado’s top offices is bigger than we have seen in a decade. Checkwww.coloradobankers. org for a list of statewide and Congressio- nal candidates – such as the 20! who are running, have run or will announce soon their run for Colorado Governor in 2018. Over the next 12 months, these candi- dates will jockey for money, attention and support from the business community to help them fill positions including: gover- nor, treasurer, attorney general, secretary of state as well as seats in Congress. The elections will usher in not only a new executive branch for our state and a number of new legislators who will be facedwitha slewof issues – some newand some old – about which our voices need to be heard. Inorder tohave the influencewe seek, we must begin our work now. Just as “relationship banking” is im- portant to your bank’s success, building solid and lasting interactions with public officials is critical. You have more comfort lending to someone you know; public offi- cials and media also rely more on people they know and trust. One of the best ways to do that is to serve as campaign volunteers, to provide insight and advice – and, who better to serve those roles than Colorado bankers? You know your communities, your customers and their businesses. You un- derstand the connectivity your industry has with every other. Now, more than ever, is the time for our industry to speak up and pitch in. We need to build these relationships now. If you are unsure or hesitant, partic- ipation in our advocacy program is an excellent learn-by-doing method to acti- vate bankers as industry and public policy advocates. Now approaching its fifth year, CBA’s Center forBankAdvocacyTrainingPracti- cumhas become abeaconof banking lead- ership in Colorado. Formed in 2012 after CBA board members expressed concerns about waning numbers of bank advocates at the state capitol and in Washington D.C., the programhas helped to push back against unnecessary, overreaching and harmful legislation. Our 12-month boot camp in industry and policy advocacy has educated dozens of bankers on how to effectively forge relationships with lawmakers and public officials – and how to leverage their finan- cial expertise as an advantage. And, adozenCenter forBankAdvocacy participants have grown into leadership roles within CBA, serving on our Board of Directors and/or Government Affairs Committee. It is exciting and heartening to see additional ranks of bankers take up the mantel of advocacy, stepping forward to defend their banks and their industry. If hands-onadvocacy isn’t yourpieceof cake, there are other ways to get involved. CBA maintains a political action commit- tee (PAC)whichdonates funds topro-bank candidates here in Colorado, while Bank- Pac contributes on a federal level. With others in 2012, CBA founded Friends of Traditional Banking, anon-par- tisan grassroots effort organized by bankers. Instead of spreading a little bit of money to a number of campaigns, FOTB seeks to focus large amounts of money on a couple of campaigns key to the industry. As an example, FOTB focused its efforts on the race between Cory Gardner and incumbent Mark Udall for U.S. Senate in 2014; Gardner directly credits FOTB for helping to secure his win, via donations of $500,000. Whatever method you choose to em- ploy, we encourage you to contribute your time and/or money now, and often. Your industrycannotaffordamissedopportuni- ty tosecureabettereconomicenvironment for your banks and your customers. n Don Childears President and CEO Colorado Bankers Association