Hoosier Banker 7 Since the last Chairman’s Report, I’ve been continuing to travel around the state visiting banks and posting about my visits on my Twitter account: @LucasNWhite. One banker told me he feels like he’s playing “Where’s Waldo?” as he checks Twitter and sees my posts. At this point I have been to all parts of the state, but in no particular order. I have a map of Indiana on my office wall with all the banks marked, and I simply look at the map and pick an area of the state to go to next. I am making progress, but as of this writing I still have approximately 60 banks to visit. My goal is still to visit every bank before the IBA Annual Convention in September. I am having a great time visiting with everyone. Every single banker has been very welcoming, and every conversation has been unique. Some of my conversations have been primarily about the IBA. Others have ranged from the history of the bank and town I’m visiting, to future plans, to ownership and board composition. Some visits have been primarily social. One thing I have realized traveling around the state is that our community is not just where we live or the communities we serve. Our community includes every banker in Indiana. We have an incredible network of bankers across the state. We all have connections and relationships with other bankers, and we are all willing to help each other. Of course we compete with some of our fellow bankers, but we can still be friendly. I have been asked to carry greetings from one bank to another and relay messages like, “The quarterly lunch is past due.” A lot of the camaraderie comes from bankers taking the initiative, but some of it has been cultivated by the IBA. I have found that the bankers who have larger networks of banker-friends tend to be more involved in the Association. Many of them attend IBA roundtables, the IBA Annual Washington Trip, the Mega Conference and Convention. These events provide opportunities to strengthen existing friendships, plus open the door to new friendships and sources of knowledge. As you know, the 2020 IBA Annual Washington Trip has been moved from September to July because of the legislative calendar. This year’s trip is set for July 26-28, which means that the time is now to clear your calendar and start making travel arrangements. When visiting bankers, I have been asked if the time and money traveling to DC is really worth it. I admit that it can be hard to measure the direct benefit of any single trip to DC, so instead I encourage you to consider how much time and money your bank spends complying with regulations. Engaging with our legislators and regulators on the state and national levels is our only opportunity to affect those regulations with which we have to comply. Lucas White Chairman Indiana Bankers Association President The Fountain Trust Company, Covington @LucasNWhite CHAIRMAN’S REPORT NOTABLE QUOTES Bank Community Service on Twitter Citizens State Bank • @CSB_Indiana • Jan. 17 Our Knightstown office is off to a great start w/their food drive collection! Feel free to help us support the food pantry at the Knightstown United Methodist Church! 1st Source Bank • @1stSourceBank • Jan. 13 We love seeing our team members get out to support our community! This group took some time on Friday to serve lunch at the Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen. Thank you for showing #communityleadership! Republic Bank • @RepublicBank • Jan. 2 A team of Republic Bank associates ‘wrapped up’ the holiday season by volunteering with the Angel Tree project to help deliver gifts! We are excited to have such compassionate associates who work to make an #IMPACT in their communities. What a great way to close out the year! Merchants Bank of Indiana • @MerchantsBankIN • Dec. 27 Shoutout to our employees and customers for collecting hundreds of pounds of blankets, food, gloves, clothes and monetary donations for @horizonhousein. Programs offered at Horizon House provide help to 225 Indianapolis neighbors per day to build more stable, secure lives. Centier Bank • @CentierBank • Dec. 18 Centier is proud to support the @AmericanCancer once again, by giving $30,000, as well as participating in multiple Relay for Life and Making Strides events throughout Indiana! Each year our Associates come together to walk and raise funds for each county event. #commUNITYbanking Follow IBA Twitter @indianabankers I promise you that making the trip every year, or even twice a year, will pay dividends in the long run. An important but immeasurable part of having a voice in how laws and regulations are created is forming relationships with legislators and their staff members, so they will know to call you when a banking issue arises. Those relationships can only be formed by traveling to DC time and again and contacting our legislators and their staffs throughout the year. If you’re still not convinced to go on the Washington trip, I offer you a good old-fashioned guilt trip. Please consider how much water there is to carry, and how unfair it is to ask your neighbor to carry your water every time. So if you have never been on the DC trip, please join us this summer. And if you’re already a DC trip regular, see you in July! HB
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