Pub. 18 2021 Issue 4

6 LONNIE TALBERT VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: NMBANKERS.COM PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE I look forward to hopefully seeing you in person in 2022 and want to thank our NMBA board of directors along with John, Debbie, and Mark for their great service to our member banks. Be safe, healthy, and stay frosty. PRESIDENT NEW MEXICO BANKERS ASSOCIATION H ello fellow bankers, well wishes for a joyous and prosperous New Year. As we close out 2021 and embark upon 2022, it is always important to look back and take inventory of all the things we have to be grateful for and look ahead with optimism to the new year. The year 2021 was another strange one for most of us. A COVID-19 vaccine was developed and rolled out to help combat the deadly virus, so there was hope we would put this global pandemic behind us. We quickly found out that COVID was not going away so easily and it would take much longer than anticipated to win the battle. In New Mexico, we saw some return to normal, mask mandates lifted for a while and health orders relaxed. Airline travel increased and restaurants reopened. Small gatherings, summer vacations and