Pub. 9 2020 Issue 4

The CommunityBanker 8 A Convention Like No Other 2 020 can be adequately summed up with the Grateful Dead’s song “What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been.” Beginning with the pandemic that stopped us all in our tracks in March, to the PPP loans that community banks deployed at a lightning-fast speed, to the bitter battle for the presidency and everything in between, 2020 is one for the record books. Zoom became a noun and a verb as companies, associations and people flocked to this platform to conduct meetings and keep in touch with family and friends as we grappled with social distancing and stay-at-home orders. VACB’s training followed suit, going live and virtual successfully, and like most of our counterparts across the country, we eventually opted for a virtual convention, too. Moving VACB’s convention to an online experience was To add a little excitement, VACB added a few twists to this year’s program that were a lot of fun! VACB opted not to hold a virtual exhibit hall but still wanted to have networking opportunities for the membership.