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Nominating Committee Reports
L. Wesley Smith, President of Northwest Georgia Bank in Ringgold and Chair of the 2000 Nominating Committee, reports that the committee met last week to recommend the bankers to elect GBA’s Chairman-elect and Vice Chairman.  Nominated as Chairman-elect is E. James “Jimmy” Burnsed, Chairman and CEO of Bryan Bank & Trust, Richmond Hill and nominated as Vice Chairman is Larry T. Kuglar, President and CEO of The First National Bank of Polk County, Cedartown.  “We are delighted to recommend these two well-known bankers to the membership for election at the annual meeting in May in Quebec City.  They have both been extremely active within the GBA over  the years, and we are confident they will serve our industry with distinction,” Wes said in making the report of the Nominating Committee.  Other members of the Nominating Committee were the ten GBA Group Chairs and two immediate past GBA Chairmen.  The election will be held during the business meeting at the annual convention.

Board Members Appointed
In a related action, incoming GBA Chairman, E.J. “Jud” Vann, IV, President of Planters & Citizens Bank in Camilla has appointed two members to the GBA Board of Directors to serve in an At Large capacity.  The two bankers are Danny Brinks, President and CEO of the Bank of Upson, Thomaston and Gary D. Dorminey, President and CEO of Community First Bank in Carrollton.  “I’ve had the pleasure of knowing both of these bankers over the years, and the GBA will be well-served by having them as part of our leadership,” Jud said in making the appointments.  “Both bankers have been extremely active by serving in volunteer capacities for the GBA and I trust our membership will join me in thanking them for accepting their appointment,” he concluded.  Danny and Gary will join 17 other bankers in serving on the GBA’s 2000-2001 Board of Directors.

Federal Legislative Issues
State Legislative Issues
Georgia House of Representatives
Georgia State Senate
U.S. Congress
Bank Regulators

Legislative Update
for March 24, 2000

Legislature Adjourns
The 2000 session of the Georgia General Assembly adjourned on Wednesday of this week.  Our thanks to the 180 House members, 56 Senate members, the Governor, Lt. Governor, other statewide officials and their staffs for the time and effort they put in to making this session a productive one.  GBA’s three legislative priorities were all passed:  removing the Town of 5,000 restriction for state banks to sell insurance; granting stockholders of Subchapter S banks the same tax credits as available to other Subchapter S corporations; and the Banking Department’s housekeeping bill that implemented many of the changes necessary due to the passage of the federal Financial Modernization Bill.  See our Legislative Update for more information about these bills and a few of the others we were monitoring.

GBA Reps Heading to Washington
Chairman-elect E.J. “Jud” Vann, IV, President of Planters & Citizens Bank in Camilla will lead a delegation representing the membership on a visit with Georgia members of Congress next week.  The purpose of the visit is to encourage Congress to act on the Bankruptcy Reform legislation currently in conference committee and to share with the Georgia Congressional Delegation the efforts our members are making in adopting privacy policies.  Also participating will be L. Wesley Smith, President of Northwest Georgia Bank in Ringgold, W. Glenn Cornell, Senior Vice President of Bank of America, Atlanta, and GBA President, Joe Brannen.

Calendar of Events
Schools
Conferences
Seminars
Georgia AIB
Professional Development Guide
Internet Training

Internet Compliance Seminar Scheduled
On Wednesday, May 3, the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Marietta will be the site for the timely and important day-long GBA Internet Compliance seminar.  Because the focus of regulators is nearly as strong in this area as it had been on Y2K over the past two years, this session is strongly recommended for every bank.  The national speakers for the event recommend it for compliance officers, bank counsel, webmasters, auditors and bank marketing officers.   The seminar will cover:

• two new sets of e-privacy regulations 

• the compliance implications of e-banking

• the 21st century interpretations of regulations B, E, M, Z, and DD

• e-exams, including methods and actions

• e-violations – direct, indirect and e-mail violations

• e-freebies, the long list of online resources

You may register using the enclosed brochure or the registration form provided on GBA’s website at www.gabankers.com.  For more information, call GBA’s Marybeth Jones at (404) 420-2032.

HR Conference Slated
The annual GBA Human Resources Conference is set for May 11-12 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Macon.  An exceptionally strong program this year focuses on interviewing and hiring, on incentives and on the GBA’s new HR Toolkit, which provides every known standard document and policy statement for Georgia banks.  The Conference includes an unusual networking opportunity as participants will be treated to dinner together in Macon’s historic Hay House on Thursday evening.  The Conference brochure was mailed earlier to each bank.  The toll-free number listed in the brochure for the Macon Crowne Plaza has been changed to (912) 746-1461.  For more information about the Conference and/or registration, call Norma Guild at (404) 420-2031. 

Security School Returns
Sponsored by GBA’s new Security Committee, chaired this year by Steve Cross of SunTrust, Atlanta, the GBA’s 3-day Security School will be held at the Doubletree Suites in Atlanta on May 22-24.  See the brochure mailed with this Bulletin for more information.  A wide range of security professionals will provide classes on topics such as Regulation H and the Security Officer’s Role, Insider Abuse and Contractor Fraud, two perspectives of Workplace Violence, How to Conduct (and report) the Annual Security Review.  There’s much more in the curriculum and the topics are each relevant and useful to security officers in community banks.  With plenty of opportunity for networking, security officers statewide will be in attendance to share loss prevention issues and solutions.  Personal safety discussions will be treated with the same kind of importance as liability issues.  Call GBA’s Norma Guild at (404) 420-2031 with questions.

Ag Conference Next Month
Agricultural lending is one of the staples of our industry statewide.  This year’s Agriculture Conference on April 20-21 at Callaway Gardens supports this kind of importance with a program of information and networking opportunities for Georgia bank Ag lenders.  The Agriculture Committee, chaired this year by Reggie Sheffield of the Citizens Bank & Trust in Eastman, has done an outstanding job of putting a meaningful conference together.  And, is there a better time to be at Callaway Gardens?  We don’t think so, so bring your spouse along to enjoy all that the Gardens have to offer.  Call GBA’s Norma Guild at (404) 420-2031 for details and registration assistance.

FDIC Sponsoring Seminar
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announces that its regional seminar on deposit insurance will be held April 4 at the Wyndham Hotel in Midtown Atlanta.  This half-day, morning session will focus on defining changes and examining differences between insured deposit instruments and uninsured deposit-like products.  Fee for the seminar is $50 and participants also receive a Deposit Insurance Guide and a “Train the Trainer Guide.” For more information or to register, call Omega World Travel at (703) 359-0200, extension 449 or send an e-mail to groupmeetings@owt.net.

Alpharetta, Integrity Bank, I.O.
Richard E. Eason has joined the bank as Executive Vice President and CFO.

Augusta, Georgia Bank & Trust Co.
Kay Segers Manning has joined the bank as Vice President of Internal Audit & Compliance.

Baxley, Baxley Federal Savings Bank
Danny E. Watkins has joined the bank as Vice President and Branch Manager of the Hazlehurst office.

Canton, Cherokee Bank
Congratulations to Dennis Burnette, President and CEO, and the other officers, directors and employees in the recent move to their new main office headquarters.

Cartersville, Unity National Bank
Congratulations to Mike McPherson, President and CEO, and the other officers, directors and employees in the recent Grand Opening of their new main office.

Decatur, Horizon Bank
Steve King has joined the bank as Senior Vice President of Marketing in charge of SBA Lending. 

Fayetteville, The Bank of Georgia
Congratulations to Pat Shepherd, President and CEO, and the officers, employees and directors on their recent opening.

Gordon, The Gordon Bank
Chris Menzel has joined the bank as Executive Vice President and Branch Administrator of the Florida branches.

Norcross, First Security National Bank
Dan R. Baker has been elected President and CEO.

Richmond Hill, Bryan Bank & Trust
Ben MacMillan has been elected to the Board.

Stockbridge, The First State Bank
David H. Gill has been named President, succeeding Hans M. Broder, Jr. who recently retired after 29 years of service.  John Moore and Jamie Lipham have joined the bank as Senior Commercial Lenders.

Toccoa, The Bank of Toccoa
Stanley W. Roberts has been elected to the bank’s board of directors and Fletcher A. Dove to full director.

For more information, send an e-mail to the Webmaster.