A regular electronic publication of the Georgia Bankers Association

www.gabankers.com

 May 16, 2003

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Somers Recognized
June Somers, GBA’s Senior Vice President for Professional Development, was recognized at the convention by the 10 past chairmen still active in banking.  June has announced her retirement from the GBA effective November 1 and the past chairmen joined together and presented June a gift certificate for a weekend of golf at the Lodge at Sea Island.  Outgoing GBA Chairman Larry Kuglar said in making the surprise presentation, “In her 20 years of service, June has been the person all bankers looked to for guidance in educating our staffs.  We firmly believe her efforts have been one of the reasons Georgia banks continue to outperform our peers nationally.  We wish her well in her retirement,” Larry said.

GBA Board to Review Strategic Plan
GBA Chairman Ed Milligan has asked the GBA Board of Directors to review the association’s Strategic Plan to ensure the association is addressing the members’ priority needs.  The GBA has operated with a formal strategic plan for almost 20 years and the plan is reviewed annually by the staff and the Board of Directors.  There are four major components of the plan divided among the principal areas of work by the association. Those four areas within GBA’s mission are:

  1. Professional Development/Continuing Education

  2. Legislative and Regulatory Affairs

  3. Products and Services

  4. Communication/Internal and External

“Over the years, the GBA program has grown in response to meeting member needs,” said GBA President Joe Brannen.  “We see thousands of bankers each year through our educational programs, our legislative initiatives continue to get more complex and challenging, our products and services such as the GBA Insurance Trust continue to grow, and telling the positive story of banking to those outside our membership is more crucial than ever before.  With a consolidated budget reaching $65 million and almost a hundred employees, the GBA has grown with our membership and we need to ensure our strategic plan is the proper road map for the future,” he concluded.  The Board will meet for two days in June with facilitation by Elaine Demarest of Demarest Strategy Group in Macon.  We encourage any member to call our Chairman, Ed Milligan, at (770) 422-2888, or Joe Brannen at (404) 420-2026 with ideas or suggestions for the future.

 

 

Milligan GBA’s New Chairman
Ed Milligan, Chairman and CEO of Main Street Banks, Inc., Atlanta, was installed as the 2003-2004 Chairman of the Georgia Bankers Association at the association’s annual convention this week in Tucson, Arizona.  “It really is humbling to serve as your Chairman for the coming year.  Being asked by your peers to represent their interests is an honor.  I accept the challenge with enthusiasm.  The Georgia Bankers Association is without peer, and I pledge to do everything in my power to maintain and enhance our reputation” Ed said in his acceptance remarks at the gala closing night banquet.  Ed recognized outgoing Chairman, Larry Kuglar, President and CEO of First National Bank of Polk County in Cedartown, and his wife, Lynne.  In recognition of his outstanding year of service, the association presented Larry with a trip to Ireland to help fulfill a dream of his to play some of the great golf courses there.

In further remarks, Ed asked the members to join him in highlighting the difference between banks and other financial service providers, especially in light of the heightened media coverage of high profile issues like corporate and accounting scandals this past year.  “Integrity has always been – and always will be – our defining quality.  And I think we need to be more willing to talk about that.  Bankers are known for ‘doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.’  Let’s not be shy when we have the opportunity to tell that positive story to customers, media, friends and communities,” he said.  “I think we need to do more to educate the media about the bankers behind the banks – to use the good image our industry enjoys to help reporters and others understand that we are indeed different. We have a positive story of serving Georgians as bankers and community leaders.  We’ve earned the right to tell that story – let’s take every opportunity to do so,” he concluded.  Ed thanked Larry Kuglar for his year emphasizing the need for bankers to do more at the grassroots level and to raise more money for our state and federal BankPAC campaigns.  Ed pledged to continue the momentum for both efforts.

New Board Takes Office
Congratulations to the 22 bankers who will be serving on the GBA Board for the 2003-2004 term.  Seven new members took office at the recent convention in Tucson:

2003 State Legislative Issues
Governor Sonny Perdue
Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor
Georgia House of Representatives
Georgia State Senate
Federal Legislative Issues
U.S. Congress
Legislative Updates
Legal Issues

 

 

 Revised FDIC Reform Bill Considered
Key regulatory players in the debate on FDIC reform reached consensus on the components of legislation they would support to present to Congress.  FDIC reform has been stymied by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department primarily because of their opposition to increasing the amount of coverage per account.  FDIC Chairman Don Powell, who had advocated increasing coverage, apparently has agreed to remove that provision from the bill in order to move the process forward.  The proposed bill contains most of the elements from the version that recently passed the House.  However, many bankers have suggested the new bill needs to go further.  For example, the bill does not adequately address the way new entrants into the deposit insurance pool are treated (the so-called ‘free rider’ issue).  The deposits insured by the fund have increased dramatically from entities such as the brokerage houses offering insured accounts without ever having paid any deposit insurance premiums.  Also, most bankers have suggested at least indexing the coverage amount to inflation to prevent continued erosion of the value of consumers’ insurance protection. 

Calendar of Events
Schools
Conferences
Seminars
Events
American Institute of Banking
Leadership GBA
Personal Economics Program (PEP)
Internet Training

Banking School Graduates Class of 2003
Congratulations to the third year students in the Georgia Banking School.  At the May 9th ceremony, the graduates were awarded certificates recognizing their three years of hard work, learning and networking.  Special recognition was given to Donna Lott of Southwest Georgia Bank, Moultrie, who was the Graduate of Distinction and to Alan Fleming of First National Bank, Savannah, and Brian Gillespie of Regions Bank-Clayton who were Honor Graduates.   Congratulations also to the following students who graduated on the Honor Roll:  Sherry Anderson, Gainesville Bank & Trust; John Mitchell, Columbus Bank & Trust Company; and Beth Moore, First National Bank & Trust Company, Wadley.

Southeastern School of Consumer Credit
Two Georgia bankers, Scott Roland and Richard York with Community Bank & Trust in Gainesville, were among the 57 bankers who completed the 2003 session of The Southeastern School of Consumer CreditSM (TSSCC.) The annual program is cosponsored by GBA and the Tennessee Bankers Association at the Owen Graduate School of Management on the Vanderbilt University campus.  The Southeastern School of Consumer Credit is an intensive one-week school that exposes students to the major issues consumer credit managers face on a daily basis.

 Patterson at Convention
ABA President Aubrey Patterson, President and CEO of BancorpSouth in Tupelo, Mississippi, and current president of the American Bankers Association, spoke to the annual convention. In his remarks, Aubrey discussed several legislative and regulatory issues that are currently receiving attention in Washington. “We expect the Congress will finally pass a needs-based bankruptcy bill, something we’ve been working on for many years. Congress is also expected to make progress on a new deposit insurance reform bill as well as a regulatory relief bill,” he stated.  Aubrey also mentioned the possibility of Congress enacting legislation that would expand the number of shareholders banks could have in order to take advantage of a Sub S corporate structure as well as the possibility of enacting a bill that would allow banks to provide corporate customers with a type of interest bearing checking account.

Convention Sponsors/Winners
Our thanks to the many members and associate members who helped make this year’s annual convention such a success through their sponsorship of various events.  When you see the sponsors, please make a special effort to thank them for their support.  Click here for a list of the winners of the sports events at the convention.  Congratulations, all!

Leadership Conference Approaching
Registrations are coming in at a steady pace for Leadership GBA’s 43rd Annual Leadership Conference.  Bankers across Georgia will convene on July 13-16 at the Amelia Island Plantation in Amelia Island, Florida.  The Executive Committee has planned a great program to help you prepare for the constant changes in the banking industry. But no conference would be complete without an economic update. After a decade of consistent growth, the economy has slipped into a period of sluggishness.   Dr. Roger Tutterow of Kennesaw State University will be on hand to discuss the contribution of various factors to the current economic climate and the prospects for a return to economic prosperity over the coming quarters.  The conference will also provide excellent networking opportunities for bankers from around the state to share ideas. For additional information, call GBA’s Susie McGehee at (404) 420-2010. 

Insurance Trust, Inc.
Retirement Services, Inc.
GBA Services, Inc.

Welcome New Participants
The Board of Directors of the GBA Insurance Trust, Inc. welcomes to the Trust Northeast Georgia Bank, Lavonia, John Seay, CEO, and The Lenox Group, LLC, Atlanta, Thomas Ledford, CEO.  These firms join more than 275 community banks and associate members in this unmatched member benefit.  Please call GBA’s Susan Kelley at (404) 420-2017 for more information.

Welcome New Associate Members
The following firms were admitted into Associate Membership at the recent GBA Board Meeting: GlobalTech Financial; The Lenox Group, LLC; Performance Partners, LLC; Projections, Inc.; and Team Forte, Inc.  Please join us in welcoming them and thanking them for their support.

For Sale
Summer 2003, Citizens Bank of Laurens County, a division of Citizens Bank of Swainsboro, will offer for sale a modular office with the following specifications:  28’ x 46’; teller counters and check desk; Durawood exterior siding; 8’0” ceiling with recessed lighting; one handicap approved restroom; ADA-approved specifications; vinyl-covered sheetrock walls; commercial grade carpet throughout (vinyl in bath); floor structure designed to support safes; dual 3.0 ton air-conditioning systems; night depository/TL 15 chest for cash; drive-up window with deal drawer; metal under-counter teller cabinets; and alarms with CCTV.  For more information, please call Jeff Cannon at (478) 272-7775.

Some of the Services Available
Through GBA Services, Inc.

GBA Services, Inc. is governed by a board composed primarily of community bank presidents who look for the best products and services available.  They do the due diligence for you and you can rely on their efforts.  For more information on any of these services, please contact Renee Valdez at (404) 420-2036.

Did you know GBA offers the following products?
Holiday Decals
Holiday Decals are made available through the GBA.  These window decals not only provide a professional appearance, but also contain the 10 holiday close dates recognized by the Federal Reserve Bank, in accordance the FDIC rules.  This year’s set includes a distinctive decal remembering September 11th.

  • GBA Members $35 per set

Georgia Banking Laws and Commercial Code (CD-ROM included) All changes of the Uniform Commercial Code or the Rules of the Department of Banking and Finance during the 2002 session are included.

  • GBA Members  $165

Georgia Financial Directory
The Bank Directory contains complete information on all the banks in the state and is invaluable to banking professionals.  Also are included are a listing of Associate Member companies and the GBA’s own endorsed vendors to assist officials in locating companies who provide useful products for their banks.

  • GBA Member $25

Salary Survey
The Salary Survey includes salary and benefit data for over 100 Banking positions, with data being reported by approximately 100 financial institutions.

Bank Asset Size

Participating Banks

Non Participating Banks

$0-100MM

$100

$150

$101-$300MM

$175

$225

$300MM and over

$300

$375

Record Retention Manual
Records should be destroyed on a regular basis, in a timely manner and in accordance with the law.  This manual aids banks in getting a retention program started. 

  • $145 first copy/$45 each additional copy

Thumbprint Signature Program
The GBA-sponsored Thumbprint Program has been found to significantly reduce check fraud.  Nationally this program is responsible for an 82% reduction in check fraud.

For more information or to order any of the products listed above, please contact GBA’s Renee Valdez at (404) 420-2036 or Kenyetta Parks at (404) 420-2035.

Latest Banks to Link
Welcome to Southeastern Bank, Darien, Con Holland, President, and First Piedmont Bank, Winder, Bill Whitley, CEO, as the latest banks to link to GBA’s website. Please call Lydia Thomas at (404) 420-2039 when your bank is ready to link.

Alpharetta, Futurus Bank
Kelley Bodner and Gina Hewitt have joined the bank as Client Representatives and Kevin Deaton has been promoted to Vice President.

Brunswick, First Georgia Bank
Gene Haskins has joined the bank as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Darien, Southeastern Bank
The bank announces the following elections: R. Lanier Miles as Director and Executive Vice President; Ronald M. Adams as Senior Vice President; and Janice N. Downie as Training and Marketing Officer.

Jonesboro, Heritage Bank
Ben Freeman and Robert Zehnder have joined the bank as Vice President and Commercial Lending Officer.  Jack Bowdoin has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Business Development Officer; Tommy Segers to Executive Vice President and Risk Management Officer; John Westervelt to Executive Vice President and Senior Lending Officer.

Join Our Email Distribution List
A bonus of getting the e-Bulletin and e-Legislative Update is the number of links that are included. This is a great way to keep your key employees informed of significant industry information, trends and events. We do not disclose email addresses and only use them for internal communication purposes. Bankers from any member bank can be added to the email distribution list by sending an email containing the name and email address of each individual to GBA’s Lydia Thomas. 

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

GBA Staff e-mail and direct phone numbers, snail mail addresses, fax and phone numbers