GBA e-Bulletin

September 16, 2005

Hurricane Katrina Responses
Estimates run into the tens of thousands of evacuees now staying in Georgia as a result of Hurricane Katrina. We continue to hear stories about how bankers are helping through volunteer service. We told you in last week’s e-Bulletin about several banks that are matching contributions of their employees to the Red Cross. Citizens Trust Bank, Atlanta, Jim Young, CEO, and HeritageBank of the South, Albany, Len Dorminey, CEO are other banks we wanted to add to the list. Let us know how your bank is responding. Our strategic partner, Clarke American, is also donating to the relief effort a portion of the sales of orders featuring their Let Freedom Ring designs. The federal banking agencies and FinCEN issued a statement this week helping banks open accounts for the evacuees and still be in compliance with the Customer Identification Rule of the Bank Secrecy Act. The FDIC also has a helpful Frequently Asked Questions page on their website for various other questions bankers may have as you are trying to serve these people in need. We have also received some questions about verifying various federally-issued checks or replacement drafts. The Treasury Department has released information about the kinds of instruments that could be presented as well as a detailed description of the items in a recent announcement. If your bank is asked to cash one of these items and the presenting individual is without traditional identification, you may call the agency jointly with the individual to verify the validity of the item. Click here for more details including the phone numbers to call.

Group Meetings Conclude
Our thanks to our members from throughout Georgia for coming out to support the 2005 series of Group Meetings which concluded this week. Special recognition goes to our Group Chairs who coordinated their meetings this week: Steve Jordan, Bank of Monticello; Chuck Copeland, First National Bank of Griffin; Rick Whaley, Citizens Bank of Americus; Glenn Willis, South Georgia Banking Company, Tifton; Stuart Smith, Douglas National Bank; and Darron Burnette, Sea Island Bank, Statesboro. In next week’s Bulletin, we will recognize all the new Group Officers as well as the new Board members elected by the odd-numbered Groups.

Have You Written Your Letter Yet?
At the Group Meetings this year, we talked about the need for more bankers to write your Member of Congress asking the Member to oppose the credit union industry’s bill that would give them greater commercial lending authority while reducing their capital requirements. Below is a chart showing the number of letters written this week compared to last week. Please stop what you are doing right now and click on the Action Alert to use the simple computer program the American Bankers Association has provided to send your letter. Our goal is 2,990 letters and to date, 793 have been written.

District	Legislator	Web Letters as of Sept. 6	Web Letters as of Sept. 12
1	Rep. Jack Kingston	82	82
2	Rep. Sanford Bishop¹	59	60
3	Rep. Jim Marshall	138	138
4	Rep. Cynthia McKinney	4	4
5	Rep. John Lewis ¹	21	24
6	Rep. Tom Price²	16	17
7	Rep. John Linder	27	27
8	Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland	46	59
9	Rep. Charles Norwood	90	94
10	Rep. Nathan Deal	95	96
11	Rep. Phil Gingrey	67	67
12	Rep. John Barrow	96	99
13	Rep. David Scott²	23	26
Total Number of Letters		764	793
¹Has cosponsored the Credit Union Industry’s legislation ²Is a member of the House Financial Services Committee

Third Annual Georgia BankPAC Classic
Registrations are coming in at a steady pace for Leadership GBA’s Fifth Annual Georgia BankPAC Classic. This two-man scramble tournament will be held on Wednesday, October 19, at The Big Canoe Golf Club in Big Canoe. The registration for this event is $300 per two-man team or $150 per person. The fee includes greens fees, cart, range balls, lunch and a reception. This event is a great opportunity to invite your legislators and directors to meet and network with your colleagues in the banking industry across the state. Register now for this challenging and fun event and a chance to win the Georgia BankPAC trophy. If you have any questions concerning the tournament, call GBA’s Susie McGehee at (404) 420-2010.

Blanchard, Tallent Recognized
Congratulations to Jimmy Blanchard, Chairman of Synovus Financial Corp., Columbus, and Jimmy Tallent, President and CEO of United Community Banks, Inc., Blairsville. The two were recognized in the 20^th anniversary edition of Georgia Trend magazine in their “20 Years, 20 Leaders” story recognizing prominent individuals who, according to the magazine’s editors, have been actively involved in their fields of endeavor during the time the magazine has been published. The interviews of the 20 Georgians selected looked back at the past 20 years and looked forward to the next few years into the future.

Register Today for AIB Online Courses
Just a reminder that the following AIB online classes begin on October 10 with the registration deadline being September 26.

Principles of Banking, 16 wks, $405
Sales Manager Certificate, 16 wks, $750
Securities Operations: Types of Securities, 12 wks, $710
Today's Teller: Developing Basic Skills, (open enrollment), 8 wks, $300
Trust Operations, 15 wks, $405

These courses are instructor-facilitated with weekly assignments. They can be taken from the comfort of your home or the convenience of your office. All you need is a computer, printer and Internet access. With questions, please call GBA’s Fran Williams at (404) 420-2015.

Registration is Underway for the Marketing Conference
The Marketing Committee has planned an excellent program based on the theme “A Strategic View of the Total Customer Experience.” You won’t want to miss this year’s conference. Our guaranteed room block expires September 26 so make your reservations today by calling The Renaissance Waverly Hotel directly at (770) 953-4500. Please call GBA’s Marybeth Jones at (404) 420-2032 with questions about the Conference. Register now to take advantage of this great opportunity to network with your colleagues.

Last Call for Loan Doc Seminar
GBA’s popular Loan Documentation for Lenders seminar is slated for Thursday, September 22, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, Macon West, I-475 at Exit 3. This updated, essential one-day seminar will lead participants through a study covering the basics of loan documentation. The following areas will be covered:

Who are you lending to?
What is your collateral?
How to perfect your lien
Why the credit memo is so important

This seminar will be presented at the basic level by our instructor, David George, President of Seasons Bank in Blairsville. Lenders and loan documentation support personnel should plan to attend. The registration fee for members is $195 and you may register online.

Congratulations to…
Patrick G. Blanchard, President and CEO of Georgia-Carolina Bancshares, Inc., and to Remer Y. Brinson, III, President and CEO of First Bank, Augusta, on the grand opening of their new corporate headquarters this week.

David Turner, CEO, and the officers, directors and staff of Heritage Bank, Jonesboro, on celebrating the bank’s 50^th anniversary.

Calendar of Events
	Details for September
	Conferences
Oct. 2-4	President/CEO Conference	Lake Oconee
Oct. 2-4	Bank Counsel Conference	Lake Oconee
Oct. 27-28	Marketing Conference	Atlanta
Nov. 30 - Dec. 1	Credit Conference	Atlanta
Feb. 8-10, 2006	HR Professionals Institute	Braselton
March 2-3, 2006	Financial Risk Management Conference	Atlanta
March 16-17, 2006	Operations and Technology Conference	Atlanta
April 6-7, 2006	Security Conference	Savannah
May 25-26, 2006	Rural Development and Lending Conference	St. Simons Island

	Conventions/Events
Oct. 19	BankPAC Golf Classic	Big Canoe

	Schools
Nov. 6-11	Southern Operations & Technology School	Athens
Feb. 20-22, 2006	Southeastern School of Advanced Commercial Lending	Nashville, TN
March 5-10, 2006	Southeastern School of Consumer Credit	Nashville, TN
April 30-May 4, 2006	Georgia Banking School	Athens
May 21-26, 2006	Southeastern School of Commercial Lending	Nashville, TN
May 21 - June 2, 2006	Graduate School of Banking at LSU	Baton Rouge, LA

	Seminars
Sept. 20	Calling Skills for the Real World	Telephone
Sept. 22	Repossession & Sale of Collateral	Telephone
Sept. 22	Loan Documentation for Lenders	Macon
Sept. 22	Opening New Accounts, I	Webinar
Sept. 23	Opening New Accounts, II	Webinar
Sept. 27	Spandex is a Privilege, Not a Right!	Webinar
Sept. 28	Introduction to Consumer Lending	Macon
Oct. 4	Supervising Branch Staff	Webinar
Oct. 5	Compliance Issues for Consumer Lending	Webinar
Oct. 6	IRA Basics	Webinar
Oct. 6	HR 101	Macon
Oct. 11	RESPA Review & Update	Telephone
Oct. 12	Documenting Your BSA/AML/SAR Risk Assessment	Telephone
Oct. 13	Advanced Loan Documentation	Tifton
Oct. 13	The Respectful Workplace	Webinar
Oct. 18	Auditing for Internal Fraud	Telephone
Oct. 20	Compliance Issues for Real Estate Lending	Webinar
Oct. 20	Understanding U.S. Savings Bonds	Macon
Oct. 20	Training Secrets from the Pros	Telephone
Oct. 25	Safe Deposit Fundamentals	Telephone
Oct. 25	New Account Fraud	Webinar
Oct. 27	IRA: Beyond the Basics	Webinar
Oct. 27	Loan Documentation for Lenders	Cartersville
Oct. 28	Commercial Loan Documentation	Telephone
Nov. 2	Advanced Consumer Lending	Macon
Nov. 2	Coaching Teller Referrals	Webinar
Nov. 7	2005 Real Estate Lending & Appraisal	Macon
Nov. 8	Almost Forgotten Lending Laws	Telephone
Nov. 10	Bankruptcies, Garnishments, Liens & Levies	Tifton
Nov. 15-16	Basic Operations & Deposit Compliance	Macon
Nov. 16-17	Basic Loan Compliance	Macon
Nov. 30/Dec. 1	Bank Security	Gainesville/Macon
Dec. 7	Analyzing Personal Financial Statements & Tax Returns	Macon
Dec. 8	Advanced Teller Operations	Tifton

	Board/Committee Meetings
Sept. 29	Human Resources Committee	Atlanta
Oct. 4	GBA Board of Directors	Lake Oconee
Oct. 21	Asset/Liability Management Committee Meeting	Atlanta
Oct. 23-25	GBA Insurance Trust Board of Directors	Young Harris
Oct. 24-25	GBA Retirement Services Board of Directors	Young Harris

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