Annual Convention

Community bankers did let the good times roll!  The Independent Bankers of Colorado Education Foundation’s 36th Annual Convention held in September at the beautiful Vail Cascade Resort and Spa was spectacular! Over 250 attended our annual get-together!  Nearly one hundred bankers were in attendance representing approximately 50 banks.  It was a great crowd, and it’s safe to say everyone had a wonderful time.  We greatly appreciate the support of our attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. 

Thanks to our Convention Committee!

Brett Legg, IBC President and President, The Eastern Colorado Bank and Fred Bauer, IBC Education Foundation Chair and President, Farmers Bank; and the entire convention committee:  Dave Wade, Jim Pieters, High Plains Bank; Tammie Lowrie, BKD; Allan Tormohlen, Canon National Bank; Angie Weed, The Eastern Colorado Bank; Jay Rickstrew, Alpine Bank; Mari Lynn Glidden, M4G Investments; Ed Merritt, Jr., The Dolores State Bank; Tony Thompson, Alpine Bank; and Joan Lawson, Farmers State Bank of Calhan; did an outstanding job in planning and coordinating this year’s convention.

The Vail Golf Club proved to be a challenging course for the more than 60 tournament contenders.  Thanks to our several event sponsors at the tournament!  Three teams mastered the course with enough skill (and luck) to win our tournament.  Congratulations to Our Mardi Gras Tournament of Champions:
 
First Place
Fred Bauer    Farmers Bank
Jim Pennington    Farmers Bank
Gary Butler    Farmers Bank
Scott Sexson    Central States Family of Companies

Second Place
Doug Aiken    The Dolores State Bank
Ed Merritt, Jr.    The Dolores State Bank
Sam Jarvis    First National Bank of Cortez
Dave Johnson    Wells Fargo
 
Third Place
Humphrey Shin    FirstBank of Aurora
David Burcham    FirstBank of Littleton
Adam Sands        FirstBank of Douglas County
Matt Cornwell    FirstBank of South Jeffco

Hole Contest Winners
David Burcham    FirstBank of Littleton
Tom Miller        Castle Rock Bank
Bob Vinton        Fairfield & Woods
Randy Younger    First National Bank of Hugo
Clay Donley        ICBA
Emily Robinson    FirstBank of Arvada
Brett Plant        HUB International
 

FRIDAY: Brett Legg, IBC President and President of The Eastern Colorado Bank called the IBC annual meeting to order on Friday morning.  President Elect DJ Tedesco, President of Castle Rock Bank, under our by-laws succeeds Brett Legg as the IBC President for the 2009-2010 term.  Congratulations DJ!  Brett is now Chairman of the IBC.  The board and membership unanimously approved Tom Chesney, President of AMG National Trust Bank, to the position of President Elect for the 2009-2010 term.  Congratulations Tom! 

In addition, our membership unanimously elected our new slate of Board Members for the 2009-2010 term: Tom Olson, President, Points West Community Bank, Julesburg; Clay Whitham, President, First National Bank in Lamar, Lamar; were successfully re-elected to serve an additional three year term as Directors in District B and C respectfully.  Byron Maynes, President, First National Bank of Cortez, Cortez has been successfully elected to serve a three-year term to fill a vacancy in District D.  The IBC bids a very fond farewell to Alan Overton, President, Community Banks of the Rockies after serving a three year terms on the board.  We also wish Fred Bauer, President, Farmers Bank continued success and prosperity as his term as IBC Chairman has ended. 

Thank you to Larry Winum, ICBA Treasurer and President of Glenwood State Bank, Glenwood, Iowa for his pointed and timely federal legislative update from ICBA.   Brett Legg presented Larry with the covenanted silver spur.  DJ Tedesco, IBC President, took center stage to present his agenda for the upcoming year. 

Larry Winum, ICBA Treasurer, and Clay Donley, ICBA Vice President Central Plains Region, presented the annual check from ICBA to IBC.

Graduates of the IBCEF’s Career Banker Network Leadership Program were recognized for their achievement for completing this extensive two-year program:  Michael Glass, Alpine Bank; Tom Wright, FirstBank of Colorado; Rob Chaney, FirstBank of Denver; Kelly Durant, North Valley Bank; Ed Brady, FirstBank of Lakewood; Christine Glassmeyer, North Valley Bank, Mike Bowlby, FirsTier Bank; Eric Hoffner, Farmers Bank; Heidi Shipp Saba, Fifth Third Processing Solutions; Joyce Spight, Home State Bank; Ron Munyan, Jr., Garden of the Gods Bank.  Congratulations to our Community Bank Leaders!

Robert and Rebecca Bluestone, Woven Harmony, inspired the audience with their powerful message and amazing artistic capabilities.  Robert, a world-class guitarist, and Rebecca, an internationally recognized artist, wove their creativity message through their respective mediums. Wes Brown, St. Charles Capital, crunched the numbers and presented information about raising capital and bank consolidation.  It certainly appears that 2010 is going to continue to be a challenge for the banking industry. 
Lunch was non-stop.  Barbara Walker, Executive Director of the IBC presented the 2009 legislator awards.  Senator Joyce Foster and Senator Mark Scheffel were recognized as Legislators of the Year; Senator Josh Penry and Representative Frank McNulty were recognized as Spirit of Independence awardees; Senator Rollie Heath and Representative Christine Scanlan as Champions for Small Business and lastly Senator Jim Isgar was recognized with the Legislative Excellence award.

Bob Wells, Principal, The World Humor Organization and Chicken Lips Theatre, inspired everyone to look beyond the obvious to find what you are passionate and most proud of.  Stand up, stretch your arms above your head as high as they will go, and exclaim, “Ta da!!”  Bob projects a positive outlook on life and encourages all to do the same.  He was a breath of fresh air.  Laughter is cheaper than prozac and good for the soul.

Friday afternoon was filled with four standing room only breakout sessions.  Larry Martin, Bank Strategies, presented Top 10 Things Not to do Before, During or After an Exam.  Jeff Multz, SecureWorks, presented Vendor Management:  You Can’t Outsource Risk.  Mark Evans, ICBA Securities, presented New Era for Investing; and Wyatt Jones, Masouda Omar and Alexander Dempster, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority presented Lender Tool Belt – Utilizing the Colorado Credit Reserve Program, New Market Tax Credits and Industrial Development Bonds.   

Our Friday evening events started at the beginning of Bourbon Street and continued to the very end.  Attendees had a grand time visiting with our vendors during our reception.  Dinner was delightful and The 17th Avenue Allstars were absolutely fabulous!

A special thank you to Linda Winter, owner, Accessories with a Flair, for presenting a superb fashion show for our spouse/guest program.  Linda does a remarkable job and everyone enjoys seeing the latest fashions.

SATURDAY: The goods times just kept rolling as Saturday began with our district meeting.  Bankers were informed of IBC’s 2010 agenda and key legislative issues while being able to voice their opinions and gave feedback on issues and concerns. 

Immediately following the district meeting, a panel of distinguished regulators took center stage.  Larry Martin, Bank Strategies, facilitated the panel which was comprised of:  Karen Boehler, OCC; Dave Nowling, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Joe Meade, FDIC and Fred Joseph, Colorado Division of Banking.  Bankers enjoyed listening to the panel and being able to ask poignant questions of the panel.

Three information-packed breakout sessions then followed.  Tom Bieging, Bieging Shapiro & Burrus LLP, presented on Regulatory Enforcement Actions.  Ed Adkins, Sherman & Howard, presented on Loan Workouts and Mitchell Lucas, Harland Financial Solutions, spoke on Real Estate Concentrations. 

Saturday concluded in true Mardi Gras fashion.  Attendees feasted on hors’ d ‘oeuvres while perusing the auction items.  Our live auction took center court just before we were off to dinner.  A special thank you to Norm Arends, Colorado East Bank & Trust for being our auctioneer.  We couldn’t have done it without you!  We raised more than $3,000 for the IBC Education Foundation.  Thank you to everyone who donated and to those who purchased items. 

Mark Fidel, Executive Director, Western States School of Banking, was on hand to present the IBC Education Foundation’s scholarship to Jennifer Witzak, Colorado East Bank & Trust.  Jennifer received a $500 scholarship to the Western States School of Banking based on her outstanding academic performance.  Congratulations!

Brett Legg, IBC Chairman, recognized Kelsey Larsen for her outstanding academic achievements and being a recipient of one of our high school scholarships during our Saturday evening events.  Congratulations! 

The evening ended with an amazing dinner and casino night.  Humphrey Shin, FirstBank of Aurora was the big winner with more than $500,000 in winnings! 

Whale Sponsors
Fifth Third Processing Solutions
ICBA Services Network
 
No Limit
The Baker Group
Colorado Housing and Finance Authority
FHLBank Topeka
Travelers
 
High Stakes
Bank of the West
Bankers’ Bank of the West
BKD, LLP
Clark Consulting
Fortner, Bayens, Levkulich & Co., P.C.
Goldleaf Financial Solutions
Grayco Bank Products
Harland Clarke
Kennedy and Coe, LLC
Pentegra Retirement Services
Pinnacle Financial Strategies
Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP
TransFirst
Voice Access/MEA Financial
 
One Arm Bandit
Bieging Shapiro & Burrus, LLP
HUB International Southwest
PULSE EFT Association
RSM McGladrey, Inc.
Zurich Financial Enterprises
 
Keno
Fiserv
 
Bingo
Amerisource Funding, Inc.
Central States Families of Companies
INTRUST Bank