Above: KBA Chairman Mark Schifferdecker, GNBank, NA in Girard, kicked off the 2023 YBOK Annual Conference by welcoming attendees at the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane.
Thank you to the 120+ Kansas bankers who attended the 2023 Young Bank Officers of Kansas (YBOK) Annual Conference Oct. 11-13 in Mulvane, KS! It was a record crowd for the 15th anniversary, and we believe attendees came away with some great tools and connections to take back to their respective institutions to better the communities and customers they serve!
These are the 2023-2024 YBOK Division Board of Directors:
- President — Nick Wolfe, United Bank & Trust, Marysville
- Vice President — Francis Scheuerman, UMB Bank, Kansas City
- Secretary/Treasurer — Rocky Anderson, Kaw Valley Bank, Topeka
- Past President — Cameron Cooper, Patriots Bank, Garnett
- Region 1 — Nick Gideon, Silver Lake Bank, Lawrence
- Region 1 — Alex Jones, Bank of Commerce, Neodesha
- Region 2 — Greg Thiessen, First Bank of Beloit, Beloit
- Region 2 — Tom Sheik, State Bank of Bern, Bern (nominated for a second three-year term)
- Region 3 — Victoria Pruitt, First National Bank of Hutchinson, Hutchinson
- Region 3 — Brock Stuhlsatz, Citizens Bank of Kansas, Derby (nominated for a first three-year term)
- At-Large Rep. — Amanda Williams, Bankers’ Bank of Kansas, Wichita nominated for a first three-year term
- At-Large Rep. — Beth Masterson, Legacy Bank, Wichita
- At-Large Rep. — Jordan Lauer, Farmers State Bank, Westmoreland
- Ambassador — Andrew Holtgraves, Mortgage Investment Services Corporation, Shawnee (nominated for a first three-year term)
- Ambassador — Tyler Walden, Allen Gibbs & Houlik CPAs & Advisors, Wichita
- Ambassador — Jason Hatfield, Security First Title, Wichita
YBOK President Cameron Cooper and KBA Board Chairman Mark Schifferdecker, GNBank N.A. in Girard, kicked off the conference by welcoming the attendees. Chairman Schifferdecker discussed his priorities as Chairman, the essential roles young bankers play in their institutions and communities and why it is important to continue to grow as a professional, engage in the political process and be a KBA volunteer leader.
The first speaker of the day was Eric Papp, author and keynote motivational speaker, with his presentation, “Managing Multiple Priorities,” which taught the seven secrets of top performers that would help propel attendees from procrastination to execution.
Up next was Lee Smith, SVP of Economic Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, with the Economic Update. Smith talked about how stubbornly high inflation has led to a swift tightening in monetary policy and how it has come down recently but remains too high. He also talked about how the labor market has shown surprising resilience in the face of higher interest rates and that reaching and sustaining 2% inflation will likely require further easing labor market tightness.
Kansas State Treasurer Steven Johnson provided an update on his office’s efforts and his vision as the banker for the state! Treasurer Johnson gave an overview of his 2024 legislative agenda, fiscal services offered by his office, and the state of cash reserves for Kansas. Johnson also talked about his efforts in coordination with the KBA on how best to invest public funds directly back into Kansas and the long-term economic impact that makes.
This year’s YBOK Corporate Citizenship Effort recipient was Harbor House! YBOK President Cameron Cooper, Patriots Bank in Garnett, and KBA’s SVP — Government Relations Alex Orel presented Keri McGregor and Brittany Loomis with Harbor House with a $1,500 donation.
Harbor House at Catholic Charities is more than a safe shelter for survivors of severe violence. Harbor House uses outreach advocacy services to guide survivors of abuse through the judicial, medical and DCF systems.
Harbor House provides a variety of services each year to hundreds trying to leave abusive relationships but who never step foot in the shelter. All services are provided with the goal of breaking the cycle of violence against women and their children.
This year’s CEO panel was Julie Hower, Farmers & Drovers Bank in Council Grove; Eric Kurtz, Union State Bank in Arkansas City; Aaron Bastian, Fidelity Bank in Wichita and moderator Tyler Walden with Allen Gibbs & Houlik LC in Wichita. The panel conversation focused on industry trends, workforce development initiatives and their experiences in running their respective institutions.
KBA Government Relations Team Alex Orel and Kelly VanZwoll gave an update on state and federal government issues and legislative priorities for 2024. They talked about the need for the younger generation to get involved in the political process and how essential that is for success. Alex and Kelly walked through the efforts to pass a comprehensive tax plan at the state level. They asked the attendees to take action in the KBA Mobile App to answer the call to action to oppose the credit card competition action act being considered in Washington, D.C., and being pushed by U.S. Senators Roger Marshall (Kansas) and Dick Durbin (Illinois) that would jeopardize the security of financial information and wipe out credit card rewards.
Closing out the conference was Debbie Peterson, self-leadership keynote speaker, performance consultant and author of Getting to Clarity: A Roadmap to Your Career. This taught the five steps to gain unparalleled clarity and direction in attendees’ careers, business, leadership and even life!
We hope to see you all again next year in Hays for the next year’s Annual Conference scheduled for Oct. 9-11, 2024.
