This year’s kickoff event was a definite success, with an exceptional lineup of presenters, 55 alumni, and three sponsors.
Ted Garnett from PS Culture Matters challenged the BLOK Alumni classes to find their “one thing.” That “one thing” is their key takeaway from this event and can be tied back to their greatest strength. Class members partnered up with someone that they did not know in order to exchange ideas, get to know each other better, and become a resource for each other in the future. The overarching theme of his presentation was accountability … to yourself and to your team. Always entertaining and inspiring, Ted regaled the alumni group with stories and lessons from his own life and stories from leaders that he’s coached in the past to drive home his point that culture matters.
The KBA GR Team gave an update on legislative and regulatory issues at the Federal and State level. Efforts to find cosponsors for the ACRE Act, a House Resolution urging Congress to roll back provisions of the Section 1071 rule, and efforts to keep the Credit Card Competition Act from being reintroduced, among other issues were highlighted as Federal legislative issues to watch. Pushing back on the CFPB’s finalization of the Section 1033 Consumer Access to Financial Records rule, the ABA lawsuit against the CFPB and Director Chopra regarding its unilateral expansion of its UDAAP authority as well as the CFPB’s obsession with fees of all kinds were Federal regulatory highlights.
At the state level, the Governor’s veto of a tax package and the attempted override, success in passing reasonable ESG legislation, and finalization of the modernization of the Kansas Trust Code, among many other bills followed by the KBA, were discussed.
Brenda L. Unruh, SVP, Director of Education & Conferences, Strategic Partnerships, gave the Education & Conferences Update. The KBA Education & Conferences department had a great 2022, serving over 4,600 bankers at 10 major conferences with 37 webinars/workshops. KBA continues to grow Strategic Partnerships and ask that if a bank is looking for a new product or service, look at our great lineup of partners first. Also, if a bank is working with a company that it thinks would be a great fit for all Kansas banks, please send contact information to Brenda Unruh at bunruh@ksbankers.com.
Kelly VanZwoll, VP, Government Relations/Staff Attorney, updated BLOK Alumni attendees on the KBA Legal Department. The KBA Legal Department can answer your day-to-day legal and regulatory questions. If a bank is a KBCS member, staff can provide legal advice and opinions as well as draft and review documents. Through CFBS, KBA staff can provide audit and outsourced compliance services. Call and see how KBA Legal can help!
Dr. Sean Payant, Haberfeld, closed out the Academy and shared three pieces of advice to be better coaches and mentors:
- Create intentional opportunities to communicate how a bank “makes people’s lives better” by aligning its team around a higher calling.
- Create a common purpose by producing a culture of welcoming and trusting people. Growth happens when banks have a culture of valuing people.
- Great coaches and mentors are the keys to developing connections and driving results.
