Pub 1 2012 Issue 1

Serving as 2009 KBA Chair- man was a bit challenging, but immeasurably rewarding. It was my extreme pleasure to become better acquainted with talented bankers across the state and re- gion as well as witness first-hand the unconditional professionalism demonstrated by the KBA staff. The Kansas Ag Bankers had become an official KBA division just four months before my term began. Less than 30 days after be- coming KBA Chairman in August 2008, the world economy teetered on collapse. By mid-September, global firms were failing or being bailed out, Fannie Mae and Fred- die Mac were in serious financial trouble and banks of all sizes and types began seeing their portfolios lose tremendous value. “Bank” became a dirty word amongst politicians and journalists. But I witnessed, and hopefully contributed to, our industry’s re- sponse. The KBA staff was the point of the spear in arranging face-to-face visits with elected of- ficials. They encouraged Kansas bankers to generate e-mails, faxes, and phone calls, plus letters to edi- tors delivering the correct message causing the world to see that Main Street banks were going to be a key part of the solution and were not the root of the problem. This recession challenged us all and some of those challenges remain. But the lessons I learned from the talented bankers and bank industry association leaders provided more insight and re- spect than any other professional experience. The pleasure to serve as KBA Chairman was indeed mine. My favorite remembrances from my year as KBA Chairman revolve around making bank calls with Chuck Stones in Northwest Kansas. This was an area of the state I had never traveled, other than I-70 to go to the Broadmoor. Chuck and I met early one morning in Salina and spent the next three days traveling the secondary routes of the region frequently stopping to visit with Kansas bankers. I was amazed how much bank - ers had on their minds and how willing they were to share their thoughts and opinions on bank- ing issues and life in general. Only Chuck’s driving skills kept us on time with the ambitious itinerary he had set up for us. Typical of the membership of the KBA, we called on very small banks and larger ones as well, but there was always a central theme to each conversation: pride in and service to their community. It mademe very proud to be a Kansas banker. My service spanned six years from 2002 to 2008. I served as KBA treasurer from2002 to 2004, with Chairmen Craig Meader and Kathy Steward, and KBA executive Jim Maag. A fun highlight of my tenure was to win the golf tour- nament at the ABA convention in Hawaii in 2003. I was teamed with JimMaag and Craig Meader, and because it was at the national convention, we declared ourselves the national champions. I considered it a great honor to be elected Chairman-elect inmid- 2005. Chuck Stones was our ex- ecutive by this time, and I followed Kent Needham and Mike Stevens through the chairs. SteveMcSpad- den and Dave Herndon followed me through the chairs and Kirk Bradford and Rick Smith served as Treasurer. I traveled with and became good friends with all these fine people and their spouses, and I consider my service to be amajor highlight of my banking career. I could not have performed my duties without the great support from our professional KBA staff, and I will always be in their debt. Through attendance at board of director and various KBA com- mittee meetings and participat- ing in the annual lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with many of the bankers in Kansas and I value all of these relationships. Steve McSpadden Union State Bank, Winfield KBA Chairman 2007- 08 Steve Locke INTRUST Bank, Junction City KBA Chairman 2006- 07 David L. Herndon KBA Chairman 2008- 09 First State Bank Kansas City, Kansas