Pub 1 2012 Issue 1

My path to the Presidency of the KBA started in August, 1988, when the esteemed Newt Male resigned as President to become Kansas Bank Commissioner. As President-Elect, I became Presi - dent of the KBA in May 1990. It was a great honor to follow Ben Craig as President and to work with both Harold Stones and Jim Maag. On a Federal Affairs trip to Washington, we encountered Chairman of the Federal Reserve Greenspan as he exited the Federal Reserve Building. KBA executive Vice President Harold Stones wanted to make contact with the Chairman to let him know there were some very important bankers from Kansas he should acknowl- edge. The Chairman didn’t care to make conversation and kept walking. I do believe Harold wrote Chairman Greenspan when he returned to Topeka. It was indeed an honor to serve as President of the greatest trade group in the United States, and I wish a most sincere and Happy Birthday to the Kansas Bankers Association. I served as President of the KBA in the 1991-1992 term and followed as Chairman the follow- ing year. I served on the board in numerous capacities prior to that time. The primary issue during my term was Interstate Banking legislation in Kansas. I felt that we must go forward with this legisla- tion if Kansas was to continue to be a part of the emerging national banking scene. Little did we see the massive changes that would take place in the industry — the granting of bank charters to non- bank companies, the expansion of legislation that lead to financial activities that were to become known as “banking,” however distant these activities were from traditional banking. Our industry has suffered much harm in recent years but I am a believer in the value of banking to our country and know that we will survive and grow. The years spent with KBA are times which I hold very dear. The time spent withHarold Stones was an education in itself — a fantastic individual. Jim Maag, a man of great knowledge, gave so much to the Association. Each associ- ate in the office was a dedicated and skilled staff member. Today’s KBA leadership continues strong, congratulations on 125 years of service to banking. From notes I kept, key issues during my termwere (1) proposed interstate banking legislation, (2) superior bank branching power enjoyed by national banks, and (3) resolution of the savings and loan crisis. In that year, the first KBA bank director’s seminar took place in Wichita and was completely sold out. One of the reasons KBA decided to initiate a seminar for directors was because of the new standards of legal and regulatory accountability to which bank offi - cers and directors were held under the new FIRREA law. On March 27, 1990, along with Harold Stones and KBA President- Elect John Davis of Garden City, I attended a joint session of Con - gress followed by a White House luncheon hosted by President and Mrs. Bush in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kansan Dwight D. Eisenhower. Among the speakers wereWinston S. Churchill, grandson of the for- mer British prime minister, Clark Clifford, Walter Cronkite, Arnold Palmer and John Eisenhower, son of the late president. Following the session, about 100 guests, includ- ing the three of us fromKBA, were invited to the luncheon. I sat next to former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger, and Clark Clifford, the Italian Ambassador to the U.S., and Senator Jim Exon of Nebraska were other tablemates. I had the opportunity to meet President and Mrs. Bush. It was a day I will always remember. I was proud to be a Kansan and proud to represent the KBA. Bill Docking Union State Bank, Arkansas City KBA Chairman 1989- 90 Francis Carr First National Bank, Wellington, Retired KBA Chairman 1988- 89 Paul Viets Citizens National Bank, Independence, Retired KBA Chairman 1991- 92