Pub. 4 2015 Issue 9

l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s 18 KBA recently partnered with a dozen Kansas trade associations to co-host a series of fundraising events for incumbent candidates for the Kansas House of Representatives. Events were held in Shawnee, Johnson and Sedgwick counties, with the Johnson County event being held at the Arvest Bank Branch located in Leawood, Kansas. Pausing for a photo during a fundraising event for State legislative candidates is Doug Wareham, KBA's EVP- Government Relations; Barbara Crist, Arvest Bank's EVP- Sales Manager, Kathy Taylor, KBA's SVP-General Counsel and Kansas Speaker of the House Ray Merrick. STEVE HUNTER JOINS SIMMONS BANK AS VICE PRESIDENT Steve Hunter has joined Simmons First National Bank as a vice president and commercial loan officer in the bank’s Olathe, Kan., office. Hunter will work with customers throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. He also will work out of the bank’s Lee’s Summit, Mo., office. Hunter has been in the banking and financial services industry for 33 years with 26 of those years spent in the Kansas City area. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Georgia State University in Atlanta and completed the Missouri Bankers Association’s Schools of Banking and Lending. He also completed work at the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. Hunter has been active in the Independence, Mo., Chamber of Commerce and the Independence Council for Economic Development. BankOnIT opens Kansas City Data Center BankOnIT opened its newest data center Nov. 2, 2015, in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The new location, located in Lenexa, Kansas, will serve as BankOnIT’s backup data center and provides room for additional staffing at the growing IT firm. The location holds individual offices, a break room, conference room, technical support center and data center. Ryan Samples, president and CEO, looks forward to the company’s growth potential and increased ability to support clients. “When BankOnIT started over 13 years ago, we had one simple goal – to make IT easy for our clients,” Samples said. “The new facility will add significant technical capabilities as well as provide an additional location to better serve our clients and allow for continued growth as we gain additional client banks.” Former banker and BankOnIT Executive Vice President Robert Mendez believes rapid changes in technology are presenting more challenges for banks than ever before but also providing more opportunities as well.“All banks are facing an increasing amount of risk, cost and time relating to IT - BankOnIT works to help banks reduce exposure in all three of these areas,” Mendez said. “This results in banks being able to gain capabilities and take advantage of strategic opportunities with less risk, cost and time than they otherwise would have had.” The Lenexa location will employ up to 25 technical staff members. With 24/7/365 staffing, the firm currently has 125 employees including technical, legal and banking professionals. BankOnIT’s other locations, located in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, will also be adding additional staff over the next 12 months. Briefly... In Kansas Banking