Pub. 7 2018 Issue 7

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 6 BIG SHOES AND SEVERAL IMPORTANT THANK YOU’S By: Doug Wareham, President & CEO I ’d like to use my first President’s Message in The Kansas Banker magazine to extend my sincere appreciation to the elected leadership of the KBA for entrusting me with the responsibility and opportunity to help lead this incredible, time-tested organization. I also want to personally thank Chuck Stones for bringing me into the KBA family back in 2004 and for helping prepare me for this moment. More than anyone, I know I have BIG shoes to fill. I do have comfort in knowing the high commitment level of the current KBA officer team and board of directors. I have every confidence that KBA’s elected leaders will provide our association with the direction needed to build upon KBA’s rich history and our very talented KBA staff team will collectively tackle the challenges that lie ahead. Later this month, KBA’s Board of Directors will embark on a strategic planning process that will guide us for the next three years and beyond. Armed with input from nearly 100 bank CEOs representing every region of our state, the Board and members of KBA’s staff leadership team will be establishing future objectives and priorities for the KBA. I want to thank those that took time to complete the recently distributed strategic plan survey and I encourage anyone with additional input to reach out to me or your KBA officers with any advice, thoughts or concerns. Your feedback will be extremely helpful as this process gets underway, and I look forward to sharing the final results of this important exercise later this year. Please note, this edition of The Kansas Bankers magazine features highlights from the recently held CEO Forum/Annual Meeting, which drew 372 bankers and guests to the scenic Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. Thank you to the Kansas bankers that traveled west last month and a very special thank you to the generous sponsors listed adjacent that supported the Forum with both their financial support and participation. At your service, CEO Forum & Annual Meeting Sponsors PLATINUM SPONSORS: UMB KBA/NBA Schools of Banking KBA Insurance SILVER SPONSORS: BKD Commerce Bank FHLBank Topeka Fiserv Moss Adams BRONZE SPONSORS: AGH BankOnIT Bankers’ Bank of Kansas Central States Capital Markets Country Club Capital Markets Deluxe Corporation First National Bank of Hutchinson FTN Financial Raymond James Sageworks Security 1st Title Stinson Leonard Street Travelers And finally, a special thank you to the 15 golf hole sponsors and 57 golf prize sponsors at this year’s Jim Maag Golf Scramble. We appreciate your support as well!