Pub. 7 2018 Issue 9

December 2018 13 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 Dan Meers, KC Wolf, official mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs, as he prepares for his inspiring closing presentation. Chris Kuehl, Armada Corporate Intelligence, shared his view on what factors will shape the 2019 state and local economies. Ryan McLaughlin (Central States Capital Markets, Prairie Village) and Scott Wedel (Career 1 Source, Hesston) pose during a break. Addressing the changing liquidity landscape and best practice approach is Joe Kennerson, Darling Consulting Group. Shan Hanes (Heartland Tri-State Bank, Elkhart) and Alan Deines (FHSU-Robbins Institute of Banking) catch up after their session on talent acquisitions and management. KBA President and CEO Doug Wareham gave a Washington political update. should know before sitting down at the negotiating table. He shared some very important tools needed to dramatically improve core and IT spending. Day two of the conference began with some interesting statistics. Did you know the U.S. GDP is the largest in the world – larger than the next four (China, Japan, Germany and UK) put together? And that Kansas is the 6th largest state for manufacturing? Chris Kuehl, Armada Corporate Intelligence, provided an economic outlook for Kansas and the Midwest, and how our local economies are impacted by global events. Everyone predicted this would be a jam-packed year just because of the mid-term elections, but so far, 2018 has exceeded expectations. Tax cuts, deficits, trade wars, inflation, interest rate hikes and the list grows every day. Where we are now and what can we expect in the months to come? Certainly not a return to calm and collected. Chris provided the group with four predictions: Inflation is coming, labor shortage is approaching epidemic proportions, debt and deficit will get much worse and trade wars will fizzle out. Joe Kennerson, Darling Consulting Group, presented a talk titled, “The Changing Landscape of Liquidity.” Loan growth is outpacing deposit growth. Loans are becoming a higher percentage of total assets. Wholesale funding levels are increasing. Undeniably, liquidity is under pressure. This session addressed the changing liquidity landscape in our industry and what every bank should be doing to develop a “best practice” approach to liquidity management. The conference closed with an inspiring presentation by Dan Meers, KC Wolf, Official Mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs. On November 23, 2013, Dan Meers came within inches of losing his life while practicing a bungee jump and zip line stunt at Arrowhead Stadium. What Dan anticipated being the thrill of a lifetime ended up being the spill of a lifetime. During this powerful presentation, Dan shared his incredible story and the important lessons he learned during his long road to recovery about leadership and life, encouraging attendees to live every day with character, purpose and passion. Dan closed the conference with one thought. “You have one coin to spend every day, so spend it wisely.