Pub. 8 2019 Issue 3

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 12 YBOK SPRING CONFERENCE 2019 T he Young Bank Officers of Kansas (YBOK) held the first conference of 2019 at the Kansas City Marriot Downtown on May 9-10. The YBOK Board welcomed attendees to an early arrivers’ reception at the hotel’s lounge. The conference welcomed just short of one hundred young bankers for education and networking. YBOK President Sara Girard, Central National Bank, Topeka, opened the conference with welcoming comments and introductions. She invited KBA Chairman and President & CEO of Bank the Prairie Chris Donnelly to say a few words. Donnelly shared some encouraging words about getting involved in promoting and building the banking industry. He believes that these young bank leaders can make an impact. The first speaker was Dan Oblinger, a police officer and FBI trained hostage negotiator. He shared with the group “Leadership from the Ledge – 8 Lessons for Banking Professionals.” These lessons focused on intentional listening skills, creating a “campfire” environment at the work place, and how to gain trust. The key to building these relationships, both at home and in the workplace, he said is the idea of “show, don’t tell.” It seems like every news channel is reporting that we are “due” for a recession. But what does that mean? Next, we heard from economist Dr. Roger Tutterow about the state of the economy and what the future may hold. He has served as a consultant on financial economics and statistical modeling for corporate clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to closely held businesses. Currently Tutterow serves as the Chief Economic Advisor for the Henssler Financial Group in Atlanta. He shared what charts and statistics to look towards for recession foreshadowing. Tutterow believes that most likely we will experience growth in 2019 and good movement into 2020. KBA Chairman Chris Donnelly (President & CEO of Bank of the Prairie, Olathe) started off the day by welcoming the group to the conference. Becky Tongish (KBA SVP – Educational Resources) presented the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado Future Leaders Scholarship to Bobbi LaViolette (Farmers Bank & Trust, Great Bend). Dan Bolen (President & CEO of The Bank of Prairie Village), moderator Alex Orel (KBA SVP – Government Relations) and Paul Thompson (Chairman/President & CEO of Country Club Bank, Kansas City) give their perspective on the banking industry during the CEO panel. New YBOK President Brian Whitesell (Landmark National Bank, Manhattan) shares is thoughts after accepting the position. Coach Kevin Kush during his “A Piece of the Puzzle — 8 Traits of a quality Teammate” presentation. Economist Dr. Roger Tutterow provides his views on tariffs, interest rates and gas prices. Alan Dines (Director of Robbins Banking Institute, Fort Hays State University) talked about the new Online Bank Management Contest being launched this year.