Pub. 8 2019 Issue 6

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 ONLINE BANK MANAGEMENT CONTEST A SUCCESS! F ifty-two bankers, representing 13 teams, competed in the first Online Bank Management Contest hosted by the Robbins Banking Institute at Fort Hays State University, in conjunction with the Kansas Bankers Association and SimArch, who developed the simulation. After two months of competing on share price appreciation, financial risk management, strategy and mission achievement, and financial objectives achievement, four teams earned an opportunity to compete in the championship round at Fort Hays State University on Sept. 26. After completing the fourth quarter of the bank simulation, each team made a presentation to the panel of judges, consisting of Ziegfried Vermaak, CEO of SimArch; Alan Deines, director of the Robbins Banking Institute; Mark McCullick, Market President at Emprise Bank in Hays; Mark Schepers, President and CEO of the Community Bank in Liberal; and Randy Walker, CEO of the Bank of Hays in Hays. The top four teams were from Bank of the Prairie in Olathe (Debra Harrison, Michael Kassa, Caleb Lawton and Shannon Powers); Country Club Bank in Kansas City (Rachael Ausmus, Kelley Frye, Dustin Matthew and Jessica Schafer); Farmers Bank and Trust in Overland Park (Clark Eschliman, Brett Ferrell, Darren Friendt and Jacinda Zerr); and First Kansas Bank located in Hoisington, Great Bend, Hays and Claflin (Jack Dennis, Jay Luerman, Traci Schneider and Eric Schoendaler). After a close competition, the championship trophy was ultimately awarded to Country Club Bank — CONGRATULATIONS, Rachael, Kelley, Dustin and Jessica! KBA would like to recognize W.R. Robbins, CEO and Corporate President of Farmers Bank and Trust, for providing an introduction for the start of the final competition and for his continued support of the Robbins Banking Institute and its initiatives. Sponsors of the event included the Kansas Bankers Association, FHLBank Topeka, Bankers’ Bank of Kansas, and Career 1 Source. “Bank Sim was a great opportunity for our group to see a different side of bank management. One of our participants said that the simulation presented an opportunity for employees who are not ‘C’ level to dive into the types of decision-making necessary to make a bank run smoothly. Another one of our participants said he was able to take what he learned from the simulation and apply it to classes he is currently taking in college. Finally, one other participant said she gained a better understanding of the right levers to move to help the bank not only stay afloat, but to remain profitable and maintain or increase shareholder value. The simulation competition made our people think in a manner that is different from the day-to-day thinking process they now undertake. I believe it forced them to think at a much higher W.R. Robbins Ziegfried Vermaak, SimArch Team members from the four finalists Fort Hays State University staff Country Club Bank championship team