2023 Texas Tour and beyond
Traveling across our great state of Texas, I have seen the impact Texas bankers continue to have in their communities.”
Well, we are now through another extremely hot summer in Texas. It is Fall, school is back in session and hopefully, temperatures are cooling back down. I would like to take a moment to reflect on our 2023 Texas Tour. Sixteen stops in all, the Tour began in El Paso on June 12 and finished in Kilgore on August 17. Your support along the way, as Texas bankers, has been nothing short of amazing. Total attendance this year across the state was approximately 900 bankers. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to show up and participate. Your TBA staff spends months and countless hours making the Texas Tour possible and so successful. They truly just make things happen, reminding me very much of our Texas bank employees who contribute to our success every day of the year.
Chris Furlow and Celeste Embrey led our presentations and discussions with valuable and timely information concerning our current banking environment. From updates on TBA’s lawsuit against the CFPB on the implementation of Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act to legislative session updates from both Washington, D.C. and Austin.
The banking environment is constantly changing and TBA is keeping us all up-to-date about our industry. This once again shows us the value and importance of TBA today and all that they do for Texas bankers.
I want to thank our friends from the Federal Reserve Bank and the American Bankers Association who joined us along the way at many of our tour stops. I also want to thank our many vendors and banks that sponsored our events as well.
Personally, the Texas Tour has been so rewarding, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Traveling across our great state of Texas, I have seen the impact Texas bankers continue to have in their communities. Once again, I can say that I’m proud to be a Texas banker!
My wife, Cindy, also joined me on five tour stops, making a great impact on her. I think we are reenergized to keep going throughout the year of our service to TBA. I just completed 40 years of being a Texas banker, and Cindy has been with me for 39 of those years. We are both moving forward for TBA at full speed.
Membership development
The 2023 Texas Tour has shown me how important our membership development activities are to you all. Huge congratulations to Michele Carfello, Mary Lange and Libby Clark. They joined me on the Texas Tour and truly know our bankers. They all have such a positive attitude — you can just tell they love their jobs. Every day they block and tackle for TBA. What would we do without them?
Ladies, thank you and keep up the great job and dedication that you have for TBA. I truly appreciate you all!
Texas Tour still meaningful
The success of our 2023 Texas Tour also shows that this is still an important part and function of TBA. Bankers and TBA staff feel uplifted after each stop, and you can’t help but see what great people of character and integrity run our banking industry in Texas today. Our support for each other and our industry is second to none. Maybe that is why TBA just celebrated its 138th birthday. Our strength and history still shine bright all the way into 2023. We stand tall and look forward to a bright future together.
Finally, as the 2023 Texas Tour is complete, I now have memories of you all that I will never forget. I also thank God for our safe travels along the way.
Finishing Out 2023
We started 2023 just like many years before this one, with the Texas economy strong and another good year of banking ahead of us. Then everything changed overnight with the failure of three banks (Silicon Valley, Signature and First Republic). It is hard to believe that it was already six months ago. As Texas bankers, we have survived, we have recovered and we are now operating in almost a totally new environment. I will continue to tell anyone who will listen to me that Texas banks are well capitalized, profitable and well managed.
United together, we are moving forward and will soon be closing out 2023. TBA’s value and support have never been more important. These tough challenges, tough times and rapid changes in our industry have put us all to the test. However, once again, Texas bankers and TBA have risen to the challenges and chartered a somewhat new path going forward.
We have been flexible and never lost sight of our three most important factors: our customers, our employees and our local communities. Your hard work and overall dedication have not gone unnoticed, and I truly appreciate all Texas bankers and your accomplishments during 2023.