My life has had its fair share of conventions and corporate retreats, but this was something special for me personally.
It was my first convention for the Texas Bankers Association and the first large event gathering since the start of the pandemic.
What a return it was. Especially with the benefit of seeing it from both sides. On the one hand, I spent a considerable amount of time with our planning team to ensure no detail or consideration was missed. Being my inaugural experience with the convention, the pace and effort were frenetic and difficult to keep up with, so much so that there were times I wondered what I had gotten myself into! But on the other hand, there was a lot of pride in seeing all that work come to fruition and witnessing the sheer joy from participants and staff alike, genuinely enjoying spending some real time together.
The Annual Convention was a three-day substance-packed treat on the financial sector that was bookended with some real star power.
Day one featured a golf tournament at one of the area’s premier courses at Fazio Canyons and ended with a real treat in the BankPac Live Auction — my personal favorite item was the Baretta over-under shotgun.
Day two kicked off with Chip Jenkins’ chairman’s farewell address. He had a laundry list of admirable accomplishments during perhaps one of the most difficult times in our country’s history with the pandemic to navigate through. Chip was also thoughtful in bestowing the Chairman’s Award to a veritable who’s who in TBA history, honoring Eddie Guillen, Kathy Box, Alfred Renteria, Olivia Solis, Glenda Monroe and Wanda Stevens.
Drew Brees followed and gave us some of the best personal insight from a world champion that I’ve ever witnessed. Drew shared his passion and drive to use his newfound role as a board member of B1Bank to help local businesses grow, as well as a very relatable parable on learning to balance work and personal life. It was a session I won’t soon forget.
TBA Convention’s Annual Golf Tournament
Golfers raise $23,000 for Hope for the Warriors charity
A group of bankers and guests kicked off the 136th Annual Convention early on the morning of August 25 at the Omni Barton Creek Golf Course – Fazio Canyons.
For the fifth year, bankers participated in the “Cheat4Charity” challenge, raising $23,000 for the Hope for the Warriors. Michael Furrh, who holds the Guinness World Record for longest usable golf club, offered up a selection of his drivers for golfers to take the challenge or just have some fun.
Furrh auctioned off two custom golf clubs also benefitting the Hope for the Warriors during Wednesday’s Opening Reception. Reid Sharp, First National Bank of Bastrop, and Chip Jenkins, The First State Bank in Louise, were the high bidders.
We then jumped knee-deep in policy talk with Texas Department of Banking Commissioner Charles Cooper and TBA President and CEO Chris Furlow’s fireside chat. They shared concerns about cybersecurity and the future of risk ratings for banks. Commissioner Cooper was also awarded with the TBA Cyber Defender Award.
We then shifted gears to hear Patrick Sells of NYDIG speak about the topic on every banker’s mind: cryptocurrencies and their place in banking. We heard astonishing stats such as 22% of Americans own bitcoin and are looking for a place to store custody and how 71% of Americans say they would switch banks if they offed bitcoin custody.
Next, Ret. GEN Keith Alexander, the founder and CEO of IronNet, shared his thoughts on cybersecurity and China being the biggest threat to banks, businesses and intellectual property.
The Breakout Sessions made choosing just one difficult as topics were chalked full of interesting issues and speakers. Sessions included University Partnerships: Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders, M&A in a Challenging Operating Environment, and Payment Trends: Digitization for Consumer Habits, Lending, Currencies and Fintechs.
The day wrapped up with a Live After 5 happy hour that featured demographer Ken Gronback and gave bankers a chance to let loose and enjoy each other’s company.
Both days featured peer-to-peer Roundtable Discussions and provided a real opportunity to listen and learn from each other. Each session was just as captivating as the other. Peer groups were centered around Emerging Leaders, Lending and CEOs on the first day. While the Roundtables Discussions the following day kept the substance train moving forward with Commissioner Jones leading the State Savings Bank talk and Jeri Penny leading Women in Banking.
Lunch was utilized as an opportunity to celebrate Emerging Leaders, Cornerstone and LiFE Award winners, and to celebrate the 50-Year Bankers. These events were touching and inspirational, and the room was full of enthusiasm. The leadership and careers of Commissioner Caroline Jones at the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending and Scott MacDonald, PhD, President and CEO at the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking were also honored with TBA’s Distinguished Service Awards.
Not be outdone though, the final day kicked off with substance and sustenance through a policy talk led by TBA’s own powerhouse wonk Celeste Embrey and the all-knowing and always entertaining John Heasley over breakfast. It began with a message from FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams and was followed by a fireside chat with OCC District Deputy Comptroller Troy Thornton and SVP of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Robert Triplett.
Incoming Chair Rusty Rust gave his first official address as the head of TBA. He shared a story about a pony taking him on the road and prepared him for the challenges that still lie ahead. It had me wanting to learn more about this pony!
TBA’s own Michelle Carfello led a talk on one of my personal favorite topics about TBA’s new program, CREATE, which gave an inspiring testimony about the program’s effect on communities with some wonderful anecdotes provided by Sheri Lawal Price of Unity National Bank and Effie Dennison of Texas Capital Bank.
I truly enjoyed watching the TBA and ABA heads Chris Furlow and Rob Nichols provide some policy and political perspective on what to expect next in Texas and on the D.C. front.
Donald Luskin, Chief Investment Officer of TrendMacro, gave an economic update for the ages. He provided reasons to be bullish and advised the crowd to not be risk averse because of fear and COVID.
The final Convention keynote was a personal hero of mine. Hershel Walker truly kept the crowd entertained as he shared his inspirational backstory in facing some serious adversity and being aware enough to fight through it.
Convention was appropriately capped with the ever-entertaining country music legend Neal McCoy, who made it all but impossible to sit in your seat for too long. It was a Bankers Bash to remember.
Yes, it was my first TBA Convention, but the bankers and staff made it an event to remember. I can’t wait till next year!