Pub. 4 2016 Issue 1

21 Spring 2016 The Community Banker W ow, what a journey! For me as ICBA’s new chair- man, it’s so exciting to think that it’s only just begun. As a third-generation commu- nity banker, I’mdeeply honored to be your new ICBA chairman. I look forward to a year filled with meeting somany of you onmy travels—having the chance to hear your stories and what you are doing tomake your communities great. I also am so thrilled to think about all the amazing and powerful work we will accomplish—both at our community banks, in our communi- ties and as an industry. I loved seeing somany familiar faces, andmeeting somany of you at ICBA’s national convention in New Orleans last month. What a gather- ing it was! I was so energized by the educational workshops, networking events, Expo exhibits and, most importantly, my conversations with you—my fellow community bank- ers. Your stories and passion for what you do never cease to amazeme. That’s why duringmy convention speech I was so adamant about asking you to tell your community bank’s story in the year ahead. We are all involved now in writing our industry’s next chapter—how exciting is that! At the convention I recounted when I first took over my family’s community bank frommy dad, Mar- tin, and there were moments when I would tell him, “You are not going to believe what happened today.” He toldme, “Rebeca, you need to start writing some of these stories down, because over the years you won’t want to forget what happens, what changes, what stays the same andmore importantly what the outcomes or lessons are.” Inmany ways, he was tellingme that I had the content for a great book. But that isn’t just me—it’s “we.” We as community bankers have the content for many great stories, and we need to tell them. Our stories are incredible, really an anthology of impact, change, resilience, growth and evolution. The collective story of community bank- ing includes who you are, whowe are, what we do, wherewe are today, our challenges and our opportuni- ties. It also includes the history that came before us, and of the futurewe are developing together. We need to tell our stories to ev- eryone—our potential customers, our communities and our policy- makers. We are community bankers, and that is something different, something authentic, something to be proud of and something that matters. Our economic weight is powerful, our impact is powerful and our story is powerful. We can’t afford to let Wall Street, the megab- anks, credit unions or the regulators tell our story—or inaccurately tell our story—for us. Nowmore than ever, we need your voice as part of our industry’s story, because together there’s no telling what we can accomplish. We have every opportunity tomake the most of our story and pave the way for a bright future for our industry and our communities. I look forward to working with all of you over the next year as we tell our story. I know that good things will come of it. Rebeca Romero Rainey is chairman and CEO of Centinel Bank of Taos, in Taos, N.M. TELL YOUR STORY By Rebeca Romero Rainey, Chairman of ICBA From the Chairman