Pub. 5 2017 Issue 3

6 The Community Banker www.mibonline.org W elcome to our final 2017 edition of The Community Banker. It is hard to believe another year is approaching its end. To quote from line 284 of book 3 of Virgil’s Georgics, “fugit inreperable tempus” – it escapes, irretrievable time. As I write this article, I look out my window to see the last of the gold, brown and red leaves hanging off of the trees. Fall is a won- derful time in Montana as it is, as Yeats states, the maturing season. I am sorry to write that September saw Laura Welker leave my office, and hence, leave the MIB. Laura and I worked hand-in-hand together for almost six years on the Associa- tion’s behalf, starting in January of 2012 when I was hired to serve as the MIB Executive Director. Laura put a lot of heart and soul into taking the Association to the ‘next level’ and that effort is shown by the renewal of this publication, the increased attendance at our state conventions, increased associate mem- ber numbers, and in our expanded member services programs. Laura has left a lasting legacy for the Association, and I commend, thank and recognize her for her good work on the MIB’s behalf. September also saw MIB implement a new membership benefit. The Association hosted tailgate parties for our members and our Association partners at both a Griz and Cat football game. You will find within this edition photos from the two social events. When the MIB Board decided to add the tailgate events as a new member benefit, I was not sure how well attended the events would be. But, as you can see from the photos, we had excellent attendance at both games. More important, the tailgates were fun and provided an excellent opportunity for Montana’s banking community to socialize at a non-banking focused forum. Given the suc- cess of the tailgates, the Association will be making the tailgate parties an annual mem- bership event moving forward. So, be on the lookout for next year’s tailgate party dates and associated games. By the way, maybe the MIB brought some bad luck with us -- both the Griz and Cats lost their respective games. MIB wants to recognize and thank Bill Coffee of Stockman Bank for graciously allowing us to use property owned by the bank as the set up location for our MSU tailgate party. Prior to the MSU football game, the MIB Board held its final board meeting of the year. We were fortunate to have several of the students who participated in the MSU Community Banking Program this summer join us and to share their summer internship experiences. You will also find within this edition of the Community Banker writeups from Paul Eayrs, who interned with Stockman Bank, and Stephen Murry, who interned with Opportunity Bank, discussing their internship experiences. If you are interested in having a community banking intern for your bank next summer, please feel free to call us here at the Association to discuss the logistics of that program and opportunity. Speaking of Association events, the Asso- ciation reminds you that the dates for next year’s annual state convention are July 26th through 28th, 2018. The State Convention will be held in Missoula next year. The venue will be the Hilton Garden Inn. The MIB has not hosted our annual convention in Missoula for years, and we are excited to be returning to the ‘Garden City.’ We here at the MIB make it our goal for every member and associate member who attends our convention to come out of the convention with a ‘takeaway.’ Executive Director’s Report