Pub. 6 2018 Issue 1

6 The Community Banker www.mibonline.org W elcome to our spring edition of The Community Banker. It has been a long winter, and it’s refreshing to see the snow burning off and the days getting ‘longer’. I am hopeful that spring has finally sprung. Having grown up in Montana, I believe this is one of the best times of the year to be a resident of the Treasure State. I enjoy the months of March, April and May because it is a time for renewal – both for people and for our environment. By the time you are reading this article, the MIB Association has already hosted two of its biggest events of the year. In March, the Association hosted its annual Montana reception at the ICBA National Con- vention – which was held in Las Vegas this year. The turnout at the reception was strong, with over 60 people enjoying good food and good victuals and good company. Cam Fine stopped by the reception, which provided A.J. King the opportunity to present Cam with a thank you gift from the Association in appreciation of his many years of service and advocacy on behalf of community banks. Incoming ICBA CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey attended the reception as well, which provid- ed us the opportunity to introduce ourselves to ICBA’s new captain. You will find within the pages herein photos from the reception, in- cluding a photo of AJ presenting to Cam Fine Montana’s greatest symbol – a grizzly bear. MIB board members traveled to Washing- ton, D.C. at the beginning of April to speak with Montana’s congressional delegation to discuss the need for tiered regulatory relief at the federal level. With the Senate’s recent passage of SB 2155, the Dodd-Frank commu- nity banking relief bill, this year presents the best opportunity the community banking industry has had in a decade to obtain some meaningful regulatory relief. We extend our appreciation to Montana Senators Tester and Daines for supporting this crucial legisla- tion. Their vote in support of SB 2155 was a recognition that Montana’s banks should not be treated the same in terms of regulatory burden as those too-big-too-fail banks that caused the financial crises of 2007-2008. Given that the Senate had already passed its version of SB 2155 by the time we reached the Nation’s capital, the Association focused its efforts in D.C. on convincing the members of the U.S. House to support the community bank relief bill. I am pleased to write that Congressman Gianforte is also strongly sup- porting community banking relief. And, he is hopeful that the House will pass a similar bill to SB 2155 by the end of April, thereby send- ing the Dodd-Frank Act reform legislation to President Trump for his signature into law. Setting aside the legislative and public policy work the MIB does on your behalf, the Association also makes your dues dollar go far in terms of putting on Montana’s only com- munity banking convention and tradeshow. You will find within this issue all the informa- tion you need to attend MIB’s upcoming state convention. 2018 marks the 51st consecutive year are convention will be held. We here at the Association are very excited about this year’s convention, particularly given that we have arranged for a great lineup of speakers and programs. MIB is pleased to announce that noted Missoula artist Monte Dolack will be one of our guest speakers. In addition, former Executive Director’s Report