No ifs, ands or bucks about it — ICBC’s 51st Annual Convention held in September 2024 at The Hythe in Vail, Colorado, was one for the record books. And that’s no bull! A big yeehaw and hats off to those who attended, sponsored and exhibited and made this year’s celebration one of the best!
Our convention was rich with professional development sessions, special events, connections, vendor offerings and a strong sense of community, spirit and pride.
The opening reception on Wednesday evening provided the opportunity to wet your whistle, meet up with colleagues, vendors and get the first peek at the annual ICBC High School Scholarship Auction.
The annual meeting started Thursday with the announcement of ICBC’s 2024-25 officer slate. Congratulations to:
- Tom Ogaard, President and CEO, Native American Bank, ICBC Chairman
- Mike Hurst, President, Del Norte Bank, ICBC President
- Joe Martinez, President and CLO, San Luis Valley Federal Bank, ICBC President-Elect
Enormous thank yous and fond farewells were given to the following people for their service on the board:
- Randy Younger, President and CEO, First National Bank Hugo, Past Chairman
- Ed Rarick, Senior Oversight Officer, High Plains Bank, District B
- Lora Rose, CFO, The State Bank, District C
- Andrew Trainor, Regional President, District C
A warm welcome was extended to newly elected district directors:
- Scott Applegate, President and CEO, Bank of Estes Park, District B
- Miles McClure, CEO, Rocky Mountain Bank & Trust, District C
- Ben Johnson, President, First National Bank Colorado, District C
- Chad Zummach, EVP, Gunnison Bank & Trust, District D
Alice Frazier, Vice Chairman of ICBA and President and CEO of Bank of Charles Town, Charles Town, West Virginia, brought the annual meeting to a close with an industry update and an ICBA brief.
Two general sessions rounded out the morning events: “Keep Your Eye on the Ball” presented by Christian Otteson, Otteson Shapiro, and Adam Keefer, Piper Sandler, and “Fintech Engagement — Why It’s Important for Community Banks” presented by Charles Potts, ICBA.
During lunch, we awarded the four Graduate School of Banking at Colorado scholarship recipients:
- Maranda Blake, FirstBank, Lakewood
- Karena Downey, Farmers Bank, Ault
- Bentley King, Alpine Bank, Basalt
- Sylvia Veltri, High Country Bank, Salida
These $2,000 scholarships are given annually to the four top-performing Colorado-based ICBC member bank students and are applied to their tuition for their final year at GSBC.
In addition, our five high school scholarship recipients were recognized:
- Avery Goddard
- Gwyneth Jamison
- Mila Koeva
- Brentley Lening
- Sam Meyer
Each student received a $1,750 one-year scholarship. We are excited to follow these young people on their individual journeys of academic success.
Following lunch and the to-die-for batter-fried twinkie, attendees were brought up to date about “AI — Hype vs. Reality: Trends Across the Banking Industry” presented by Jeff Brown, CSI. The remainder of Thursday afternoon was devoted to a series of professional learning sessions led by industry experts. Thank you to the individuals listed below for sharing their insights and expertise:
- Anne Beningsen, Bankers’ Bank of the West and John Van Soest, Arctic Wolf — “CrowdStrike: Increasing Bank Resiliency — Lessons Learned”
- Brian Blauser, FBI — “Current Frauds and Schemes”
- Dan Bruder, Blendification — “The Integrated Banker: Leading the Change from Work-life Balance to Work-life Blend”
- Eric Corrigan, MJC Partners — “Demographics is Destiny”
- Michael Erhardt, Stifel — “Asset Allocation Strategies that Work”
- John Podvin, Otteson Shapiro — “The Supreme Court Speaks on Banking Regulation and Other Compliance Hot Topics”
- Charles Potts, ICBA — “Banking as a Service”
- Justin Vause and Terrance Grady, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority — “Increase Your Commercial Lending”
Thursday evening was full of boots, bandanas, cowboy hats and fun! Rich Bratten (Bank Compensation Consulting) and Friends (Eric Hallman, Bankers’ Bank of the West, Rod Jost, Tony Forman, and Mike Van Norstrand, yes that Mike Van Norstrand, ICBC) kept the evening going with their dynamic vocals and smooth rhythms. It was a boot scooting good time.
Thank you to the donors and bidders who made this year’s ICBC High School Scholarship auction a great success. A shoutout to the amazing committee members who pulled everything together.
On Friday concluded with two thought-provoking and enlightening sessions — “CEO Succession and Staff Retention” presented by David Kemp, Bankers Management and “The Game Winning Three” presented by Dave Davlin.
Mark your calendar for our 52nd, Sept. 17-19, 2025! We’re heading to ICBC Camp at The Hythe, Vail, Colorado!
