As the daughter of two bankers, it’s my honor to serve the banking industry, and my great joy to be surrounded by a great team who is just as passionate. What is truly exceptional is when I get to see bankers come together to make each other better and move the industry forward.

Our Annual Convention this year in September saw bankers come together to tackle some of the biggest issues of the day, from attracting top talent to protecting your voice from AI cloning, plus presentations from our own bankers, including a panel on digital innovation and an Industry Leader Session from our own Lucas White as chair of the Independent Community Bankers of America. As always, we also made sure to have some fun, including our inaugural pickleball tournament! Read more about this year’s event.

Lucas and other regulars – plus several new faces – joined us for the Annual IBA Washington Trip later that month. We were especially excited to celebrate a 10% increase in bank participation this year. Offering direct contact with Indiana’s D.C. delegation and federal regulators, this was an invaluable example of grassroots advocacy. Special thanks to Maria Dowers, the IBA’s executive and government relations coordinator, for handling all the logistics for this complex trip and making it seem so effortless. Dax Denton and Ross Teare detail what progress we made on this year’s trip.

As you read this, we’ll have just wrapped up the Banking on Women Conference. This conference has continued to exceed all expectations and even our wildest hopes year after year, becoming one of the most popular events we put on each year. It grew so fast that we sold out a month in advance last year, prompting us to move to a larger venue at the Embassy Suites Noblesville this year. We’ll have a full recap, including profiles on our extraordinary Woman of the Year and Woman on the Rise, in the January/February issue of Hoosier Banker.

We are in the process of hiring an executive leader to head up the Financial Services Academy, the Association’s new statewide high school apprenticeship program targeted to launch with the 2025-26 school year. We’ve received commitments from dozens of member banks to host apprentices in the first three years. If you would like to participate, it’s not too late to join in. Reach out to me at the IBA offices and we’ll get you any information you need. It’s not an exaggeration to say this program has the potential to make a generational impact on Indiana’s banking industry and seeing so many of our members come together to lay that foundation is inspiring.

One of our values statements at the Association is that we “remain mindful that the success of the IBA is judged by the success of its members.” More than the revenue generated, we measure that success by the number of banks that participate and bankers who derive value from the programming and resources we provide. You are the reason why we do what we do – and it’s an honor to continue growing this generation of bankers and preparing the next.