Pub. 3 2012 Issue 4

winter 2012 7 Changing West Virginia’s Attitude I t has been my privilege to have a nearly 30-year career in West Virginia banking, and that’s why I’m particu- larly proud to be serving my profession and following a higher calling for the industry and state I love so much. As chief executive of the Association, I have traveled our beautiful state to visit our member banks and the communities in which they operate. During my trav- els, I’ve never failed to learn something new about the positive effects bankers are having on West Virginia communi- ties, businesses and families. I look forward to visits each year as I know that I’ll continue to find bankers who are dedicated to the highest ideals of economic and community development. I want to also take this chance to for- mally reiterate to the broader WVBA membership some of the messages I per- sonally conveyed to bankers during my visiting tour. First, and most important- ly, I tried to relate just how appreciative WVBA’s board and staff is for your participation as members. The financial support and active involvement of bank- ers, from the CEO level to newly minted bankers attending WVBA’s School of Banking, is critical to our success and to the future of our industry. And we also thank our members for making it a priority to purchase goods and services from our endorsed As- sociate Member vendors, and for their strong support of the wide range of very successful educational programs that WVBA offers. The WVBA Annual Convention continues to be the highlight of each year, and we have traditionally enjoyed generous participation from our members—another thing for which we are proud and very thankful. Our convention for 2013 (July 28-30) under the leadership of Chairman Steve Morris promises to be another valu- able event for our members to attend. Advance registration will open soon and we strongly encourage you to make your reservations early. As we all know, one of the keys to any successful organization is unity of pur- pose—something that WVBA has had for well over 100 years now. WVBA has exemplified its unity through the opera- tion of WVBankPAC. Even though the 2012 elections are behind us, it is critical- ly important that our industry continues to speak with a strong voice and support WVBankPAC for the 2014 election cycle. Supporting the PAC is a true necessity for our member banks and their execu- tives and directors. We cannot afford for the issues decided by the Legislature and the various agencies that regulate aspects of banking to be influenced by the views of uninformed or anti-business officials. WVBankPAC allows us to speak with one clear and unified voice in support of legislators who want to im- prove West Virginia’s economic future. Finally, let me say that our Association can only grow stronger by taking your feedback into account, and striving for continuous improvement in response to the needs and advice of our mem- bers. I encourage you to contact me directly with any questions, com- plaints or requests for assistance. We are here to serve our members, some- thing we pledge never to forget for a single day. As 2013 begins, let us all pledge to work together to build better communities and a bright future for our state and our cus- tomers. When we all pull together, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish. A M ESSAGE FROM THE P RESIDENT & CEO By Joe Ellison Our Association can only grow stronger by taking your feedback into account, and striving for continuous improvement in response to the needs and advice of our members. Q President’s Message — continued on page 16