On the road

RMA Journal, The, April, 2003

As your RMA chair, I have spent a good bit of time over the past couple months visiting with our members in chapter meetings across the country. Our chapters make our organization very unique. Local chapter meetings provide opportunities for members to learn best risk management practices from each other and to obtain in a very cost-effective manner the educational programs provided by our association. They also afford great networking venues for bankers, whether they are seasoned veterans or new entrants to the industry. The meetings I have attended have allowed me to listen to panels of industry leaders address the issues of making money in different-sized institutions with different strategies and managing the risks of running the organization.

Here are just a few examples:

* In November and February, the Toronto Chapter sponsored programs to help bankers avoid victimization from, as they put it in their program announcement, "the latest configurations of 21st century scams, frauds, and thefts." The hapter brought in experts from KPMG Forensic, Inc. and from Rosen & Associates.

* At the end of March, the Philadelphia Chapter followed its program on hot topics with separate round tables addressing financial integrity, real estate, credit officers, and risk management.

* Last month the Minnesota Chapter hosted a young professionals membership event, and its Commercial Lending Academy graduated a "capacity class of 25 participants," as Chapter President Gary Hansen proudly pointed out. Gary says that Minnesota Chapter offerings all have been well attended and highly rated by attendees.

* As the New York Chapter did in January before practically a SRO crowd, the Central Indiana Chapter next month will host a chief credit officer round table. This idea, always a winner, takes on added importance in uncertain times as we all want to find out what's being observed, felt, thought, and done by leaders in our industry.

* The Carolinas-Virginias Chapter hosts its Annual Spring Conference at the end of this month in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina--a beautiful location for two days of speakers, round tables, and networking opportunities.

In my bank we strongly believe that the key to success is to have the best people. RMA truly has great leadership in our chapters across the globe. They surface new ideas and address industry issues every day. Clearly, from the attendance at these events, there is an inarguable need being met. When was the last time you attended a local chapter meeting? If you haven't been recently, look up your local leadership and go. In the challenging times we are in, it is great to be able to talk with our peers about industry issues.

Finally, a sincere thank you to the men and women who run the local chapters. Keep up the good work. RMA and your peers are grateful for the work you do.

Sandra Jansky, RMA Chair