Growing Our Brand the Grassroots Way

Lori Godfrey

Executive Vice President & Chief of Staff Government and Regulatory Relations

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is to work in the yard. Whether it is building a new dry river bed or retaining wall, re-decking the deck, mowing the yard, or planting flowers, all of these activities do so much for my soul. Hard work, patience, and ultimately the pay off of the completed project are all part of the process. It reminds me of what I do as a lobbyist. As your community banking lobbyist, we are working hard to voice the concerns that our bankers have and let legislators know what is important to them. We are planting the seeds of the next issue/concern that our bankers may have. Then, we sit back and let the idea marinate a bit before we attempt to solve the issue by dropping a bill that addresses our concerns. We work hard with the legislators to perfect the bill. Finally, we hope that the bill is passed and becomes a law where we can see the fruits of our labor. The funny thing is that you may be thinking well I am glad someone else does that job because it does not really appeal to me. Guess what? You too have a vital role to play in order for us to be successful as an industry. As bankers, you help us plant the seeds with your legislators and local leaders that work and live in your communities. You let them know what is important to you and your small business customers. What you probably did not realize is that what you are doing is similar to what I do at the Capitol. While I am speaking on behalf of our entire industry, you are helping us grow our brand the grassroots way and voicing your concerns as a constituent. Grassroots advocacy is the process of communicating with your bank customers, local citizens, and other community bankers and asking them to contact their local, state, or federal officials regarding a particular issue. After all of the success of the PPP program, community bankers have shown just how powerful you are in our economy. I would love for us to leverage this success and continue to grow our brand. Why? Because… Communities are our passion. Banking is our purpose. Advocacy is our power. In order for CBA to continue to be your community banking voice, we need your help. There are multiple ways that you can contribute. Whether it is an individual PAC/PR donation,

an annual bank donation, purchasing our community banking t-shirts, attending a fundraising event, or donating an item to our silent auction. Collectively, every dollar counts. Re-districting is coming up and will be done in a special legislative session later this year. Next year will be a gubernatorial race along with the typical races for the House and Senate. The turmoil of the last couple of years continue to bubble up and things have become more politicized than ever. Keep in mind, the community banking model is bipartisan and every legislator understands the importance of what a community bank means to a local economy. CBA will continue to offer a Keep in mind, the community banking variety of events throughout model is bi-partisan and every legislator the year that will support our understands the importance of what a advocacy efforts. We hope you will make an effort to participate community bank means to a local economy. in our events. This year, we will be hosting new Town Hall Talks where our members can come together for lunch and a town hall talk with local legislators. CBA is partnering with NFIB for these events and we would love for you to attend and bring one of your small business customers to join us. This fall, CBA’s annual clay shoots will be held at both the Burge Plantation in Mansfield and Wynfield Plantation in Albany. As a means of honoring a long-time community bank supporter that we lost last year, I am proud to announce that CBA will be renaming our annual Burge Plantation Clay Shoot to be the Chuck Harwell Memorial Annual Clay Shoot. Chuck not only served as a huge advocate for CBA, but he loved to network with legislators and tell them about his passion for community banking. We are truly grateful for all that Chuck did for CBA and we believe this will be a great way to continue to honor his memory. Please continue to plant the seeds in your communities. Make your voices heard. Together, we can make a difference. I look forward to seeing us continue to grow our community banking brand the grassroots way.