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New LEAD Committee
Community Bankers Association of Georgia Announces 2021-2022 LEAD Committee Officers and Members
Brian Bazemore, President/CEO, The Citizens Bank of Cochran/Community Bank of Dublin-Laurens County, was elected Chair of the 2021-2022 LEAD Committee for Community Bankers Association of Georgia (CBA). Nominations for the 2021-22 CBA Board of Directors were announced and approved at CBA’s Annual Convention held June 2-6 at the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida.
Committee members are selected from seven divisions across the state of Georgia, ensuring all Georgia community banks are equally represented.
The purpose of the LEAD Committee is to support the initiatives of the CBA as determined by the CBA Board of Directors which include member & talent engagement, professional development, advocacy & PAC fundraising, and Outreach for Talent Acquisition and Financial Literacy; give LEAD representatives an opportunity to expand personally and professionally; and increase representatives’ awareness of the rapidly changing banking environment and enlist support in the preservation of the community banking philosophy.
“I am extremely honored to have been a part of the LEAD Committee. It has truly given me an opportunity to interact closely with some of the best bankers throughout the State of Georgia and to be able to continue to be involved with an organization like Community Bankers Association that has community bank’s’ best interests at heart,” said Mr. Bazemore. “I have had the honor to not only be on the LEAD Board for several years, but also, I have enjoyed being able to participate by being involved on the Education Committee with Kristi and the Advocacy Committee with Lori. If you have not opened yourself up to getting involved in other areas of CBA, I encourage you to do so.”
Growing up, I feel that banking has been a major part of my life since my dad was a banker back in the C&S banking days. He was the one that encouraged me to get into banking after college.
This coming year, I have a vision of working to try and get more people involved in educational programs offered by CBA. We are truly focused on PAC. This past year, we tried new things as fund raisers, and they were definite hits. We would love to expand upon these and possibly add something new. The Motto for CBA has been “CBA First” and I truly feel that they live up to this. After the death of my boss, Chuck Harwell, I was placed in a position where I was promoted to President/CEO. Many times, we work on our succession plans and we try to make sure we have all of the pieces in place, the training that is required, and the knowledge that it takes to transition into upper-level positions.
Brian Bazemore
I have been very fortunate to have been a part of an organization that truly believed in me by sending me to a couple of the graduate school programs as well as numerous CBA classes that cover all areas of the bank. I reached out to Kristi Greer and asked if CBA had anything in place that would help a senior level officer be able to develop the tools and skills necessary. She listened to my concerns and said that CBA did not currently offer this, but that she would look at putting something together. I am happy to say that we have had our first class of The Executive Channel. It is comprised of senior level officers/CEO’s/Bank President’s/ CFO’s. This quarterly program will be a game changer for any bank, and I encourage each of you to consider sending someone from your organization.
(l-r) CBA President & CEO John McNair; Paul Black, Senior Vice President/ Commercial Group Manager, Vinings Bank Smyrna, 2020-2021 LEAD Chair; and Brian Bazemore, President/CEO, The Citizens Bank of Cochran/ Community Bank of Dublin-Laurens County and 2021-2022 LEAD Chair
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
Chair: Brian Bazemore, Community Bank of Dublin - Laurens County Chair-Elect: Chris Cochran, Affinity Bank 1st Vice Chair: Jessica Hudson, First National Bank of Coffee County 2nd Vice Chair: Kristy Harrell, First Port City Bank Executive At Large: Kyle Ray, First Bank
DIVISION CHAIRS:
Div. 1: Lisa Shrader, Citizens Bank & Trust Div. 2: Mike Underwood, Peach State Bank & Trust Div. 3: Mani Swarnam, Georgia Primary Bank Div. 4: Jonathan Pope, Exchange Bank Div. 5: Michael McGahee, Bank of Camilla Div. 6: Thomas Bennett, Pineland Bank Div. 7: Stephanie Fagler, Persons Banking Company
MEMBERS AT LARGE:
1. Paul Black, Vinings Bank 2. Kristy Brown, Greater Community Bank 3. Chip Davis, Family Bank 4. Lee Dubberly, South Georgia Bank 5. Trudy Eller, American Commerce Bank, N.A. 6. Jonathon Guthrie, The Peoples Bank 7. Josh Osborne, SouthCrest Bank, N.A. 8. Jason Rooks, Flint Community Bank 9. Andy Thomas, The Commercial Bank 10. Mark Thompson, Glennville Bank 11. Dan Vano, Heritage Bank 12. Lee Vaughn, Northeast Georgia Bank
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