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“Community banking is vital to the success of our country and that is not going to change. I am very bullish on community banking, and I encourage all community bankers to continue to fight this very important fight to support the communities we serve. Nobody else is doing it like we do. The symposium provides an effective means for folks to receive further education that allows them to be more successful in helping their banks to meet the needs in the communities they serve.” ~ Bill Mitchell, President & CEO, Bankers’ Bank of the West, Denver, CO
“The symposium is a great, great learning experience. It is something that should not be passed up. I would tell those first timers you will not understand 80% of what is said, but that is what happens at the bank level. This is the place to learn, then you have resources to review and can ask those directors what it is you are missing in the conversations. New bank board members, you certainly need to make this an important priority to attend!” ~ Sharon Kauffman, Outside Director, FMS Bank, Fort Morgan, CO
The Symposium is a good time spent with our directors. We invite all our directors and spouses, so we spend that one-on-one time outside of the board room, getting to know each other better and we find that valuable in the long run. And of course, meeting the people from other banks; they run into the same challenges as we do, there are people to bounce ideas off of, to learn from each other and to make each other better in the long run.” ~ Andy Miller, President & Director, Sundance State Bank
“The topics and presentations offer information that directors do not see on a day-to-day basis, so it brings us up to speed to what the employees of the bank talk about day-to-day. And always, the best part for me is what I gain from talking with directors from other banks that are of similar size. The relations you will build, the people you will meet, and the quality of the presentations are phenomenal”. ~ Bill Trumbull, Outside Director, Platte Valley Companies, Scottsbluff, NE
“The symposium has been very eye-opening and lets us know that we are right on track about what we are doing and what we are proposing for our bank. I enjoy the speakers, and always enjoy the networking and meeting different community bank members throughout the western states. The symposium gives you the added benefit of seeing what is happening across the nation and to exchange ideas with other directors.” ~ Cristie Stuart, Outside Director, First New Mexico Bank, Las Cruces, NM
“This is my first year attending in 2018, and it has exceeded my expectations, specifically the quality of the speakers. I strongly recommend the symposium, it is a great time to come to Arizona, but also a great time of year for looking towards budgeting, strategic planning and succession. A great, great seminar to attend. I highly recommend it.” ~ PJ Wharton, President and CEO, Yampa Valley Bank, Steamboat Springs, CO
“I have been attending the WSDEF symposium for over 8 years and First Northern Bank has been involved with the foundation for over 30 years. Regulators pay attention to education and recognize that our bank is investing in our board of director’s training; it is definitely a plus. In addition, attending the symposium helps our directors to better understand banking, which leads to more informed decision making.” ~ Bob McBride, Vice President, First Northern Bank of Wyoming, Buffalo,WY
“I have been in banking for 36 years and have been going to the WSDEF symposium for five with our directors. It is a wonderful experience. Very worthwhile as they learn a lot and look forward to attending every year. My bank continues to return because we gain practical knowledge; bankers teaching bankers. And for the networking, networking with other community bankers from the same regions facing similar issues is invaluable. The Symposium is exactly what we need every year to keep us abreast of what is happening in the industry.” ~ P. Mark Graff, Chairman of the Board, MNB Bank, McCook, NE
“This year marks the 15th year I have attended the Western States Director Symposium having always enjoyed great educational programs and peer to peer exchange focused on the never wavering mission of aiding and encouraging, all who attend, to keep community banking viable, competitive and most importantly “Independent”. If you are a community bank director, you owe it to your bank’s future to be a part of the Symposium.” ~ Sean Ormand, President, First New Mexico Bank of Silver City, NM
“In 2017 I had the privilege of attending my first Western States Director Education Foundation (WSDEF) directors education training event in Arizona. I’ve been on the Platte Valley Banks Wyoming board of directors for approximately 7 years and this gave me some great insight to areas of the bank we don’t see from the bank director’s chair. A few of the areas that were covered were: banking regulation, update on Bit Coin movement, maximizing leadership in the bank, marketing to a new generation to security risks. All speakers were very well informed and great speakers. I recommend this conference to all bank directors.” ~ Jim D. Mathis, Platte Valley Bank Director, WY and NE
“2015 was the first time I was able to attend WSDEF’s annual director education event and came away very impressed with the symposium. The topics were very appropriate for community bank directors and the speakers were exceptional. As an outside director, it is important that my bank’s continuing education not only be relevant, but also comprehensible since we are not involved in the day-to-day management of the institution. I think the symposium was all of this and more. I am planning to attend the symposium again this year and would encourage any community bank directors to consider attending the 2016 symposium as well. I think it is especially beneficial to have the entire bank board in attendance as the discussions during and following the conference bear fruit for our institutions.” ~ Stanley C. Goodwin, Outside Director, McCook National Bank, McCook, NE
“The WSDEF Symposium has been a part of our Directors training for over 20 years. We feel it is important for our Directors to interact with other Directors from our area and get ideas and input on different topics to bring back and possibly implement. The Symposium has always had helpful and insightful speakers with a lovely venue! Here’s to 40 more years for the WSDEF Symposium!!” ~ Trudy Durfee, Chairman and VP, Sundance State Bank, Sundance, WY
“Of all the conferences I have attended in my 19 years of being a director, the WSDEF Symposium is the one that stands out in my mind as the best for focused education. This symposium drills down and gets to the heart of the matter of what directors need to know.” ~ Brett Kasten, First New Mexico Bank of Silver City, NM
“I have been going to the WSDEF symposium for a long time. In networking with other directors, I have learned how different banks operate. This knowledge, along with the panel and speakers, has been invaluable. As a board, our bank director relationships and the information we learn are used long after the symposium has ended. Attending the symposium has been worth every nickel that our bank has spent.” ~ Mike Achziger, FMS Bank, Colorado
“Last November, I attended the Western States Director Symposium for the first time and found those few days to be very beneficial to myself and our bank. Attendees are presented with very timely and informative information that is crucial to bank boards and active banks. I found the Symposium to be a great place to network as the participants are all similar in location, bank size, and customer expectations. Lastly, the Scottsdale area isn’t a bad place to spend a few days from Wyoming in November!” ~ Jay E. Hammond, President & CEO, Lusk State Bank, Lusk, WY