The Annual ABA Washington Summit took place during the week of March 18, and I was able to attend for the first time. It was a great experience, and I hope to be able to attend again in the future. New Mexico was well-represented with four bankers in attendance, along with John Anderson. My fellow colleagues serve on the government relations, communications and emerging leaders committees, which speaks highly to our involvement as a state.
The summit had a number of great speakers and panelists who discussed current issues concerning our industry. A few of the main topics were the ACRE Act, the Credit Card Competition Act and the SAFER Act. The ABA does a very nice job of holding thorough discussions of relevant topics, bringing them to the forefront of legislators’ agendas. In addition to attending the presentations during the summit, we were also able to visit the offices of our senators and representatives. Our visits were met with open doors and open minds on the issues of the day. The staffers inside these offices work tirelessly to assist the congressional leaders, and their depth and breadth of knowledge of current events is certainly impressive.
Mark Horn, John Anderson, Ken Clayton, Liz Earls, Jay Jenkins and Lenwood Brooks
Visitors to Washington during this time of year are largely comprised of tourists flocking to see the blooming cherry blossoms or school field trips yearning for a deeper, more tangible understanding of our government and nation’s history. I believe that as a banker in Washington at this time of year, I was given the opportunity to take a field trip of my own in a sense and gather a greater understanding of our industry and its history and continuing relationship with our lawmakers. The relationship between industries and lawmakers is often complex, and to go behind the scenes is both eye-opening and beneficial. I also believe that the seeds that we plant with our elected officials, if cared for in the right manner, have the potential to bloom into changes in our industry that we will all be excited to see, much the same as the striking cherry blossoms!
John Anderson, Mark Horn, Liz Earls, Ken Clayton and Jay Jenkins
Ken Clayton, Jay Jenkins, John Anderson, Liz Earls and Mark Horn
