Bankers at the Center of LBA Work
The LBA Annual Convention ended May 12, and I can report Louisiana bankers are in charge and working in sync with LBA staff. Ken Hale, president and chief executive officer of BOM in Natchitoches, is chairman of LBA. Tom Martin, president and chief executive officer of Gibsland Bank and Trust, is now immediate past chairman. Chairman-Elect is Pat Biglane, president and chief executive officer of Concordia Bank, and treasurer is Gary Littlefield, Baton Rouge market president of Gulf Coast Bank. The new regional board members are:
- Southeast Region: Ron E. Samford, Jr., of Metairie Bank and Trust
- South Central Region: Brandt J. Dufrene of First National Bank USA in Boutte
- Southeast Region: Brian W. North of Fifth District Savings Bank in New Orleans
Bankers continuing their term on the board are:
- Northwest Region: Jim Barlow of Home Federal Bank in Shreveport
- Southwest Region: John Fusilier of The Evangeline Bank and Trust
- Central Region: Chadwick E. “Chad” McClung of Colfax Banking Company
- Capitol Region: David R. “Jude” Melville, III, of Business First Bank in Baton Rouge
- Acadiana Region: Blake S. Williams of Vermilion Bank and Trust in Kaplan
- Northeast Region: Brian Woodard of First National Bank in Ruston
I am excited about Ken Hale and the areas he will focus on as chairman, which includes promoting diversity of bank employee involvement in LBA activities, such as in our government relations work, that will better prepare them for greater understanding and responsibility in the future of community banking.
Bankers, you can feel good about who is representing you on the board. I encourage you to contact any of these board members and get their perspective on LBA and the workings of the board and staff. After the installation of new board members during the convention business session, a speaker that really captured the audience was Marine Colonel Arthur Athens, who is with the Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center of Ethical Leadership at the U.S. Naval Academy. Col. Athens focused on personal integrity, ending with the story of Admiral Stockdale and the leadership he provided while a prisoner of war in Vietnam. “Return with Honor” was his mission for him and the other U.S. prisoners. Every day we all strive to go out in the world and when back home that evening, to "Return with Honor". It was a fitting end to a wonderful message that was very well delivered.
