Independent Banker - June 2018 - 73

necessary details will increase the likelihood of
confirming a visit or meeting.
Words from the wise
2
Secure the meeting
The scheduler will work with you to
arrange a mutually agreeable meeting time.
Reaffirm to the scheduler that you would like for
your lawmaker to visit your bank, discuss how it
operates in the current regulatory environment
and learn ways in which the lawmaker can help.
The more specific you can be about who will be
in attendance, what will be discussed and why
you would like to meet with the lawmaker, the
more likely the request will be approved.
3
Notify ICBA and your community
banking colleagues
As soon as you have confirmed a meeting with
a lawmaker or one of their staff, please email
all relevant details to Joshua Habursky, ICBA's
director of advocacy (joshua.habursky@icba.
org). He can help ensure that you are wellprepared
for your meeting. Whether providing
one-pagers on the current top issues affecting
your community bank, offering data on the
community banking impact in the state or
district, or having an ICBA lobbyist call in to
the meeting to help discuss a technical policy
question, ICBA will fully support your advocacy
efforts. Finally, share the opportunity with your
colleagues. There is strength (and influence) in
numbers. Reach out personally to your fellow
community bankers and state association
leaders and invite them to attend.
Use ICBA as a follow-up resource
Hosting a meeting with your lawmaker
helps them understand community banking's
unique issues. It's equally vital to report back
on the meeting's details to ICBA. Perhaps the
lawmaker requested information that you could
not provide during the meeting. Maybe he or
she agreed to co-sponsor a bill and ICBA should
reach out to the lawmaker's staff to ensure that
happens. Report the full details of your meeting
at icba.org/meetingfollowup.
4
First National Bank of South Carolina,
a $200 million-asset community bank
in Holly Hill, S.C., held an August 2017
recess meeting with Sen. Lindsey
Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. James Clyburn
(D-S.C.). Here are insights from bank
president John L. Wiggins III, who is
also president of Independent Banks of
South Carolina.
What was the biggest benefit to
your bank in meeting with your
legislators during the
August recess?
Wiggins: Being
able to talk about
the various overburdening
regulations
that affect community
banks, more so
than the regional
and megabanks. We feel like our
legislators were in agreement when it
was suggested that community banks,
based on asset size, should be given
exemptions to these regulations.

Check out
ICBA's
full guide
to hosting a
legislator at
your bank at
bit.ly/
meetingon
mainstreet
What advice would you give to other
community banks thinking about
meeting with a legislator during the
August recess?
Wiggins: Even if you are only able to
be with them for 20 or 30 minutes, it's
important to talk about how community
banks in their districts are, in many cases,
the only bank in rural areas. That the cost
of complying with bank regulations is
more costly to community banks than
the larger banks. And that community
banks participate in and support their
communities. Thank them for their
support of community banks!
independentbanker.org Q 71
http://www.bit.ly/ http://www.icba.org/meetingfollowup http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - June 2018

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