CONNECTIONS LISTEN UP Going to bat for community banks In episode 11 of the Independent Banker podcast, host Charles Potts speaks with ICBA's Anne Balcer about the community bank advocacy work being done in Washington, D.C. WHO'S IN CONVERSATION? EXCERPTS FROM Anne Balcer ICBA senior executive vice president, chief of government relations and public policy HOSTED BY Charles Potts ICBA executive vice president and chief innovation officer, and host of the Independent Banker podcast " Advocacy is one of the pillars of ICBA because it's a critical component of our mission to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. " -Charles Potts " The good news from where I'm sitting is that we are a community bank advocacy association. So, we are not into partisan politics. Our politics [are] that of community banking, and so the good news there is that we have friends on all sides of the aisle here. " -Anne Balcer " It's really hard-from a philosophical standpoint-to be against community banks. We are not only the backbone of local economies and Main Street throughout the nation, but really the engine that fuels it. " -Anne Balcer 74 // ICBA Independent Banker // September 2023 Listen to Independent Banker: A Community Banking Podcast from ICBA wherever you get your podcasts or at icba.org/podcast. You can also scan the code below. SCAN ME Next up Episode 12 of the Independent Banker podcast discusses a collaboration between Tioga State Bank and cybersecurity company Beauceron Security and their efforts to reduce cyberthreats.http://www.icba.org/podcast