Pub. 1 2013 Issue 3

summer 2013 19 O n April 24th, 196 bankers and speakers gathered at Noah’s in South Jordan for the 8 th Annual Women in Banking Conference, a Development Conference for Banking Pro- fessionals. This year’s theme, “Elevate Yourself—Opportunity, Accountability and Networking” celebrated achievement and underscored the important role successful women play in the banking industry. Top-notch speakers covered a wide variety of timely topics including an update on banking issues, communi- cating during a time of transformation, diversity, managing social capital, and accountability. The packed agenda also included a panel of dynamic local businesswomen who shared their inspi- rational stories of entrepreneurship and banking relationships, and attendees were motivated during lunch by two-time Olympic medalist and small business owner, Shannon Bahrke Happe. For a fun twist, attendees each provided their years of service in the financial services industry, to create a “years of banking ex- perience spectrum” and the aggregated numbers of all attendees were impressive and frankly extraordinary! Years of service – range of 1 to 40 years Average years – 16 years Combined total number of years in the industry – 2,687 years The short, yet rich history of this conference continues to provide a unique opportunity for those in the early stages of their career to the seasoned banker—someone to whom the industry looks quite differently than when they entered banking—to be inspired, energized and invigorated with new ideas and strategies to achieve and succeed in this great industry of banking. n Women in Banking Conference By Becky Wilkes