Thank you for registering for the annual VBA Banker Day on January 9, 2025. We look forward to your participation in this important grassroots advocacy event, bringing hundreds of bankers from across Virginia to interact with their state legislators at the start of the 2025 Virginia General Assembly. 

View the 2025 Banker Day Brochure Here!

View Banker Day Talking Points Here - Preventing Mail Theft

View Banker Day Talking Points Here - Support Funding for CDFI Fund

View Banker Day Talking Points Here - Oppose Credit Union Public Deposit Amendment

Pre-Banker Day Briefing – Recording Now Available

You can view the recording of the pre-Banker Day Briefing here.

Banker Day Agenda

View the 2025 Banker Day Brochure Here!

January 9, 2025
7:30 a.m. – Registration and Continental Breakfast	Greater Richmond Convention Center, 2nd Floor Ballroom Atrium
8:00 a.m. – Breakfast Program, Including Session Preview and VBA Issues & Logistics Briefing Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth)  Matt Bruning, VBA EVP, Government & Member Relations	Greater Richmond Convention Center, Grand Ballroom A on the 2nd floor
9:00 – 11:30 a.m. – Legislative Visits	General Assembly Building

About Our Keynote Speaker: Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott

We are pleased to announce that Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott will be our 2025 Banker Day keynote speaker. Speaker Scott’s legislative priorities include strengthening Virginia’s public schools, improving healthcare quality and affordability, criminal justice reform, uplifting working families, and more. In 2019, Speaker Scott was elected to represent the people of Portsmouth as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. In 2022, Speaker Scott was elected by members of his caucus to serve as House Democratic Leader, and in 2024 became the first Black Speaker of the House of Delegates in Virginia’s history. 

Speaker Scott graduated from Texas A&M University and later enrolled in the Navy’s Officer Candidate School in Rhode Island. Speaker Scott proudly served his country as an officer in the United States Navy before earning his law degree from Louisiana State University.  

In 2015, Speaker Scott started his own law practice before becoming a partner at Breit Biniazan P.C. Speaker Scott now serves his clients as a personal injury attorney and serves his community as an active member of several boards and commissions. 

Information for Scheduling Meetings with Legislators

Click here to view the Banker Day meeting schedule.

Now that you have registered, you or a representative from your bank is responsible for setting meetings with the local legislators you would like to meet with during Banker Day.

• We recommend contacting your legislators at their district offices or via email as soon as possible to request a meeting (see below for a template email). 
• Meetings should ideally be set between 9:00 and 11:30 a.m.
• The VBA has contacted legislators to make them aware you will be reaching out to schedule visits.

Please follow the steps below for setting up a meeting with your legislator:

• You can find the names of your state legislators to help determine who to schedule your visits with here. 
• You can also locate the contact information for House and Senate members, including emails and Capitol and district phone numbers, here.
  • The VBA staff is also able to assist in connecting you with other local bankers attending Banker Day, to consolidate meetings for the legislators who have multiple groups of bankers attending the event.
• Download a Customizable Email Template for Scheduling Legislator Appointments here.
• Keep the VBA informed of your Banker Day plans! Once you have finalized your meeting times, please complete this form to share that information with the VBA.

Tips for Visits

• It is a ½ mile walk to the General Assembly Building from the Greater Richmond Convention Center and you must go through security at the public entrance on Broad Street. Please allow enough time before your first legislative meeting. 
  • It is always best to limit your belongings as you will need to go through security.
• Consider downloading the VPAP General Assembly app from your smartphone app store. This provides a comprehensive listing of legislators, their contact information, office room number and location with floor plans, committee assignments and names of their legislative staff.
• If you have made an advance appointment, you should be able to see your Delegate or Senator at the scheduled meeting time. (See the section above for more information about scheduling your Banker Day visits.)
  • Be on time (or early) for your appointments – arriving late to an appointment could mean losing your slot. Similarly, don’t exceed the scheduled time.
• If you have not made an appointment, go to the legislator’s office and tell them you are a constituent from the district and would like to see the Delegate or the Senator.
  • If you are told he or she is not in, ask if there is a time you can come back prior to your departure time. Otherwise, ask if you can go to the Committee meeting that your legislator may be in and give you an opportunity to speak to him or her briefly.
  • You can also ask to meet with the legislative aide to discuss your bank and our key issues.
• Between your meetings, there is a cafeteria and coffee shop with seating on the first floor of the General Assembly Building. There are also open areas with seating outside committee rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors if you have time between meetings and want to check email or connect with other bankers.
• Keep it simple. You don’t need to be a lobbyist – that’s why the VBA is here. Review the talking points provided and be ready to speak about them, but also talk about what is going on in your local community and your role at the bank.
• When meeting as a group, make sure to designate a spokesperson for your group and clarify who the legislator should follow up with on any questions. 
• Ask questions. The members of the General Assembly will have no problem answering any questions you have, and many times a good question is a great conversation starter.
• Connect by remembering to bring your business cards to give to legislators and offer to serve as a banking industry resource.
• Don’t bring gifts. Most legislators will not accept them.

If you have any questions on how you should prepare for your meeting with your legislator, you can access some more tips and tricks here. For further questions, please contact Matt Bruning.

Roster & Event Attire

View the 2025 VBA Banker Day roster here!

The attire is business professional.

Hotel & Parking Information

Richmond Marriott Downtown
500 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 643-3400

The deadline to reserve a room in the VBA room block at the Richmond Marriott Downtown has passed. Please contact the hotel directly to check availability. 

The Marriott is adjacent to the Greater Richmond Convention Center and a 0.2 mile walk to the General Assembly Building where legislative meetings will be taking place. 

Parking information

The GRCC Parking Deck is located at the corner of 3rd & Marshall Streets and is conveniently connected to the GRCC via the 3rd level of the deck. Parking is $8 per vehicle per entry.

You can view additional GRCC parking details here.

For GPS directions to the GRCC Parking Deck, use the following address:
351 N. Third St.
Richmond, VA 23219

EBL Pre-Banker Day Reception – January 8

Please join members of the VBA Emerging Bank Leaders (EBL) for a Pre-Banker Day Reception on January 8 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in the Salon 1,2,3 rooms downstairs at the Richmond Marriott Downtown. 

Dietary Restrictions, Special Needs & Americans with Disabilities Notice

Please send any dietary restrictions or special needs that may affect your participation in this event to Gabby Bond to discuss accommodations.

Share Your Banker Day Pictures with the VBA!

Please remember to take photos of your group with your legislator(s). Submit them to Monica McDearmon via email (mmcdearmon@vabankers.org) or text 804-363-9347 so we can highlight our advocacy efforts in future VBA publications and on social media. Please also tag the VBA on Instagram – @vabankers and Facebook and LinkedIn – @Virginia Bankers Association.