One of my favorite parts of spring is the return of certain iconic VBA events. I’m in DC today for the VBA/ABA Washington Summit, where I participated in the Emerging Leaders Forum yesterday and am getting to know the six bankers who were selected as Emerging Leader scholarship recipients (be sure to check out their spotlight in the May issue of Virginia Banking Monthly). I’ve been at the VBA my whole career – 16 years in October – and I’ve worked with emerging bank leaders throughout my time at the organization, especially once I took over managing the Emerging Bank Leaders (EBL) group in 2014.

Even before that, in 2012, another iconic VBA event was born - the Burgers with Bruce series. At that time, the EBL was called the VBA Leadership Division, the VBA wasn’t yet on social media, and we have very few pictures or write-ups about the events. From what I can find in our archives, we hosted six meetings in May and June of that year, and 135 people attended the luncheons.

The core components of the series have not changed since 2012 – emerging leaders come and bring their managers or CEOs to learn more about the industry from Bruce Whitehurst while eating lunch and networking with their peers. Over the course of 13 years(!), we’ve added individual flair to each series we’ve held – one year we even did BBQ with Bruce! We’ve marketed the time with Bruce bitmoji-style and First Bank & Trust even created a keepsake drawing for him to commemorate the occasion (pictured right). We’ve had various associate members sponsor and speak at the lunches, staff members presenting on their various areas of expertise, and, in more recent years, leadership panels. This year, we’ve got 18 amazing bankers lined up to share their diverse leadership journeys at the six events we’re holding across the state. The fact that bankers are always willing to share their stories, their experiences and their wisdom with each other never fails to be one of my favorite parts of my job.

For 2025, lunches will be held in Alexandria, Richmond, Harrisonburg, Norfolk, Lynchburg and Abingdon, one event for each region of the EBL. Just like in 2012, we are back in Lynchburg at a First National Bank location, working with original Leadership Division member Tracie Gallahan to secure logistics (Tracie and Bruce in 2012 pictured right). We are so thankful to First National Bank and Burke & Herbert Bank for hosting us at their buildings, in addition to the four events that will be held in restaurants.

Throughout my years of managing this group, my requests of emerging leaders have sometimes pushed them outside their comfort zones, whether I’m asking them to serve on one of the Burgers with Bruce panels, emcee at an event, or present at financial literacy or careers in banking events. Knowing this, and then getting to see them succeed anyway, is the whole point of the EBL – ensuring a continuum of leadership for the future of Virginia banking. Many times, we see and believe in these leaders before they see it in themselves, and we are now seeing many of these original Leadership Division/EBL members serving in executive positions at banks. It is such a testament to the power of bringing leaders of all levels together to learn from each other and form connections. It’s the “stickiness” that keeps our bankers coming back to our events.

And as my own continuum of leadership, Gabby Bond is now the manager of the Emerging Bank Leaders, having taken over last summer. I am excited for how the group will grow and evolve under her leadership, as I also continue to work with emerging leaders throughout my role at the VBA.

I hope you will come to a Burgers with Bruce event to see for yourself what we’ve put together for this year and how powerful hearing bankers’ stories and forming ties with them can be!