I am in the middle of the training season for the 2024 Richmond Half Marathon.  Running became a passion of mine just over a decade ago and since I picked it up, it is where I do my best reflecting, planning and problem-solving.

During this morning’s run, I was reflecting on last week’s Richmond Women’s Mentorship Program meet-up, where we discussed 2020 and all that came with navigating that year. Don’t get me wrong – I remember the struggles and difficulties all too well, however, on my run this morning, I was reflecting back on that period and how it opened a whole new world in the training realm and the gratitude I have for being taught the importance of not being locked in to “the way it has always been”. While I never want to go through another global pandemic again, I am grateful for the way it rattled our thinking about how training can be offered. In 2019, the VBA would not have been:

• Presenting a three-part Leadership Series that more than 120 bankers are participating in.
• Preparing to provide Elder Financial Exploitation Prevention training in a hybrid format, allowing people the choice to participate either in person or virtually
• Offering a hybrid program for bank executives from five states at the Mid-Atlantic Bank Executives Conference.

The flexibility to offer virtual or hybrid programs with greater ease has also allowed us to be more agile and offer training as the needs arise. For example, last week we finalized plans for a webinar scheduled for October 22 to help HR professionals prepare for the new Department of Labor FLSA standards.

As we begin to plan for 2025, and with our new partnership with the Maryland Bankers Association, the Education and Training team will be exploring opportunities and ways we can gather bankers from two states to learn about the hottest topics in banking. This partnership will rattle, in the most positive of ways, how we approach 2025 and allow us to flex our creative muscles to provide learning opportunities for bankers from both states. As we navigate this process, I am forever grateful for the opportunity in 2020 to learn about different platforms for training and for the lessons in agility and loosening the grip on what I know.