VBA Event & Program Recaps

The 2025 Directors’ Symposium, co-sponsored by the Maryland Bankers Association and Virginia Association of Community Banks (VACB), provided bank board members with current data, thought-provoking industry trends and networking opportunities with other directors and regulators. The annual Symposium is designed to benefit both new directors and seasoned veterans on the Board.

On January 9, 570 bankers and members of the business community joined us for the VBA/VA Chamber Financial Forecast. Due to water supply issues in the city of Richmond, the event that was originally scheduled to be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center was held virtually. For the fourteenth year, the VBA and VA Chamber of Commerce partnered to bring together hundreds of members of the business community to learn what lies ahead for the state and national economy.

On November 7, 29 Virginia bankers graduated from the Management Development Program. This program is a three-month, comprehensive training designed for newer employees who have developed a passion for banking, want to enhance their knowledge of the business of banking, and who are motivated to excel in their careers and reach their full potential.

From November 3-4, nearly 50 bankers and industry partners joined us for the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Bank Executives Conference in Middleburg, VA. This event, hosted by five states (DE, MD, PA, VA and WV), featured sessions with nationally recognized speakers providing relevant and timely content geared specifically to bank c-suite and other senior leaders.

The second Annual VBA Associate Member Appreciation Day was held September 30th at the VBA office in Glen Allen and created a terrific opportunity for our members to visit our office, learn more about all that the VBA offers and have the chance to meet & mingle with our staff. We were excited to host nearly 30 of our Associate Members from fifteen different companies as they joined us for good food and conversation and enjoyed the opportunity to get to know our organization and people a little better.

Dates will be available soon for our 2025 event!

Nearly 140 bankers and industry partners joined us August 21-23, 2024 at The Hotel Roanoke for our CFO Conference, co-hosted by the Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia Bankers Associations. Attendees enjoyed engaging and relevant general and breakout sessions and also had the opportunity to connect with sponsors and exhibitors in the exhibit hall and learn more about exhibitors’ solutions during the vendor speed dating session.

More than 240 bankers participated in the week-long session of the 2024 Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management.  Bank School provides a multidimensional educational experience in banking.  Employing lectures from the best of the banking, professional and academic worlds, case studies, home study problems and peer study groups provides a vehicle for each student to experience comprehensive learning.

Nearly 200 bankers joined us for our 2024 Burgers with Bruce series. Each event included an industry update from VBA President and CEO Bruce Whitehurst followed by a “Leadership Dialogues” panel that consists of a member of a VBA board, as well as a banker who has been involved in the Emerging Bank Leaders group throughout his or her career. 

Nearly 260 bankers and industry partners joined us in Williamsburg from March 11-13 for the VBA Connect|Protect Experience. This event brought together banking professionals in the areas of marketing, human resources, retail banking, training, security, enterprise risk management, compliance, and operations and technology. This year’s event featured 35 total sessions, including five general sessions and five rounds of concurrent breakout sessions, during which attendees uncovered new ideas, trends, and developments in banking.