Wow. I don’t think there’s much more you can say with the flurry of activity going on at ICBA and throughout the community banking industry right now. Coinciding with last week’s kickoff of Community Banking Month and the final countdown to the ICBA Washington Policy Summit, ICBA also launched Community Banker University.

So at the same time that we’re celebrating community banking in April and gearing up for our annual grassroots advocacy event in Washington, we’ve also transformed and modernized our educational model. No wonder everyone around here has been so busy.

Of course, the beneficiaries are community bankers and the customers they serve. ICBA offers a Community Banking Month toolkit to help members spread the word about community banks, and our Washington Policy Summit allows community bankers to take the industry’s advocacy message directly to policymakers on Capitol Hill. Now with Community Banker University and our new partnership with the Barret School of Banking, community bankers can access a fresh, modern approach to continuing education and professional development.

These initiatives go straight to the heart of the ICBA mission, which is creating and promoting an environment where community banks flourish. That means advocacy and public policy, it means marketing and communication, and it means education and development.

Just like community banks and other small businesses, ICBA is never content with the status quo. We’re going to keep innovating, keep pushing, to ensure we’re doing everything we possibly can to support our beloved industry. So I encourage every community banker out there to check out everything ICBA has to offer this April. It’s enough to make you say “wow.”