FWIT NEWS - Financial Women in Texas

FWIT NEWS
Volume 7, Issue 2—December 2015
WELCOME BIG COUNTRY GROUP!
On October 23, 2015 at a regular conference call meeting of the Association Board, Financial
Women in Texas approved the formation of our eleventh member group, the Big Country Group
in the Abilene area.
When one of the group’s future members brought information about FWIT back from the IBAT
convention and shared it with others, they were impressed with what FWIT does. They became
members and immediately started
discussing the formation of a local
group in the area. As they said,
“What a great opportunity to join with
like-minded women, seeking professional development, education and
friendship.”
From left to right (and shortest to tallest!), Kimmy McNiece (member), Ellen
Brawley (Vice President), Rhonda Johnson (Secretary), Judy Farmer (President)
and Kacy Bartlett (membership chair).
Why "Big Country"? Abilene and the
surrounding area are called the “Big
Country” . The origin is uncertain but
there are Big Country News, Big
Country Football, and Big Country
weather reports, to name a few. The
founding members’ vision is to include
the surrounding communities in addition to women in Abilene.
Founding members of the group include:
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Judy Farmer, Financial Assurance Services Partner, Davis, Kinard & Co, PC.
Ellen Brawley, Marketing Director, Davis, Kinard & Co, PC.
Sheryl Nelson, FAS Senior Manager, Davis, Kinard & Co, PC
Rhonda Johnson, Tax Partner, Davis, Kinard & Co, PC
Kristen Carnohan, FAS Manager, Davis, Kinard & Co, PC
Kimmy McNiece, FAS Assistant, Davis, Kinard & Co, PC
Janet Ogden, Texas Bank, Brownwood
Kacy Bartlett, First Financial Bank, Abilene
The Big Country Group hopes to get well established this year, offering professional opportunities for members. They have a very enthusiastic board and chairs who are young professionals
with great vision. They are planning for membership growth in 2016, reaching out to all finance
related industries, having bi-monthly meetings, and encouraging members to attend the FWIT
annual conference. Beyond 2016 the board of the group has discussed community involvement— working with a local agency whose purpose is to empower women, whether through
recovery, assistance or encouragement.
When asked “Why FWIT?”, Rhonda Johnson, charter member and Big Country Group Secretary
said, “There have been many women ahead of me who contributed to my professional development. I am very interested in paying it forward to younger generations of women - keeping
them encouraged and motivated in an environment where women are still working to establish
a foothold in various ways. “
Sincere welcome to the new members of the Big Country Group!
Objectives and Purpose
1. To bring together women in the financial services industry for the exchange of ideas, experiences and interests;
2. To further the meaningful professions or careers of its members and women in general;
3. To encourage women to choose financial services as a career and to advance the career opportunities for all women in the financial services industry; and
4. To serve as an advocate of, and to promote improvements in the professional development,
leadership skills, education and training of women in the financial services industry.
FINDING BALANCE IN
2015—2016
ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT
CHERYL LINDER
As the holidays
are fast
approaching, I
look at the
calendar and ask
myself, “Where
has the time
gone???” It
seems like only a
few months ago we were celebrating
Thanksgiving and Christmas – not a
year ago! It seems like just last week
we were at the FWIT Conference in
Fredericksburg – not two months ago!
The past few months definitely flew
by. Besides the day to day with work,
I spent a lot of time planning,
traveling and supporting my daughter
and her volleyball team. Then,
Thanksgiving snuck up on us. Now,
Christmas and New Years are right
around the corner. Many days I think
back to the commercial from years
ago…”Calgon…Take Me Away!” But, I
wouldn’t change it for the world! I
feel so very fortunate to have a life as
full as mine. I have a wonderful
family, work for a great company and
with wonderful people, have the best
friends a person could ask for, and
the most remarkable mentors to lean
on and learn from. But, the one thing
I lack is the ability to say NO. As a
result, this leads me to often seek
BALANCE in my life.
I’ve recently started reading The
SuperWoman’s Guide to Super
Fulfillment by Jaime Kulaga, Ph.D. I
found it eye opening to learn that on
average, most women have 20 to 30
life roles. For me, these include
mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt,
coach, friend, therapist, and teacher
(to name a few). But, the one thing
most women,
including myself,
tend to not
include when
thinking of their
life roles is “ME”.
Why is that?
Continued on page 5
To remove your name from our mailing
list, please contact Nancy Kinder at
nancyakinder@gmail.com.
FWIT NEWS
Page 2
FWIT LOGO ITEMS!
We have some fabulous logo items that were purchased by the Association to sell at the Annual
Conference. We have several items left over and would like our groups to take full advantage of
this opportunity to purchase these logo items.
Not only can these be purchased for your own use, but these items make excellent speaker gifts
and door prizes!
These items are also an excellent way to promote FWIT within your organization… you could
even use them as gifts for your co-workers… it’s a great way to start a conversation about what
FWIT is all about. The padfolios are awesome and have been of great use to me for various business meetings!
If you would like to purchase items for your group, please go to the Members Only page at
www.fwitexas.org and complete the order form linked to the article there. Ellen Parsons will ship
these items to you and payment will be sent to Lori Victory.
Note: Due to the unknown shipping charges, shipping charges will be calculated upon receipt of
the order. Ellen will provide a revised total (including shipping) and send to the person placing
the order so that they can include in their final payment.
FWIT MEMBER NEWS—
”U-HORNS”!
”You must toot your own horn!” – or
you can toot a horn for someone else!
This is where we share professional
and personal news of our membership
network.
...from a Virtual Member:
Anna Beth Denny joined Veritex
Community Bank as Vice President,
Reporting and Data Analyst in
September.
Congratulations, Anna Beth!
Share this information with other members and your groups! Let’s move some inventory and get
our name out there!
Michelle Muckleroy, FWIT Director At Large
Tumbler with
green translucent
lid
$12
Umbrella
auto-open in
black & white
$20
...from East Texas Group:
Kim Garmon at Guaranty Bank & Trust
in Longview has been promoted to
Assistant Vice President, CRA/
Fair Lending Officer.
Congratulations, Kim!
...from Gulf Coast Group:
Katherine Scholl announced that
Hannah Marie Scholl was born
September 3, 2015. Katherine says
“We are thrilled!”
Visor in
black or
white
$10
Leeds zippered
padfolio in black
with embossed
emblem
$25
www.fwitexas.org
Congratulations, Katherine!
WHAT’S NEW?
Recent updates to our website include:

Our membership marketing piece on the home page, with the Association President’s
message on a new “Theme” page.
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The 2015 Annual Conference photos in a slide show on the “Conference” page, and a photo album available on “Members Only” so that members can download any photos they
want.
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A Speaker List of proven program ideas can be accessed through “Members Only”.
FWIT Logo items available for purchase are also on “Members Only” with a link to an order
form and a printable list of the inventory.
And remember to update your profile with any changes, including your photo!
...from Houston Group:
Shirley York-Jones, Senior Relationship
Manager for correspondent banking
relationships throughout Texas and the
Southwest for Texas Capital Bank, was
promoted to Executive Vice President!
Congratulations, Shirley!
FWIT NEWS
Page 3
Visit FWIT online!
www.fwitexas.org
FWIT GROUP NEWS
Austin Group
The Austin Group of FWIT will hold the next meeting on December 3, 2015 from 11:00 - 1:00
at University Federal Credit Union, Austin. The group is currently holding a coat drive to
benefit the Austin Coats for Kids. Celebrating 29 years, Coats for Kids is one of the largest
coat drives in the nation. This annual community event collects and distributes new and
gently worn, warm winter coats to the eligible youth of Central Texas, while also providing an
opportunity for families to access local resources through an onsite community fair. Support
helps to keep so many children warm and healthy during the cold winter months!
The Membership Chair has been filled by Tiffany Moorman, UFCU. Congratulations, Tiffany
and welcome aboard! The board of the FWIT Austin Group thanks you for volunteering and we
look forward to working with you this year! Other open positions include Nominating and
Scholarship Chairs.
Meetings and locations for the year have been set. Dates below!
February 18, 2016 – held at UFCU, Speaker Topic: Women's Wellness
April 21, 2016 – held at UFCU, Speaker Topic: Managing through Adversity (Mergers &
Acquisitions)
June 16, 2016 – held at UFCU, Speaker Topic: Women's Safety
August 18, 2016 – held at UFCU, transition meeting
East Texas Group
On November 19th, the East Texas group held its Annual CEO Night and
Dessert Auction Program. We had about 35 attend the meeting and raised
$1,020 in the dessert auction to use toward our Group’s scholarship
program for high school students.
Rogers Pope, Jr., CEO of Texas Bank and Trust and the current Chair of
Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) was our guest speaker
for the night.
East Texas Group
CEO Night and
Dessert Auction
To remove your name from our mailing list,
please contact Nancy Kinder at
nancyakinder@gmail.com.
News, suggestions, questions or comments?
Email us at nancyakinder@gmail.com or call
210-347-2552.
More Group News on page 4
FWIT NEWS
Page 4
Llano Estacado Group
Llano Estacado Group has been utilizing the online event notifications through FWITexas.org
and our membership database system and it works great. So far the members are really
enjoying the ease of registering and the reminders that they receive as well. The November
meeting was our first “check in” online at our meetings!! It was super easy and made for a
quicker process.
At the November meeting, our guest speaker was one of our own members, Tiffany Gipson
with Lubbock Christian University, who brought great discussion on the “Economics of
Empowerment.” She challenged us to find four women we aspire to be, admire, want to know
more about, or just to make new friends and ask them to complete a short exercise about us
individually. This exercise allowed us to think about how we perceive ourselves and our four
friends were asked how they perceive us. Such an insightful exercise. We as women don’t
perceive ourselves as others perceive us. “Think about it.”
Also at our November meeting, our Barron-Huffaker Fall Scholarship recipient, Serena George,
shared her current school involvement and career goals. We received fifteen applications for
the Spring Scholarship and narrowed it down to one recipient last week. We will announce the
recipient in the December newsletter once she has been notified. We are extremely excited to
have such a great response to our Scholarship program! This is the biggest interest since our
initial offering!
Dallas Group
The Dallas Group met on November 10th at Neighborhood Credit Union, who hosted
the meeting and provided the wine and munchies for our group. After the business
meeting, Jan Norton, a global financial executive, spoke to the group about handling
emotions in the workplace and how men and women differ in their communication
styles. Frost Bank sponsored the speaker. We had nine members and 20 guests
present at this meeting.
We are inviting all FWIT members to attend our biggest meeting of the year, which
will be held at the Dallas Fed on January 12, 2016. It will be a dinner meeting featuring a
representative from McKinsey & Company, who will talk about McKinsey’s annual Women
Matter studies. Seven years of their research have shown that companies with a critical mass
of female executives perform better than those with no women in top management positions.
Following the McKinsey presentation, Debbie Scanlon, BKD National Financial Services Group
and lead of the Houston financial services practice, will follow with her dynamic discussion
about the role fear plays in women’s careers and lives and how it could be holding them back
from reaching their best potential. This is a great opportunity to introduce FWIT to your
counterparts in the Dallas area by inviting them to this event. A special invitation will go out to
all FWIT Groups that you can share with women in the Dallas area you think may be interested
in attending.
DALLAS GROUP:
Top left: Jennifer Harrison, Neighborhood
CU, Program Chair
Top right: Donna Raedeke of the Federal
Reserve Bank, President (left) and Rachel
Mondragon of BKD, Marketing Chair
(right)
Bottom: Guest Speaker Jan Norton
Houston Group
We had our member meeting in October at the Federal Reserve with a spotlight on the
philanthropies that we have chosen to support. The Houston group heard from Katrina, the
director of Camp Victory, and Kristen, representing the Houston Area Women’s Center. The
presentations were both moving and educational on spreading awareness for domestic violence and sexual abuse survivors.
Our final event of 2015 was our Cybersecurity luncheon at Ouisie’s table. We had 60 members and guests come to hear Robert Hurd, lead expert and national bank examiner from the
OCC. The food was wonderful and Robert shared his expertise and advice for banks to keep
up with the growing cybersecurity concerns. We look forward to our February meeting hosting Patrick from the FBI.
More Group News on page 5
FWIT NEWS
Page 5
Paso Del Norte Group
The Paso Del Norte Group had a “General Security” presentation on November
24th. Robert Azar of the El Paso Police Department was the guest speaker.
He discussed tips on protecting ourselves and our belongings, and advised
everyone to have an emergency backup plan not only at work, but at home.
San Antonio Group
Our October meeting was an evening social event at Mary Lou’s Café . We had several guests attend, including one FWIT member formerly of another group who has relocated to San Antonio and will join our group!
November’s lunch meeting was held at the Barn Door Restaurant with guest speaker
Cindy Stynchula on “Why EQ Is More Important Than IQ”. It was an enlightening and
educational program!
December will be an evening meeting and social, including our traditional ornament
exchange at Mary Lou’s Café with FWIT Association President Cheryl Linder.
FINDING BALANCE—FWIT Association President Cheryl Linder
(cont. from page 1)
As women, we tend to always think about others before ourselves. As a result, we have a hard time saying NO when
asked. We have a feeling of guilt if we must say ‘no’ to something. Then, when we do take time for ourselves, we
feel guilty about it, because we said ‘no’ to that other thing we could be doing…YIKES – “Calgon…Take Me Away!”
Recently, I just went through this struggle. Due to some recent changes in my life, I found that I was not able to
give the time needed to a volunteer position I held. After much thought and prayer, I found that it was time I resign
the position. This was a very difficult decision. I am close friends with other members on this council, and had put in
a lot of time in this position. Were those the reasons for the difficult decision, or was it the guilt I sub-consciously
knew I would carry because the time came, to basically, say ‘no’?
Saying ‘no’ was hard, but this was my first step in FINDING BALANCE. In reading The
SuperWoman’s Guide to Super Fulfillment, Jaime Kulaga states “A SuperWoman understands
that she can do anything she wants, but she can’t do everything.” We must remind ourselves of
this!
As we move into the holiday season, and think about our goals for the New Year, think about
your life roles…Is “ME” on the list of your life roles? What is your first step in FINDING
BALANCE?
Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas and prosperous New Year.
Cheryl
FWIT NEWS
Page 6
FWIT CALENDAR AT A GLANCE
DATE
GROUP
MEETING
TIME
Conroe
TBD
10
Paso del Norte
Annual Christmas Ornament Exchange Social
6:30 PM
10
San Antonio
Guest Speaker: FWIT Association President Cheryl Linder and holiday ornament exchange at Mary Lou’s Café, 4405 McCullough, San Antonio
5:30 PM
17
Austin
Social
12
Dallas
Guest Speakers from McKinsey & Company and Debbie Scanlon of BKD at the
Dallas Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank
12
Gulf Coast
TBD
20
San Antonio
Guest Speaker: Margaret Bray, Academy of Finance at Business Careers High
School, at the Barn Door Restaurant, 8400 N. New Braunfels Ave., San Antonio
21
East Texas
TBD
21
Hill Country
Guest Speaker: FWIT Association President Cheryl Linder; Fredericksburg
Gulf Coast
TBD
18
Austin
Program on Women’s Wellness at UFCU
18
San Antonio
Guest Speaker: Patricia Lindsey, Asst. Deputy Comptroller, OCC; at Mary
Lou’s Café, 4405 McCullough, San Antonio
5:30 PM
25
Hill Country
CEO Night and Dessert Auction; Guest Speaker Paul Cummings; Kerrville
Dinner Meeting
8
Gulf Coast
TBD
17
East Texas
TBD
23
San Antonio
Guest Speaker: Councilwoman Viagran at the Barn Door Restaurant, 8400 N.
New Braunfels Ave., San Antonio
31
Hill Country
Guest Speaker: David Zander, Back Nine Financial; Fredericksburg
DECEMBER
3
JANUARY
Dinner meeting
11:45 AM
6:00 PM
Dinner meeting
FEBRUARY
9
11:00 AM—
1:00 PM
MARCH
6:00 PM
11:45 AM
Dinner Meeting