The Indiana Bankers Association continued driving momentum in its next-gen efforts with the FLD Leadership & Bank Intern Conference July 15-16, a merger of what used to be two separate events into a unified opportunity to bring together banking professionals with established careers alongside banking interns getting their toes wet in the industry to determine if it is the right career path for them. The two-day event was held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Noblesville, providing education, networking and more to pave the way for their advancement in the industry.
Connor Wong, IBA’s vice president of government relations, kicked off the conference, welcoming the nearly 200 attendees split evenly between bankers and interns. He invited all attendees to engage not only with the conference, but with the IBA as they journey throughout their banking career.
Ryan Lavarnway, a World Series Champion catcher and Olympian, opened the conference with a bang, demonstrating the power of a person’s mindset and how it can transform their lives and careers. Peggy Hogan followed up with an insightful look at emotional intelligence — a topic applicable to all ages — offering thought-provoking concepts for attendees to discuss during the afternoon’s networking lunch.
Greyson Tuck kicked off the afternoon talking about the modernization of the banking industry, including technological advances like digital assets and cryptocurrencies, blockchain, artificial intelligence and more. Next up was a perennial favorite: peer roundtable discussions on a variety of topics submitted ahead of time by attendees.
Amber Fields closed out the day with a discussion about leadership being more than a title. She focused on habits that enhance someone’s leadership ability, including how mistakes are handled and how you treat the people around you when things get hard.
With the day’s education in the books, attendees got to relax and enjoy a casual networking reception and dinner before taking part in another fun-filled FLD Trivia Night Competition put on by Hambone’s Trivia. Teams battled it out to determine this year’s champions. After an entertaining evening with some challenging trivia questions, a fortunate group of bankers walked away with a coveted trivia champion trophy and goodie bags.
Day two began with a banker panel focused on grassroots advocacy. Panelists discussed why grassroots involvement is important to shaping legislation that impacts banks and the communities they serve, but also how on-the-ground engagement allows for opportunities to connect and grow in the industry, ultimately helping young professionals advance their careers. Special thanks to Christopher Griffith of First Harrison Bank, Corydon; Zach Hockersmith of Hoosier Heartland State Bank, Crawfordsville; and Vanessa Smith of Community First Bank of Indiana, Kokomo, for joining moderator Connor Wong for the informative discussion.
After another round of speed roundtable discussions, Ryan Woodruff spoke about two important topics that can help shape careers: creating a personal values statement to give purpose and direction in your career, and building a personal strategic plan to guide the future.
The 2026 FLD Leadership & Bank Intern Conference was a highly successful event providing connection and strategies to advance for both bankers already established in the industry and the banking interns just beginning their journey. Thank you to all the banks that committed to engaging their employees and interns in this year’s event.
