The Indiana Bankers Association was honored with two statewide awards from the Indiana Society of Association Executives at an awards ceremony held Dec. 2. Rod Lasley, IBA executive vice president-operations & member services, was named ISAE Association Professional of the Year. The IBA also won in the category of for its IMPACT Players Program (Industry Makers Pledging Assistance, Cooperation & Togetherness).
Association Professional of the Year
Rod Lasley joined the IBA in 2009 and is responsible for oversight of the Association’s business practices, member engagement and corporate communications, plus serves as president of two for-profit companies owned by the Association. Among his accomplishments, he helped establish banking minors in Indiana at Purdue University Northwest and Ball State University.
Lasley additionally oversaw establishment of the IBA BankLEAD internship program, which provides hands-on banking experience to college-level students, while helping member banks attract top talent. He also created the IBA’s award-winning IMPACT Players Program and has been responsible for oversight of the Association’s pandemic procedures and communications.
Prior to joining the IBA, Lasley worked in banking for 18 years, the last three years as president and CEO of IBA-member North Salem State Bank. In that capacity, he served on the IBA board of directors and was president of the IBA Future Leadership Division. Within the community, he is chairman of the Hendricks County Board of Zoning Appeals and serves as an IHSAA soccer official. Lasley earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from DePauw University and has completed the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.
Innovative Marketing Campaign
The Indiana Bankers Association won the ISAE Innovative Marketing Campaign award in recognition of its Industry Makers Pledging Assistance, Cooperation & Togetherness (IMPACT) Players Program. This initiative addressed concerns resulting from the COVID-19 shutdown, which could have resulted in loss of substantial revenue through unused sponsorship, advertising and exhibit dollars. The shutdown also could have negatively impacted the IBA's associate members, which make use of in-person IBA events to connect with the Indiana banking community.
Under the guidance of Rod Lasley and with assistance from Susan Clark, IBA events & products/services assistant, the Association created and marketed a program inviting associate members to transition unused sponsorship, advertising and exhibit dollars into alternate offerings for recognition and awareness. As a result, 23 associate members became IMPACT Players, allowing them to remain connected with IBA-member banks through Zoom sessions, a specially created e-newsletter, magazine ads, social media postings and a designated webpage.