AdvocacyTweet Congress from Home During Washington Policy SummitCommunity bankers who can’t make it to this month’s Washington Policy Summit can still participate via ICBA’s grassroots Twitter map. The map makes it easy for community bankers to tweet their members of Congress on the industry’s top issues. To participate, find your state on the map, click the names of your members of Congress and customize and tweet your message from the pop-up window. Additionally, Washington Policy Summit attendees can use the map to quickly and easily find their lawmakers’ Twitter handles during the event. More Information: Meanwhile, community bankers can continue to celebrate Community Banking Month by using ICBA’s Marketing and Communications Toolkit, tweeting with the #BankLocally hashtag and sharing their photos with ICBA on Facebook. ICBA Member Access is sponsored by QR Lending: Earn a 12-14% premium on the sale of SBA loan guarantees in the secondary market. One big reason why community banks are taking advantage of SBA Lending in record numbers! And the ICBA recommends just one provider to make the process hassle-free for its members. Call us today to get started. ICBA Preferred Service Provider Holtmeyer & Monson does all the work, at no net cost to your bank. Call (800) 340-7304 or visit www.holtandmon.com.  Wanted! IB Magazine Is Looking for Outstanding Lenders To RecognizeDo you know a co-worker who is an outstanding lender at your community bank? ICBA Independent Banker is looking to recognize exemplary lenders—including business, consumer, mortgage or agricultural lenders—who are industry role models. Recommend a colleague by filling out a short online nomination form, including a brief description why the person deserves nationwide recognition. Please submit nominations by May 2. Read IB’s last year’s outstanding lender stories.More Information:Email the editors of ICBA Independent Banker for additional details. Compensation ICBA Members Eligible for Compensation Survey DiscountICBA members are eligible for a 60 percent discount on the results of the 2014 ICBA-Crowe Compensation Survey. The survey provides valuable compensation benchmarking data that allows community banks to make critical decisions about compensation, human resources and benefits. The survey results will help community bankers determine whether their compensation practices are competitive and how they can control the costs of benefits. Go online to take advantage of the discount and participate in the 2014 compensation survey today. The survey closes June 2, and results will be available in August. Learn More and Take the Survey. Products & Services Whitepaper Offer: Spring Winter PreparednessSpring is right around the corner and with the change of season comes the dangers of severe weather. Here are nine things you can do right now to ensure that your employees and your organization are ready for spring. ICBA Preferred Service Provider Agility Recovery will teach you how to ensure you have proper insurance, how to prepare your office for spring weather and key things to consider as spring weather approaches. More Information: Read the whitepaper. Products & Services Avoid High Electricity BillsThe 2014 polar vortex caused many residential and commercial customers to experience costly electricity bills this winter. Some electricity suppliers dramatically increased their charges; some even quadrupled the variable prices billed to customers. ICBA Preferred Service Provider APPI Energy offers suggestions to keep your electricity costs consistent and reasonable.More Information: Learn how APPI energy can reduce your energy costs. EducationAudio Conference: The Role of Directors in ComplianceEvery meeting in which a community bank board of directors is informed of a compliance violation results in at least one outside director questioning whether or not they were really expected to know about the underlying regulation. This session will focus on approaches and structures that can be utilized in clarifying to your directors what is expected of them so that they can be prepared to meet their obligations and play a useful role in the institution's compliance function. When: Tuesday, April 22 at 11 a.m. (Eastern time). More Information: Register for this event. Education Webinar: Learn More about Cloud Computing: Cloud Computing 201Join ICBA Strategic Technology Solutions for its latest informational webinar, Cloud Computing 201 -- Intermediate Cloud Computing. Community banks have found that cloud computing is the answer to many bank IT challenges, including:

• High and escalating capital expenditures;
• Complicated budgeting;
• Difficult technology upgrade cycles;
• Complex licensing;
• Costly and complicated recovery solutions; and
• Convoluted compliance and security. 

To learn more about how cloud computing can benefit your bank, please register for the second in a three-part series of informative and educational webinars and get the facts! When: Wednesday, April 23 at 1 p.m. (Eastern Time) More Information: Register for this event.   EducationWebinar: Tactics to Cut Compliance CostsNext week, Continuity Control, ICBA’s new Preferred Service Provider, is hosting the webinar A CEO’s Practical Guide of Tactics to Cut Compliance Costs. This webinar is for community bank CEOs and CFOs  and will outline practical tactics and strategies they can deploy over the next 3 to 4 months to cut significantly compliance costs. We’ll share perspectives on where to look for easy cost cutters and the less obvious culprits that drive up costs unnecessarily. Attendees will leave with pragmatic steps your organization can take to correct costly mistakes you may be making. Register online. When: Thursday, April 24 at 1 p.m. (Eastern time). More Information: Register for this event.