Kim Brannen of Sea Island Bank in Statesboro was installed as the 2008-2009 president of Leadership GBA at the association's 48th annual leadership conference earlier this month in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Sponsored by the Georgia Bankers Association, Leadership GBA is comprised of banking leaders from thoughout the state.
"The coming year will present many challenges for bankers across Georgia, primarily due to the unprecedented economic times that we are facing," said Brannen, who is vice president and manager of Sea Island Bank's Private Client Group. "These challenges will also provide us with a wonderful opportunity to truly serve our customers.
"As bankers, we take great responsibility in meeting the needs of our customers and helping them navigate through these uncertain economic times," she saidd. "The resources of the GBA empower us to better serve our customers, our communities and our industry."
Brannen joined Sea Island Bank in 1997 as a commercial lender after serving as a branch operations manager and banking officer for Wachovia. Through her association with Sea Island's affiliate, Synovus Securities, Inc., she holds the Series 7 License (General Securities Representative), the Series 66 License (Investment Advisor and Uniform Securities Representative) and a Georgia license to sell annuities, life and health insurance. As manager of the Private Client Group, she is involved with a team of private bankers, mortgage specialists, trust professionals, securities financial consultants and financial planners at Sea Island Bank's Professional Center in Statesboro's Market District.
A graduate of Georgia Southern University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance with emphasis in banking, Brannen serves as a committee chairperson for the Statesboro Service League and she is a board member for CSRA Business Lending. In the past, she has held leadership positions on Joseph's Home for Boys executive committee, the Bulloch County Board of Education School Council, the board of directors of the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce, the board of directors for Leadership Bulloch and as a founding member of Youth Leadership Bulloch. Brannen has been a member of the President's Circle of the Georgia Bankers Association from 2003-2008 and was recognized with the President's Award from the Chamber of Commerce in 2001.
Brannen is active in First Baptist Church of Statesboro, serving as a Sunday School teacher and Royal Ambassador leader. She and her husband, Aulbert Brannen III, have two sons: Judson, age 11, and John-Daniel, age 9.