PBT's Annual Meeting Was Its Biggest, Best and Most Successful Ever- Demonstrating that Loyalty Lives Deep In the Heart of Texas

 

Loyalty lives deep in Texas!  The Professional Bondsmen of Texas held their Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas from October 19-21.  The theme for this year was "Loyalty Lives Here!" 

The dictionary defines loyalty as a strong feeling of support or allegiance.  Loyalty can have a different meaning to people, but there are common elements anytime someone speaks about loyalty.   Socrates said about loyalty, "Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant."  Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States during the Civil War, described it as the commitment which transforms a promise into reality.  Jane Austin has been quoted as saying, "There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends."   Summer Altice, noted model and actress, is quoted as saying, "I look for these qualities and characteristics in people. Honesty is number one, respect, and absolutely the third would have to be loyalty."  

In movies, loyalty is depicted in various ways.  Sometimes it is about friendship.  In others, as in the "Avengers End Game," you just have to pick a side.  If you are a Marvel fan you will never forget the chills you experienced at the start of the final battle when Captain American proclaims "Avengers assemble."

The bondsmen of Texas certainly lived up to their reputations and showed that they have "loyalty" to the Professional Bondsmen of Texas.  

This years attendance set a new record and represents a 25% increase over last years record attendance.  The annual meeting set a new record for fundraising for Bail PAC from which PBT makes political contributions.

The annual meeting began on Wednesday with a Skeet Shoot following the meeting of the PBT Board of Directors and Legislative Committee.  Various teams competed for trophies and the right to claim victory over their fellow bondsmen.  Glenn and Zina Meeker sponsored several wounded warriors and watching these gentlemen was very moving.  The bondsmen learned very quickly that even though these men may have had severe injuries received in service to our country, these wounds did not prevent them from schooling many others in the art of skeet shooting.  Following the Skeet Shoot there was a welcome reception which was followed by the annual agency dinners.

John McCluskey and Ronnie Long were honored for their years of service with Honorary Lifetime Memberships to PBT.

On Thursday morning, the convention kicked into high gear with a panel from a portion of the PBT legislative team including our lobbyists.  The group spoke about preparations for the upcoming session and the meetings that were already under way reaching out to the key players in the Texas Legislature.  Next, there was a presentation by Eric Granof from AIA regarding "The Impact of Rising Crime on Economic Development."  There were other presentations on a variety of topics including: "Finding Little Johnnie After He Misses Court;"  and "Collection Strategies That Pay for Themselves."

PBT's Coalition partners for this legislative session include:  

• AIA Surety
• American Surety
• Bankers Insurance Co. 
• Financial Casualty & Surety, Inc.
• Lexington National.  

If you are a member of PBT and your surety is not listed as one of our coalition partners, encourage them to join our winning team.  If your surety is listed above, please reach out to them and thank them for their support.

Our legislative partners and great friends of PBT gave a excellent panel discussion highlighting what is going on in other jurisdictions across the country in 2022 including California, Ohio, and others.  The panel was moderated by Roger Moore.  We would highly recommend other state associations reach out to the companies to make presentations for your associations as well.

Thursday evening ended with the PBT dinner and auction.  The guest speaker was Houston City Councilman, former bondsman and longtime friend of PBT Michael Kubosh.  The auction is one of the highlights of the annual meeting and is used to raise money for the Bail PAC.  No one can attend the auction without getting pulled in to the laughs, the fun and the deep feeling of friendship among the Texas bondsmen.  The auction included an apron autographed by Governor Greg Abbott.  There were numerous items up for action and the bidding was lively.  

Nothing expresses friendship more than continuing to bid to make sure your friend, who is wanting a specific item, does not get that item.   

The auction set a new record for fund raising for the PAC.

Friday morning kicked off with a live to tape recording of PBT's  podcast called The Bail Post.  The podcast is available on all podcast streaming services and can be found on the menu from the PBT website (https://PBTx.com).  The podcast can also be found at: (https://TheBailPost.com).  Our guest was District Attorney Jennifer Tharp from Comal County.  She spoke about criminal justice reform and her work as a criminal district attorney.  

The final presentation of the meeting was about "Mining Data" from the county's website so that the industry can prepare and present information to the legislature.  The presentation highlighted that PBT downloaded 2 years of data from the Harris County District Clerk's office and made it available to the public in a interactive website.  

There were many guests at the PBT conference from other associations.  Topo Padilla, President of PBUS stated that he was leaving to spread the word that other associations should be sending their members to next years PBT annual meeting to see for themselves the great things being done in Texas.  It was also highlighted that there was a need for the various state associations to work better together and to coordinate with each other more in the future.  It was highlighted that PBT is building various tools with the intention that they be portable for use by other associations.

Additionally, throughout the annual meeting PBT conducted a raffle for prizes to be selected at the close of the meeting.  The top prize was 30 seconds in the "Money Machine."  The winner was Michelle Carbajal.  She is a bondswoman who operates in Hays and Comal County.  She was able to scoop up over $1,700.00 dollars during her 30 seconds in "wind tunnel."  Then to everyone's surprise, Michelle turned around and donated her winnings back to PBT.  Loyalty indeed lives deep in the heart of Texas and Texas' bondsmen.

At the luncheon on Friday, many awards were given out to recognize the hard work done by so many.  The most prestigious award of the year is "Bondsman of the Year."  This year the award went to Charlie Pickens from Waco, Texas.  He is a longtime bondsman and is a member of the Board of Directors.  He also is a member of PBT's PR Committee and worked tirelessly to get the message out on many different topics including https://HarrisCountyCourtWatch.com.  Cindy Hammons was given an Award of Distinction for her great work as well.  Awards were also given out to recognize and thank our corporate sponsors and partners:  AIA Surety, American Surety, Bankers Insurance Co., Financial Casualty & Surety, Inc. and Lexington National.  Many other awards were distributed to recognize the many great teams we have working together for a common cause.

After the close of the annual meeting, there was an election regarding seven positions on the board for the Professional Bondsmen of Texas.  After the election, the new and old members appeared for a group picture, administered the oath of office to the newly elected and re-elected board members.  Thereafter, the group dispersed.  The group was exhausted but completely overwhelmed with the loyalty shown by the bondsmen of Texas.

PBT's annual meeting could not take place without the work of a team of people; from the convention committee, to the speaker committee, to the legislative committee and the PR committee, everyone worked tirelessly to ensure that the conference went off without a hitch.  Well almost without a hitch. 

But the hitches are the things that we will give each other a hard time about until next year.  If you do not know what a "double field goal" is then you need to attend next year's meeting.  One speaker was so popular that we threatened to put him in protective custody to ensure no one else could use his computer skills.  Finally, no one gets into a bidding war better than Melinda Webb and her husband; even when it is one bidding against the other.  

Join us again next year for the Annual Meeting of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas.  Join us in being the "Voice of the bail industry in Texas."