[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 25 (Monday, March 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S2146]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ELIZABETH A. ``BETSY'' DUKE

 Mr. ALLEN. Elizabeth A. ``Betsy'' Duke was recently chosen to 
be the chairwoman of the American Bankers Association.
  The ABA serves as the largest banking trade association in the 
country, representing most community banks, as well as virtually all 
large banks of our Nation. She will oversee the day-to-day leadership 
of the ABA, and all of its 330 employees.
  Ms. Duke's one-year term marks the first time that a woman has held 
this highly visible position, as well as the first since 1951 that the 
post has been held by a Virginian.
  I am confident that Betsy Duke's extensive background in the banking 
industry, including serving as former director of the Federal Reserve 
Bank of Richmond and former president of the Virginia Bankers 
Association has prepared her well for this new and challenging 
leadership role.
  After graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1974 with a 
degree in drama, Betsy moved back to her native Virginia Beach and 
found an acting job in a dinner theater. In order to support her dream 
of becoming an actress, Betsy went looking for a day job. After being 
turned down by a local dry cleaner, she finally found work as a part-
time drive-up bank teller.
  The theatrical show in which Betsy was participating in ended about a 
year later, but by then she had come to a couple of conclusions: that 
her dream of becoming a great actress would never materialize, and that 
she really enjoyed her job as a teller. Betsy was soon able to secure a 
new-accounts job at Bank of Virginia Beach, which changed her life in 
more ways than one. It was there that she met her mentor, Burt 
Harrison, who served as the bank's CEO, and a young operations officer 
and her future husband, Larry Harcum.
  As Betsy began taking on more responsibility, she began taking 
banking courses and was named the bank's accounting officer, but things 
became complicated when she began dating Larry. The bank had a strict 
policy regarding this activity, so after a few months, Betsy left the 
bank to go work at a local car dealership, but was asked to return a 
few months later by her mentor and bank CEO, Burt Harrison. The very 
next day, however, Larry quit. Burt quickly caught on, but allowed the 
two to stay under the condition that they keep their budding romance 
quiet. About a year later, the two married, but not after receiving the 
board's approval for the two of them to be able to keep their jobs at 
the bank. One of the directors actually got confused and thought he was 
voting on whether or not the two should get married, and voted no.
  Betsy's friend, mentor, and boss Burt died suddenly of a heart attack 
in 1991, and Betsy, who by then had been named president, suddenly 
found herself thrust into the role of CEO. She and Larry ran the bank 
successfully for another 10 years until what was now referred to as the 
Bank of Tidewater was acquired by SouthTrust in 2001. Betsy served as 
executive vice president for community bank development at SouthTrust.
  It was around this time that Betsy Duke became vice-chairman of ABA. 
Prior to this, she had served as a member of ABA's board of directors. 
The following year, she was named chairwoman of the ABA.
  Betsy Duke is currently executive vice president, Merger Project 
Team, Wachovia Bank in Virginia Beach. As I previously mentioned, she 
was executive vice president for Community Bank Development at 
SouthTrust, but upon the bank's merger with Wachovia, she transferred 
to the merger integration team.
  Beyond her current role as chairman of ABA, her involvement with the 
organization spans two decades. She began as an instructor for ABA's 
National School of Bank Investments and has continued in this role to 
this day. In addition, she has been a member of the trade group's 
Community Bankers Council, Communication Council, and Grassroots Task 
Force. Finally she has led the ABA's Government Relations Task Force, 
and served on its board of directors.
  In addition to her bachelor's degree in fine arts from the University 
of North Carolina, she has a master's degree in business administration 
from Old Dominion University.
  Betsy Duke loves banking. She truly believes that the industry is one 
of the most important in this country. Betsy believes that no other 
association comes close to serving the banking industry as does the 
ABA. I am pleased that Betsy Duke is heading up this great group, not 
just because she is a Virginian, but because she brings the real life 
experience needed to continue the successful tradition of the ABA. 
Congratulations Betsy, you have made your friends, family, and Virginia 
proud.

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