This is a celebration of Southern Bancorp, our mission, our culture, and our team! It’s an opportunity for us all to come together for a good time, to build friendships, learn more about our organization, and celebrate our company’s bright future.

Think FUN, not policies and procedures!

Sunday evening, October 9th is designed to celebrate the amazing staff at Southern Bancorp and our collective accomplishments as an organization with food, prizes, music, and fun!  Much like after-hours holiday parties, participation in the events on Sunday evening is not required and not considered compensable time.

Columbus Day 2022, Monday October 10th, is a designated work day for all staff at Southern Bancorp. Employees who are otherwise eligible to receive holiday pay will receive a “floating” holiday in exchange for working on Columbus Day 2022.

The floating holiday will function like vacation pay in that the paid time off can be taken at your discretion as long as it is approved in advance by your supervisor. However, unlike vacation pay that must be used in the year awarded, the floating holiday will not expire on December 31, 2022.  Employees who have been awarded the floating holiday will have from October 11, 2022 through December 31, 2023 to use it. This time is not paid out upon termination.

In addition, employees who participate in the meeting on Monday will be paid as follows:

• Exempt (salaried) staff will receive their normal scheduled pay.
• Non-exempt (hourly) staff will receive pay for hours worked, just as they would on a normal work day.
• In addition, non-exempt (hourly) staff will be paid for travel time to and from the conference, in accordance with the business travel policy, regardless of which day the travel occurs (Sunday or Monday).

Part-time, non-exempt staff will be paid for hours worked plus travel time as outlined in question #2 above. As part-time employees are not eligible for holiday pay, the floating holiday is not applicable.  Please work with your supervisor to determine if you will work your usual schedule for the rest of the week or if business needs allow days off to be switched during that week.

Little Rock, Arkansas

Sunday evening event: Robinson Center Conference Center

Monday event: Doubletree Hotel Grand Ballroom

Check in for the hotel begins at 4 pm on Sunday.

The evening event on Sunday, October 9th is optional party, but trust us, you won’t want to miss this!

On Monday, October 10th, Rendezvous ends at 3:00 pm, which gives plenty of time for staff to travel back to their homes by the end of the day.

If you are taking the Southern sponsored transportation, you will be picked up on Sunday, and arrive home Monday night.

Your meals and lodging will be paid for.  You may want to bring a small amount for incidentals.

While the meeting is mandatory and considered a work day, our leadership understands individuals may not be able to attend because of previously made plans or other extenuating circumstances.

Your presence is important to us, so we would like to work with you to see if we can overcome any and all barriers that would prevent you from coming to Southern Rendezvous. If you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from attending, please talk with your supervisor and/or contact the Southern Rendezvous solutions team at southern@testbanksouthern.aceone.io.

If you simply choose not to attend Rendezvous, please keep in mind that we won’t have the Columbus Day holiday available for 2022, and therefore you will need to use paid time off hours available for use, either personal or vacation pay.

If no personal or vacation time is available for use, the employee will go unpaid for this day.

As this is a business meeting, spouses and family are not invited.

Yes, everyone needs to register whether you plan to attend or not – as we want to make sure we have accounted for all staff. Registration will end on May 16th.

We are working on a plan to make travel timely and hassle-free for everyone coming to the Southern Rendezvous. For most of you, there is no need to worry about travel reimbursement forms, extra expenses, or the wear and tear on your personal vehicle. We are providing Southern Bancorp sponsored buses and vans for everyone that is more than 30 minutes away from the event.

Those of you who are 30 min or less away from Little Rock will be asked to create a carpool. Carpool trips will be reimbursable. We encourage you to make a carpool of three or more staff members (you plus at least 2 others).

Buses (or vans, depending on the size of the group) will be scheduled to pick up staff members at various locations in Mississippi and Arkansas on Sunday, October 9th.

Locations and routes will be determined after registration is completed.

Travel reimbursement will be done the typical way with the travel expense form. Typical restrictions and requirement apply. Please follow the Business, Travel and Entertainment Policies on the Policies Page.

Here is a quick guide to reimbursable travel:

No          Taking the bus! No need to fill out a travel reimbursement form. No worries!

Yes!       I’m carpooling to the event (preferably with at least four staff members per car)

Yes!       I’m carpooling to a bus pickup location. The travel while carpooling is reimbursable.

No          I’ve decided to opt out of the bus option and am driving myself

Can my spouse come on the Southern bus with me?

Sorry, spouses are not invited to ride on Southern sponsored transportation.

Choose the travel option that is closest to your home.

For instance, if you work in Blytheville, but live in Trumann, it would be probably easiest for you to meet at the Trumann pickup point and take the bus. Choose what will be easiest for you.

Yes, you can drive yourself, however, in deciding to drive by yourself, you are opting out of the Southern provided transportation and are therefore responsible for your travel expenses.

All these questions are in the process of being answered. By registering, you are being put on an email list for further updates.

We have booked a block of rooms at the Doubletree (site of the event) as well as three other hotels nearby. Those choosing to have a roommate will be given priority for the Doubletree while others will be placed in a nearby hotel. We will have shuttles to and from the hotels, so no worries even if you’re at one of the nearby locations.

No. But, we do expect professional behavior as we are representing Southern!

Casual, like on Fridays. Blue jeans are fine. You are encouraged to bring your name tag.

For specific questions, please email southern@testbanksouthern.aceone.io and your question/answer will be added to the FAQ (on the intranet) for others to see as well!