Jim Kahler has been active in SBA lending since 1994. With over 30 years' experience, he has worked in all aspects of SBA lending, from origination, to underwriting, to closing/funding to servicing and liquidations. He has a great deal of knowledge and understanding of the SBA Standard Operating Procedures. Currently, he is EVP – SBA Director of Operations for Gulf Coast Small Business Lending, a division of Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company. Jim has his Master of Business Administration in Marketing as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management/Entrepreneurship from Baylor University. In addition to his normal work responsibilities, he was the President of the North Texas Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NTAGGL) for 2014 through 2015. He was the Chairman of the Board through 2017. He has held several officer positions with NTAGGL and is one of the original founding members of NTAGGL. He has been the Chair or Co-Chair for the Mid-America Lender's Conference and Chair or Co-Chair for the Education Committee multiple times. Jim is currently the Committee Chair for the NAGGL Region 6 Lenders Committee. He has held this position for the last 3 years. He is also a member of the NAGGL Small Lender Committee and has been on this Committee for 5 years. He is very active in small business lending and is a member of North Texas SBDC Advisory Board, is a regular guest speaker for the SBA Emerging Leaders Initiative (formerly E200) and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business (10KSB) program. Jim has moderated or taught multiple training courses on SBA lending and was a speaker at the 2014 Mid-America Lender's Conference. He has also been a speaker several times for the Federal Reserve Bank at their Forum for Community Bank Examiners.