The SASFAA “Spotlight” for October Shines on VASFAA
Sherwin Hibbits, President, VASFAA

On Track – Comments from the Commonwealth (...of Virginia, that is!)

The theme for VASFAA in 2003-2004 is “Going the Distance.” It has been said that where one is in life is important, but more noteworthy is how far the individual had to travel to get to the current point.

Before I continue on with the spotlight on VASFAA, I want to take a moment to say how thankful we all are in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Hurricane Isabel is passed us, but many still await complete clean-up of the results of the storm. It is amazing how we have come to expect rather than appreciate the privilege of such common things in our society—electricity, and consequently, the availability of purse water and gasoline. But, in the larger view, we all must be grateful that the effects of Isabel were mostly confined to property and disruption of conveniences, rather than to the lives of those dear to us. (If you were one of the few who have had a loss of a loved one as a result of this storm, our thoughts and prayers are with you.) Our thanks go out to all the public servants, whether employed in the public arena or private sector, who assisted during this time.

Some of the highlights in Virginia are:

• The VASFAA conference has just been completed. Early indications are that we have had the second largest attendance of registered attendees in the last seven years! Kudos to the Conference Committee, chaired by Leslie Thomas, George Mason University; the Training Committee, chaired by Gail Catron; Wytheville CC; and Vendor/Sponsor Relations Committee, chaired by Tanya White, Old Dominion University.
  
  
• VASFAA conducted a half-day New Aid Officers Workshop (NAOW) preceding the fall conference, under the direction of Representative-at-Large Brad Barnett, James Madison University. This year, for the first time, we offered a “day rate” for those who wanted to attend the NAOW but were not able to attend the entire conference. This proved to be a positive offering and we had 38 new colleagues register for this session. Consideration is being given to offer a full day expanded version of this workshop preceding the Spring Conference in May.
  
  
• The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) in partnership with the Council of Independent Colleges of Virginia (CICV) has introduced the Virginia Mentor program as a link off its main Web site www.schev.edu. It may also be accessed directly at www.virginiamentor.org. This public-private venture provides an online resource to help students and their families select a college, apply for admission, and plan to finance higher education. The site went live on September 22, 2003. The site was produced in conjunction with XAP Corporation.
  
  
• VASFAA will co-sponsor an Awareness Summit in conjunction with SCHEV and the Education Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) on November 9-10. The theme is Virginia Partnerships for College Access. The goals of the summit are to foster a cooperative effort to centralize Virginia college access services and to coordinate a network of service providers. Some of the objectives of the summit are to: identify college access services currently available; identify needs of people seeking postsecondary education; provide an opportunity for service providers to network; create a centralized, comprehensive information bank; and establish workgroups to develop the Virginia College Access Network.
  
  
• VASFAA’s Secondary School Relations Committee, chaired by Anita Aymer, has scheduled High School Guidance Counselor Workshops at 14 sites around the state.
  The VASFAA Spring Conference will be held May 2-5, 2004 in Virginia Beach at the Founders Inn and Conference Center.

VASFAA shares in SASFAA’s success with several members serving in various SASFAA capacities. On the 2003-2004 SASFAA Board are: Karen Koonce, Past President and chair Nominations and Elections and Governance and Planning and Sherwin Hibbetts, VASFAA President and subcommittee member, Workshop Site Selection. The following VASFAA members serve on SASFAA committees: Brad Barnett, Curriculum Coordinator, NAOW; Michael Barree, instructor, NAOW; Zita Barree, chair Conference; Marie Bennett, member, Legislative Relations; Liza Bruce, member, Diversity; Brenda Burke, member, Membership Jolene Burke, member, Conference; Biz Daniel, Lender Assistant, NAOW; Guy Gibbs, Newsletter Editor; Erik Melis, chair, Electronic Services; Mike O’Grady, member, Diversity; and Francies Pileggi, member, Lender Liaison.