Report from the TASFAA President
Nancy M. Beverly

The TASFAA Executive Board continues to be hard at work. The elected officers and the committees are accomplishing a great deal, thanks to the commitment and expertise of the individuals involved.

Please see below some of the highlights:

The Association Governance Committee, chaired by Crusie Lucero, Northeast State Community College, is working to review and update the TASFAA Policies and Procedures Manual. There is a committee meeting to be scheduled in April to bring finalization to this very important task. This committee is also researching other state association meal reimbursement dollar amounts in an effort to upgrade the meal reimbursement dollar amounts for TASFAA members.

February is Tennessee’s Financial Aid Awareness month. The TASFAA Financial Aid Awareness Committee, chaired by Debby Nuchols, SunTrust Bank, held TASFAA’s annual public awareness broadcast, Funding Your Future: Financial Aid for Students. WETP/WSJK Public TV out of Knoxville, TN produced the broadcast. The broadcast includes a panel of seasoned financial aid administrators and representatives from the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation discussing types of financial aid that are available and going over the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. There is an 800 number that viewers can call to ask further questions and to request a financial aid packet of information. The telephones are manned by financial aid professionals from across the state of TN. The broadcast was a huge success!

The NASFAA Decentralized Training was offered in East, Middle, and West Tennessee during the month of February. Clyde Walker, Vanderbilt University, served as the trainer for these workshops. Clyde Walker, Trainer, the TASFAA District Chairs, and the TASFAA Training Chair, Janette Overton, Johnson Bible College coordinated the workshops.

The TASFAA District Chairs have conducted district financial aid awareness meetings that have included high school guidance counselors and vocational rehabilitation counselors.

TASFAA’s internal review of the association’s financial records was completed and resulted in no findings. Thanks to the good work of TASFAA’s Treasurer, serving in 2002-2003, Bill Grizzard, AmSouth Bank.

TASFAA’s Project Development Committee, chaired by Karen Gibson, Edfinancial is beginning work on a study of salary ranges for various levels of financial aid employment across the state of Tennessee.

The TASFAA Executive Board is excited to begin the purchase and implementation of ATAC, a web based design that SASFAA and other state associations are currently utilizing. A task team under the direction of Clyde Walker, Vanderbilt University, has been formed to work on this project.

TASFAA’s Site Selection Chair, Sandra Rockett, Dyersburg State Community College, has diligently worked this year, resulting in TASFAA currently having contracts signed for conferences through spring of 2006. Great job Sandra!

Approximately 75 TASFAA members attended the SASFAA Conference in Birmingham, Alabama.

During the state meeting at SASFAA, the TASFAA Nominations Chair, Cara Suhr, TN Technology Center at Nashville, announced election results as follows:

President-elect	Forrest Stuart, Rhodes College
Secretary	Jan Lassiter, Edsouth
District 1	Sean McGivney, UT Health Science Center
District 2	Amanda Heath, TN Technology Center at Covington
District 3	Joe Myers, Motlow State Community College
District 4	Malerie Thompson, UT Chattanooga
District 5	Joy Goldberg, Roane State Community College
District 6	Sheila Sanchez, Citibank

The TASFAA Program Committee, chaired by Jeanne Stewart, South College, is hard at work planning the upcoming spring conference to be held at the Meadowview Resort and Conference Center in Kingsport, TN, April 18 – 21, 2004. The conference theme is TASFAA the Winning Ticket. The theme resulted due to this being the first year of experiencing the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program(s). Much of the training during the conference will focus on administering the Lottery Scholarship(s). Ron Day, SASFAA President, will be present to provide a SASFAA welcome and update to the TASFAA membership.

The next TASFAA Executive Board Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, April 18 at the Meadowview Resort and Conference Center in Kingsport, TN.