Fall Conference
KASFAA’s Fall Conference was held October 20-22, 2004, in Owensboro,
KY at the Executive Inn Rivermont. The conference theme, “Take
a Leading Role in KASFAA”, invited participants to a movie-type
atmosphere complete with popcorn and a night on the red carpet! Over
200 KASFAA members were thrilled to have a number of distinguished
guests attend our conference. The Department of Education is to be
thanked for allowing Jeff Baker, Director, Policy Liaison, and Kathie
Makowski, Training Officer to attend. Jeff provided a most informative
Federal Update to begin our conference, and then answered questions
from the audience. Kathie offered a Pre-Conference Workshop on Untangling
the Web, as well as three concurrent sessions throughout the conference.
SASFAA was well represented, with Janet Sain, SASFAA President, who
arrived and presented our SASFAA Update. Sandy Neel, SASFAA Secretary,
and Ron Anderson, FASFAA President, offered two new member sessions.
Miss America 2000 (who hails from Kentucky) Heather French Henry provided
one of our general sessions, and spoke about the difference financial
aid made for her and also about her veterans issues platform. For
fun, morale-building activities, KASFAA invited our sector representatives
to create a star for the walk of fame. Members came to the President’s
Reception in favorite movie costumes, and then proceeded to name the
first KASFAA Idol in a Karaoke contest. Thursday’s night banquet
allowed KASFAA to honor Sandy Neel and Marilyn Clark-Watkins with
Lifetime Membership, and featured a hypnotist. Evaluations are currently
being tabulated, but many of the Program Committee heard over and
over, “Best Conference Ever!”
Legislative Issues
KASFAA has created a taskforce to work with Senator Tim Shaughnessy
on issues relating to the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship
(KEES). The taskforce met, and made its recommendations to the Board
regarding changes in KEES legislation. The Board has now formally
approved these recommendations. President Heather Boutell and Legislative
Chair Carl Rollins will work with the Kentucky General Assembly and
its members to profile our proposed legislation for Kentucky’s
Session in January.
High School Counselor Workshops
KASFAA successfully completed its high school counselor
workshop series all across the state. Nine workshops were offered
with information from ACT, KHEAA, financial aid professionals, and
Vocational Rehabilitation. The series was again approved for credit
for counselors from the State. Special thanks to Bryan Erslan, Lissa
Caldwell, and Rhonda Bryant for their efforts on this important initiative.
College Goal Sunday
KASFAA will offer College Goal Sunday on February 27, 2005, at nineteen
locations across the state. We are thrilled to welcome new partners
Fifth Third Bank and National City to this program! KASFAA continues
to thank the Lumina Foundation and KHEAA for their more than generous
support to offer this day of learning and important information.
NASFAA Fall Training Series
Kentucky offered NASFAA’s Fall Training Series on November 18
in Frankfort at KHEAA. 85 KASFAA members attended. Special thanks
to Chris Tolson for serving as our knowledgeable presenter, and to
Lori Dial who coordinated the training.
Mark Your Calendars For College Goal Sunday in Kentucky
February 27, 2005
2:00 – 4:00 PM
College Goal Sunday gives you, a member of the financial aid community,
the opportunity to assist students in your area with the completion
of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
College Goal Sunday is sponsored by the Kentucky Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators (KASFAA). College Goal Sunday began in
the state of Kentucky in 2001 and continues to be one of KASFAA’s
most important programs.
We need your help! Please volunteer to participate in this worthy
event. This past year we had over 175 volunteers. We have added two
additional sites. Hence, we are going to need more volunteers. P.S.
T-Shirts will be provided for the volunteers!
KAFAA encourages everyone to volunteer!
If you need to complete the volunteer form or to view the list of
locations, please refer to our website, www.kasfaa.com.
You need to indicate the location at which you wish to volunteer.
(Don’t forget to give your t-shirt size!)
Submitted by Shawn Anderson, KASFAA College
Goal Sunday Co-Chair
DECEMBER
2004
