Mississippi State Report
Soraya B. Welden, MASFAA President

Vice President LaShanda Chamberlain and the MASFAA Training Committee featured NASFAA’s Fall Training Workshop topic, “Administrative Capability: Campus-Wide Compliance”, as the focus of MASFAA’s Fall Training Workshop. The training was held November 4, 2005 on the campus of Mississippi University for Women. MASFAA’s enthusiastic trainers, Mary Givhan of Mississippi College and Paula Laws of Delta State University, provided useful information that incorporated active participation among the 90 attendees.

MASFAA held a board meeting the day prior to the fall workshop. The Board approved the appointment of Jackie Boone with The University of Mississippi to replace Michael Ruffin as MASFAA Secretary. The board also approved a sponsorship form that will be available on the MASFAA web site allowing sponsors to choose multiple events at one time and early in the fiscal year. The Hurricane Katrina Fund Committee is working to disseminate the donated funds to students and financial aid professionals. The Board voted to approve a $2,500 donation by MASFAA to the Katrina Fund.

President-Elect Garry Jones and Vice President LaShanda Chamberlain traveled to Cambridge, Maryland on November 12-15 to attend the Tri-State Association (DE-DC-MD) fall conference. The Tri-State Association invited them to attend, and while there, presented them with a donation of Walmart gift cards valuing $1,025 to disburse to hard-hit individuals.

In addition to the Katrina Fund donation, The California Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators invited MASFAA President Soraya Welden to attend the fall conference to be held in Sacramento on December 10-13. The Louisiana President and Alabama President will also be in attendance.

MASFAA’s new aid training, “Financial Aid 101” is scheduled to be held in April. The Duncan Gray Center provides attendees with a quiet, natural setting to soak in federal regulations and work on team-building skills.

The Conference Committee has also begun work on the annual conference scheduled for June 21-23 at the Marriott downtown in Jackson, MS. This year’s theme is, “You’re Hired, Financial Aid Reality”. A variety of unique sessions and events are being planned, including a silent auction.

North Carolina State Report
Dana D. Kelly, NCASFAA President

Greetings from North Carolina!

NCASFAA just wrapped up its Fall Conference in Charlotte. It was a great success! The conference had record attendance with 329 members registered for the event. This year’s theme, “Educating America – NCASFAA’s Opportunity to Lead,” provided training opportunities for all aid professionals, from beginner to experienced. The Keynote Speaker, Dr. James Johnson from UNC-Chapel Hill, started the event with a frank and eye-opening discussion on the demographic changes that will shape the country in the coming years. The Fall Program Chair, Joann Carreras, and her Program Committee did an outstanding job of putting together a conference that was informative and fun. NCASFAA selected Communities and Schools as its primary charity and raised over $1300 for them. These funds will go toward a scholarship for an at-risk student to attend college. Additionally, NCASFAA wanted to do something to support our colleagues in Mississippi. Another $792 dollars was raised and sent to the South East Mississippi Chapter of the American Red Cross is Pascagoula in support of hurricane relief.

NCASFAA is now gearing up for its first Leadership Symposium. This unique training opportunity will focus on networking and strategic planning. The symposium will be held in Greensboro, December 7th and 8th at the Embassy Suites. The event will feature professional trainers and dynamic speakers for all four meal functions at a very low cost to NCASFAA members. This is an exciting opportunity for NCASFAA to assist in fostering the leadership development of aid professionals across North Carolina.

NCASFAA is also excited about hosting the 2006 Annual SASFAA Conference in Greensboro. We are working on plans for the Hospitality Suite and hope to see many of you there in February!