Alabama State Report
Buddy Jackson, AASFAA President

AASFAA held their NASFAA Fall Training Workshop on November 18th, 2005 at Auburn University of Montgomery campus. We had 72 members attend this meeting.

Vice President Ben Baker, University of North Alabama, and Clark Aldridge of CFS did an outstanding job presenting the topic “Administrative Capability: Campus-Wide Compliance.” On a very good note, the entire cost of the NASFAA materials, breaks and lunch was sponsored by an outside source and coordinated through NASFAA. This was in connection with Hurricane Katrina and the effects to our state.

Just before the Christmas holiday season, Soraya Welden, MSMASFAA State President, Sherr Gladney, LASFAA State President, and Buddy Jackson, AASFAA State President,
traveled to the great state of California to attend the CASFAA annual conference.

The meeting was held in the beautiful downtown area of Sacramento, CA. This was a wonderful setting for a very large conference with 1627 members in attendance.

Joanne Brennan, CASFAA President, and her association staff did a wonderful job hosting and planning this conference. They made our stay very enjoyable and educational.

Now, plans are being finalized for the AASFAA Spring 2006 Conference. The meeting will take place at the beautiful Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama April 12th-14th. The theme for the conference is “How’s your Financial Aid DNA?”

The Spring Conference Chair, Shannon Cross with Amsouth Bank, and President-Elect, Jonna Gibson with Regions Bank, are planning an array of topics and speakers.

Two of our AASFAA members will be attending the NASFAA Leadership Conference in Washington, DC on March 5-7th, 2006 President-Elect Joanna Gibson and Treasurer-Elect, Lisa Burleson.

Lastly, our Past President, Dr. Chip Quisenberry, is in the process of finalizing a dual slate of candidates for the office of President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer-Elect for the 2006-2007 year. AASFAA members will vote on these nominees at our Spring 2006 Conference.

Georgia State Report
Suzanne Pittman, GASFAA President

Members of the GASFAA Executive Board have been very active over the last few months. Below are highlights of our activities:

• November 9-11, our Community Action Committee attended the Georgia School Counselors Conference and had the opportunity to share our brochure “GASFAA Road to Success,” and advertise our “Ask the Experts” link on our website for counselors to pose aid questions.
  
  
• On December 7, GASFAA held a workshop entitled “Administering Federal and State Aid Programs, The Bursar and Financial Aid Administrator Perspective.” Presenters included both financial aid staff and bursar office staff to give each topic both perspectives. We were pleased that attendance was more than 240.
  
  
• On December 8, GASFAA held its first ever Strategic Planning Retreat under the direction of Gary Mann, our Strategic Planning Chair. We had 45 participants, and the retreat did much to chart the course of our Five Year Plan.
  
  
• On February 1, we held “GASFAA Day at the Capitol” where we invited members of the House and Senate Higher Education Committees to a breakfast so that we could make ourselves available to them as a resource as they consider legislation surrounding state aid. This was the first event of its kind for GASFAA, and we were extremely pleased with the turnout
  
  
• On February 2, our Professional Development Committee conducted the NASFAA Decentralized Training. We decided on doing this workshop a little later in the year so more time could be put into the preparation. Our attendance for this workshop was more than 170.
  
  
• Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed the Proclamation making the month of February Financial Aid Awareness Month in Georgia. GASFAA, in partnership with Georgia Student Finance Commission, held our annual Chat Night on February 28 for high school students to call or email in financial aid questions.
  
  
• Plans are well underway for our Spring Conference to be held May 17-19 at the Marriott Riverfront Resort in Savannah, Georgia.