Kentucky State Report
Shelley Park, KASFAA President

The fall and winter months have been very busy for KASFAA members with state-wide trainings and outreach programs to help provide Kentucky students and parents with information to fund their education.

Outreach activities
Kentucky sponsored College Goal Sunday (CGS) on January 29 at 19 locations throughout Kentucky. This year’s CGS attendance surpassed all previous years for a record-breaking 2600 students and parents with 195 KASFAA volunteers. Many of the sites were able to offer computer assistance for participants. More in-depth publicity in state-wide newspapers, radio announcements and in the public high school systems was a contributing factor to the increase in attendance. One site had a family stop to attend as they were on their way home to West Virginia because they had heard the radio ad in their car. KASFAA knows that CGS is a very worthwhile and important event for our state.

On January 31, 2006, KASFAA sponsored the annual KET Call-In Show at 8:00 pm. Four KASFAA members volunteered to be on-air panelists and answered phone call questions for the one hour show.

On February 22, 2006, Governor Ernie Fletcher will officially declare February as Financial Aid Awareness month. KASFAA President Shelley Park and KASFAA President-Elect Runan Pendergrast will travel to the capital to accept the declaration from the governor on behalf of KASFAA.

On March 22, 2006, the KASFAA Professional Development Committee will sponsor a support staff workshop in Lexington, Kentucky. Last year, over 50 support staff members attended and this year’s program includes topics such as How to Balance Life and Work, EFC Calculations and Basics in the Student Loan industry.

Training
Kentucky’s Spring Conference will be held April 19-21 in Lexington, KY at the Holiday Inn. The theme, "Peace, Love and KASFAA" will relive the 70’s for KASFAA members with tie-dye shirts and polyester leisure suits. In-depth professional judgment training will be a highlight of the conference with experienced financial aid professionals leading this training. Kathie Makowski will be representing the Department of Education to present the federal update and sessions on NSLD Post Screening Issues and FAA Web Services. Other special guests for the spring KASFAA include NASFAA Chair David Gelinas, SASFAA President Guy Gibbs and Susan Little, University of Georgia, and Julia Padgett from Emory University, and author Tamara Draut who wrote the book Strapped: Why America’s 20 and 30 Somethings Can’t Get Ahead. KASFAA members will end the conference with a day at the Keenland horse race track.

Nominations
At the spring conference, KASFAA will hold elections and the following KASFAA members have been nominated for offices. President-elect candidates are Bryan Erslan, Berea College and Pat Arauz, University of Louisville; Vice President for Training candidates are Rick Wilson, Bowling Green Technical College and Manual McMillan, University of Louisville; Secretary is Karyn Yates, Eastern Kentucky University and Gina Kuzuoka, Spalding University; Two-Year Public Representatives are Margie Philpot from Somerset Community College and Kathy Hodges from Elizabethtown Technicial College; Proprietary Representative is Laura Geiser from Sullivan University and Pat Nettleton from Beckfield College.

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