President's Message
By Guy Gibbs, President 2005-2006

My year as President of SASFAA will end June 30, 2006 as I hand the gavel and the leadership of SASFAA to Brent Tener and the 2006-2007 board. I look forward to the continued growth and vitality of SASFAA under this new leadership team.

This has been an exciting year for me. It has been my pleasure to serve the association as President this year, but it would not have been possible without the support and dedication of the elected association officers: Janet Sain, Brent Tener, Tolly Tollefson, Sandy Neel, and Heather Boutell. Or without the help of the state presidents: Buddy Jackson, Ruth Strum, Suzanne Pittman, Shelley Park, Soraya Welden, Dana Kelly, Nancy Garmroth, Forrest Stuart and Brad Barnett. I would be remiss in not thanking the committee chairs for their excellent work and service to SASFAA: Lisanne Masterson, Keith Reeves, Clark Aldridge, Bill Spiers, Susan Little, April Kendrick, Juanita Russell, Paul Mittlehammer, Cruzie Lucero, Ron Gambill, Erik Melis, Mike Hawkes, Carol Mowbray and Greg Martin. I offer my sincere thanks to each of these individuals for their hard work, dedication to the association and the financial aid profession.

I am proud of the accomplishments that we have achieved this year:

• A successful 43rd annual conference held in Greensboro in Feburary. Over 860 members were registered for the conference.
• A charity drive with over $6,500 being raised for the Victory Junction Gang camp.
• A year in which the membership exceeded 1,500.
• A banner year in advertising and sponsorship support.
• A total revision of the Policies and Procedures Manual and the Guide to Financial Management.
• A successful New Aid Officers Workshop held at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
• A successful Mid-Level Workshop held in conjunction with the Southwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (SWASFAA) and held at Furman University.
• A successful Long Range Planning Summit.

These are but a few of the activities undertaken this year. The annual report to the membership and the governance and planning documents are both available on the SASFAA website. The membership is encouraged to review these two documents and to learn more about the work of the officers and committees in meeting their goals for the year.

The work of this association cannot be accomplished without your volunteer support. I thank you for that support this year and encourage each of you to become involved in the work of the association. Thanks for a great year and one which I will always cherish.