President's Message
By Brent Tener, President 2006-2007

Dear SASFAA Colleagues,

Professionally, we have survived another fall registration. In addition to the usual challenges we face this time of year, we have had the added opportunity to implement many facets of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act, affectionately known as ‘HERA.’ As I have mentioned to folks in our office, in any given year just one of the new initiatives would be more than enough to add excitement to our lives. We have wrestled with ACG, SMART and the Graduate PLUS Loan programs. The good news is that even though it has added to our workload, our students are benefiting from these new opportunities.

I am excited to serve this year as your SASFAA President, and I thank you for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to working with you, the Executive Board and our committee chairs in moving SASFAA forward in 2006-2007. This is not a task taken lightly, but with your assistance and input, we will have a great year. Just remember that this is a partnership, and I ask each of you to become involved. Do not hesitate to make your voice known and to make recommendations to any member of the SASFAA Executive Board.

The Executive Board and committee chairs began their work in June at the transition meeting with the 2005-2006 board. This gave us the opportunity to understand our new roles in the association. This also gave me an opportunity to share with this board my ideas for the year. I am very pleased with the enthusiasm shown, and I know that we are in for an ambitious year. I would like to thank those who agreed to serve as committee chairs and to each of you who volunteered your service to the association.

The Executive Board met again in Nashville, Tennessee, August 4-6, at the Renaissance Hotel, the site of our 2007 conference. The board worked the entire weekend approving committee assignments, the operational budget, reporting our goals and objectives and in general discussion and planning for the year.

The following includes some of the specific goals we are undertaking this year:

• Michael Morgan, Conference Chair, and committee have the task of putting together a well-planned conference that will meet your training needs and professional expectations. Our annual conference will be held at the Nashville Renaissance Hotel, February 11-14, 2007. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend.
  
  
• Susan Little will continue the work she began last year in permanently archiving SASFAA historical records. The goal is to scan the numerous boxes of documents and make the information available on the SASFAA website. Current documents, as they are produced, will be scanned and added to the online library.
  
  
• Barry Simmons will serve as a Special Appointee and is charged with designing a leadership symposium for state and regional leaders. The concept is to hold a 2-day workshop for approximately 27 individuals in the spring of 2007.
  
  
• Sandy Neel, Vice President, will have two significant training activities this year, which includes the New Aid Officers and Mid-Level workshops.
  
  
• Janet Sain will serve as a Special Appointee, working with past SASFAA leaders in developing a comprehensive notebook that will assist individuals in planning the annual SASFAA training activities.

These are only some of the initiatives planned for this year. Each member of the SASFAA board has a number of assignments designed to further the mission of our association. I would like to hear your suggestions as to other ways that SASFAA might better serve you. This is your association! Please do not hesitate to contact me or any other board or committee member with your suggestions. My email address is b.tener@vanderbilt.edu and telephone number is 615-343-1422.