Alabama State Report
Jonna Gibson, AASFAA President

The 2006/2007 AASFAA year began with our Transition Board meeting at the Marriott hotel in Prattville, Alabama. The elected officers of the Alabama Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Inc are:

• President - Jonna Gibson, Regions Student Lending
• President-Elect - Ben Baker, University of North Alabama
• Past President - Buddy Jackson, Faulkner University
• Vice President - Charles Markle, Auburn University
• Secretary - Suzanne Bush, Bevill State Community College
• Treasurer - Phillip Nelson, Auburn University
• Treasurer-Elect - vacant

Under the leadership of Ben Baker and Mike Reynolds, the 2006 Fall Conference Committee has been working diligently on an excellent program. Yolanda Adams from the Department of Education will be presenting our Federal Update as well as a Q & A session. The Fall Conference will be held October 10-13 at the Dixon Conference Center in Auburn, Alabama. The theme is “Healing Everyone’s Reauthorization Ailments”.

Charles Markle is preparing to conduct three New Aid Officers workshops—September 27, 2006 in Auburn Alabama; November 30, 2006 in Andalusia, Alabama; and February 6, 2007 in Sumiton, Alabama. Charles has scheduled a HERA training session October 5, 2006 at Alabama State University in Montgomery, AL.

AASFAA’s Fall NASFAA training will be held on November 30, 2006 in Andalusia, Alabama. Vice President Charles Markle will be coordinating this workshop for our members after attending NASFAA’s training workshop in Washington, D.C.

Florida State Report
Tom Judge, FASFAA President

FASFAA will be celebrating their 40th year as an association during the 2006-2007 year. They will be one of the first in the SASFAA region to conduct their fall conference. It will be held from September 27-29 at the Hyatt Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs, Florida. The theme of the conference is “FASFAA…40…Still On Top Of Our Game.” They are expecting close to 400 attendees. On Tuesday, September 26, the USDOE will conduct a HERA workshop at the site. Approximately 200 people are registered for that event.

After the conference is complete, the six regions in Florida will begin their fall training workshop series. Many exciting training opportunities will be available for both professional and support staffs from colleges, universities, proprietary, and technical schools.

Tom Judge assumed the reigns as FASFAA President on July 1. His board met for their transitional retreat from July 26-28 at the Tampa Waterside Marriott. This venue will also be the site of the 2007 FASFAA spring conference from May 23-25.

FASFAA will be hosting only one conference during the 2008-2009 year on a trial basis. The association will be surveying the membership in the future as to their desire concerning either the one or two conference per year format.

As with many of our states throughout the SASFAA region, Florida is still recovering from the effects of the hurricanes during the past two years. FASFAA will be returning to the Panhandle for their fall, 2007 conference in Destin, Florida. This was the site of a conference that had to be cancelled two years ago due to severe hurricane damage. FASFAA is excited that the area has recovered and its members can look forward to a great time in that area.

For more information on all that FASFAA is doing, please logon to their website at www.fasfaa.org.

South Carolina State Report
Mr. Kim Jenerette, SCASFAA President

SCASFAA and NCASFAA will be hosting a joint fall conference on November 6-8 at the Grove Park Inn and Spa Resort in Asheville, NC. All of the State Presidents have been invited and we look forward to this “mini-SASFAA” conference. Bob Godfrey (SC) and Bill Cox (NC) serve as co-chairs and the conference committee met on July 24th.

The Professional Development Committee, chaired by Jeff Holliday, met on July 14th and have already penciled in 3 workshops—HERA Training on October 19th, New Aid Officers Workshop on November 13th-14th, and the de-centralized training on December 5th. Also in the works is a possible Guidance Counselor Workshop (to be hosted throughout the state).

The Legislative Relations Committee, chaired by Glenn Shumpert, continue to post updated information via the SCASFA-L list-serv. This information consists of both federal and state matters and allows the membership to be continually updated on pertinent matters.

Special Projects, chaired by Tabatha McAlister, is gathering information regarding the possibility of SCAFAA instituting the office of Chair-Elect. Knowing the importance of this position and fiscal integrity, we recognize the lead of many sister states and desire to move forward in implementing the best possible means and service to our constituency.

The Diversity Committee, Chaired by Dr. Em McNair, has met and are planning diversity sessions for next winter/spring.

The full committee of the 06-07 SCASFAA Board can be found at www.scasfaa.org.