President Report - September 2003

It's time for another update regarding the Nevada Association of Financial Aid Administrators.

VACANT NAFAA POSITIONS: Since the last time I wrote you, we did fill the NAFAA Member-at-Large position. Belinda Robinson of University of Phoenix - Las Vegas office was appointed to that position. I am sad to say that recently I received word that our NAFAA Vice President/President-elect, Dan Shellenberger of The Art Institute of Las Vegas, accepted a job in Colorado and therefore he can no longer serve in this position. Then our NAFAA Secretary, Beth Kern of Great Basin College in Elko, notified me that she has accepted a position with her local school district and she will not be able to complete her term. Both of these individuals have done an excellent job in a short time serving as your NAFAA officers. We wish them well and yes, we will miss them. These vacancies do need to be filled before our November conference so please keep an eye open for the announcement that will come from our Nominations & Elections Committee Chair, Sandi Guidry. She soon will be asking for nominations.

The 2003 NAFAA CONFERENCE Committee is planning another exciting program for all. So please plan to attend. Conference registration information is online at www.nafaaweb.org. Our conference sponsors are really showing their support in a big way this year. We do appreciate what they are doing to provide opportunities for us to develop professionally. Also, the NAFAA conference scholarship will be available by next week. So if money is an issue, please apply for one of the scholarships.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS - NAFAA is known for providing scholarships for students we believe may have "fallen through the cracks". These are students who still have a high need, done well academically, may have faced various obstacles, but your financial aid office has no more funds to give. If your institution would like to nominate a student to receive one of our scholarships, please complete the attached application. This application will be online at the NAFAA website, too. Deadline: October 15.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES: Mona Buckheart is keeping us up-to-date by notifying NAFAA members of upcoming workshops. The 2003 WASFAA/NASFAA Fall Workshops on "Student Eligibility - Guiding Principles for Making Wise Decisions" and the High School Counselors Training Workshops, to name a few, are posted at www.nafaaweb.org. Most of the opportunities are free so please consider signing up.

ARTICLES FOR WASFAA NEWSLETTER - We are always looking for new information to put in our NAFAA article for the WASFAA newsletter. Please email me with news that you would like to share to let others become aware of what is happening in Nevada. Your articles are needed by October 1 for the next newsletter.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET INVOLVED IN NAFAA? If the answer is yes, we are looking for a NAFAA school representative to serve as co-chair of the 2004 NAFAA conference. There are still a few vacant positions on several NAFAA committees. Please contact me for more information.

NEXT WASFAA EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING will be held on November 6 & 7 in Seattle, WA. If you have any issues or concerns that you would like for me to address at that meeting, please forward your thoughts to me before those dates. WASFAA is looking for someone from Nevada to serve on the Graduate/Professional Committee. If interested, please contact me.

FINALLY, THANKS FOR BEING A NAFAA MEMBER!

Marsha
NAFAA President