VASFAA Seeks Nominations for 2007-2008 Awards

The VASFAA Awards and Nominations Committee is seeking nominations/recommendations for VASFAA’s prestigious awards. The awards are listed below:

Life Member Award
The Life Member Award is the highest honor the Association can bestow upon any person. The recipient of this award must have rendered truly outstanding service to the Association or the financial aid profession. Outstanding service demonstrated through state, regional, or national Association officer or committee leadership, authorship of professional publications, professional training, efforts to secure financial support for the work of Association goals and objectives for furthering the opportunity of Virginia's post secondary education population might be used as a basis for identifying life member nominees. This reference does not preclude consideration of those outside the membership of VASFAA.

Life members, with the exception of voting privileges, are granted all rights afforded any member in good standing with the Association. Should the Life Member classification be granted to a member in good standing, that member shall retain his/her voting privilege as long as the membership status is maintained as defined by the Association's By-Laws.

Life members shall be assessed no membership dues and shall be encouraged to participate fully in all Association activities. In recognition of past service, Life Members of VASFAA are entitled to complimentary registration at VASFAA conferences.

Excellence Award
Second to Life Membership, the Excellence Award is one of the highest recognitions bestowed by the Association. The recipient must have made an outstanding contribution that furthers the goals of VASFAA. The nomination must be made by a member in good standing and accompanied by a statement justifying the award (accomplishments, services, etc.) and by three written endorsements of the nomination from three other current members of the association. The endorsements can be in the form of e-mails.

The recipient must be a practicing aid administrator who is a member in good standing. Current Board members are excluded from consideration.

Service Award
The Service Award is one of the highest awards bestowed by the Association. The recipient must have made significant contributions which further the goals of VASFAA or have been responsible for an achievement of momentous importance. The recipient is someone who is not an active aid administrator; e.g., college president, legislator, agency representative, or private citizen. Nominations are accepted only from members in good standing, and must be accompanied by a statement justifying the award (accomplishments, services, etc.) and by three written endorsements of the nomination from three other current members of the association. The endorsements can be in the form of e-mails.

New Professional of the Year Award
The New Professional of the Year Award is presented to select new members within the first four years of membership in VASFAA. This award is given in recognition of exceptional and enthusiastic service to a person who has been a member of VASFAA from one to four years and to encourage other new members to take leadership roles in VASFAA.

Retirement Recognition
This recognition is based on retirement from the financial aid profession. Normally, the person must have served the most recent (15) years in a position in the financial aid profession and be a Professional or Associate member of VASFAA, although the Board may approve Retirement Recognition for those with a shorter period in a financial aid position.

Nomination Process
For all the before-mentioned awards, nominations should be submitted to the Chair of the Awards and Nominations Committee, Erik Melis, emelis@gmu.edu, using the 2007-2008 VASFAA Award Nomination Form. It is requested that all nominations be received no later then January 7, 2008. However, nominations can be submitted at a later date and will be reviewed by the Board during the next scheduled Board meeting.

Nominations should include the candidate’s name, institution/agency, and address; a statement that explains the candidate’s merits to be considered for the award; and any other information requested in the award descriptions above.

Please consider this a call for nominations to recognize the outstanding contributions of your colleagues.