As fast as the work day passes, that’s how fast this year seems to be going by. It was just May 2007, and VASFAA was “trekkin” at the Beach! Now, May 2008 is showing on the calendar within the 90 day window.

VASFAA’s Conference Committee has been meeting and planning the Annual Conference for many months now. It won’t be at the Beach, but it will be just as classy. The Marriott at Oyster Point, Newport News, is a wonderful conference facility. It is new, beautifully appointed, and state of the art. It also is not so large it is overwhelming and its warmth is very welcoming to groups meeting there. On top of that, it has a wonderful pool and fountain outside the main door that is refreshing and very calming. Just the symbol needed for “Refreshing Our Spirit”! It is a setting that is “a dream come true” for the kind of conference VASFAA is planning for its 40th anniversary!

Jeanne Holmes and Pam Rambo are the kind of co-chairs that complement one another. They are big on conservatism and creativity. That’s the VASFAA budget this year summed up in two words. What isn’t there to spend, there is plenty to be creative with. Working with Training committee co-chairs, Elizabeth Desi and Donna Taylor, they have outdone themselves to bring a memorable conference to VASFAA members. Make sure to read the article, “Happy Birthday to Us” to size up what VASFAA’s hard-working, dedicated conference committees have in store for 2008! And, don’t forget to bring plenty of dance socks to hop with, along with recording tools for keeping notes from the general and concurrent sessions.

On a more fundamental note, this year has been a real challenge with fund raising. It has been one year since the federal government changed how associations can receive sponsorship funds. Gone are the days of levels of support and sponsored sessions. This year, it has been all about contributions for training purposes. Has VASFAA asked for and received donations from the lending community to assist in its awesome mission of training its membership? Yes, thanks to the efforts of co-chairs Francesca Pileggi and Dave Deibel, VASFAA has received contributions from student loan providers, servicers, and guarantors who believe in VASFAA’s mission to assist families of the Commonwealth in accessing education. Without these contributors, the cost of running this association would be very burdensome financially to the members who themselves face budgetary constraints. VASFAA wants these contributors to know that their support is so very much appreciated and that they will be verbally acknowledged at the conference this May. These contributors are priceless not only for the financial support they lend VASFAA, but also for the people who represent them. An association is the people who power the association with their presence and volunteer support. Without the people who represent VASFAA, there is no strength in what needs to be done.

As VASFAA rounds the corner this year into the busy spring season, so much is happening. New leadership in NASFAA, a recent successful SASFAA conference in Crystal City, busy VASFAA committees with members dedicated to access for education, the effects of the CRRAA on the loan industry, an emerging Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and continual never-ending effort in offices and campuses to keep students and families accessing the educations they deserve; these are all realities of the industry financial aid professionals encounter daily.

Acknowledgement of what this group of people does is truly needed. “Refreshing Our Spirit, Meeting the Constant of Change“ has never been truer than it is today!