2008 VASFAA Conference News

Happy Birthday to Us!

Forty years…where did the time go? Believe it or not, our active organization full of young and young-at-heart financial aid industry professionals will be FORTY YEARS OLD at our annual conference in May!

The identities of members who were diligently working in financial aid in 1968 is a well-kept VASFAA secret. But only you know the identities of the members who will be diligently taking notes and asking questions of the experts at the outstanding array of training sessions offered during our 2008 conference.

Budgets this year are tight! Plan ahead to take advantage of early bird discount registration and hotel rates. Double up on transportation and lodging with a buddy. Commute if you must—but be there or be square! This is the lowest cost one-stop full-circle training opportunity offered to the financial aid community in Virginia each year. And change being so constant, none of us can afford to miss even one year!

The theme of our 40th anniversary conference in Newport News, scheduled for May 19-21, 2008, is “Refreshing Our Spirit. Meeting the Constant of Change”. The main conference will begin on Monday, May 19 at 9:00 am. Prior to the conference on May 18, there will be a New Aid Officers Workshop to help our newest professionals in the field start out on a firm foundation of knowledge and skill. Come find ways to work smarter, improve compliance, serve students and trouble-shoot all sorts of financial aid issues!

Register now through the Conference Registration tab on the VASFAA website.

The conference room rate is a bargain $109 at the Newport News Marriott at City Center. Hurry, the hotel registration deadline is April 17, 2008.

Conference registration is $160 for early birds who register by April 20, 2008. After April 20, on-time registration rate will be $190.

As always, this year’s conference will provide a wide array of training sessions, industry sector get-togethers, networking opportunities and thought-provoking general sessions.

A sneak-preview of our general session speakers shows that we will be hearing from:

And speaking of sneak previews…do you think the 40th anniversary conference of the Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators will be ALL work? Well, ok, sort of…we have a lot of material to cover. Our change theme is no joke. Regulatory change is soooo constant. But we also have a lot of catching up to do! Aside from an outstanding conference hotel and surrounding restaurants and shops, there will be several events each evening of the conference where you can unwind and catch up on 40 years of VASFAA history with your new and not-so-new VASFAA friends.

The President’s Reception will be early Monday evening. Join your colleagues in this wonderful tradition for professional networking.

Later Monday night you can join VASFAA’s celebrity bingo host, John Beard, in a wild game of college and organization logo bingo!

Also on Monday night, you can take in a thought-provoking movie courtesy of the Diversity Committee. You can count on a wonderful discussion afterward!

Tuesday night you can attend our 40th anniversary birthday banquet that will include an awesome menu and some special VASFAA guests in a blast from our 40 year past.

Also on Tuesday night, you can literally blast to the past and beyond at our 40th anniversary birthday party sock hop to Top 40 and 40-year-old music courtesy of our cool music-meister, rockin’ Mike Abernathy.

Join us in May for critical professional skill-building and regulatory information for operations in 2008-09, opportunities to network with sector colleagues, brain-storming to solve common challenges with old and new friends and the opportunity to celebrate 40 years of success in one of the most challenging arenas of higher education and finance!

As always, conference dress is business casual. However, you are encouraged to sport your favorite sock hop attire on Tuesday night! VASFAA members who were around in the fifties and sixties (you know who you are) will remember what they wore to sock hops. For our youngest members, a sock hop is a ridiculous dance at which hopelessly geeky young folks try to be cool dancing in their socks. Whether you come to dance in your socks, just listen to the music or actually wear shoes on the dance floor, we hope you’ll join us for this memorable event.

So, pack up your business casual clothes, your need to know what’s happening in financial aid and a couple of other essentials to get ready for this trip. The other essentials are:

VASFAA’s 40th anniversary, be there or be square!