As I look back over the year, it is hard to believe it is almost over! So much has happened this year that VASFAA should be proud of. In this issue, I am going to summarize the year’s events.

The planning for the year began in June 2008 when the Budget and Finance Committee met to propose a working budget for the year. The committee proposed a balanced budget that netted a 24% decrease from the prior year. The VASFAA Board Transition meeting was conducted “family style” this year. Board members ate home-prepared meals (special thanks to Donna Taylor and Michael Poma) and ate around a large dining room table. Information was distributed ahead of the meeting to reduce costs as well.

Committee Chairs worked diligently on their goals with their approved budgets throughout the year. The following is the result of the year’s work:

Awards: Carol Mowbray and Karen Koonce were awarded Life Member awards. Pam Rambo was awarded a Retirement Recognition award and Elizabeth (Biz) Daniels received the Service Award. Descriptions of the awards can be found on the VASFAA website.

Awareness: Super Saturday was January 31st. Over 2,800 parents, students, and guardians attended one of 23 sites with 1,361 FAFSA’s being either completed or initialized.

Budget and Finance: Continual revenue was entered in the budget to make sure the Executive Board was aware of updates, and insurance policies were reviewed to make sure coverage was current. VASFAA will end the year in the black!

Conference: 190 individuals were in attendance at the annual conference April 26-29 at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center in Roanoke, Virginia.

Conference Training: This committee was responsible for coordinating 5 general sessions and 21 concurrent sessions at the annual conference. Flex Fee registration was an option this year for the first time.

Developmental: 15 organizations supported the association this year; this exceeded the projections for the year. Thank you to all that supported the mission of VASFAA this past year!

Diversity/F.O.C.U.S: The committee changed their name from the Diversity committee to F.O.C.U.S. (Fresh Outlook Centering on Unity and Self Improvement). This will allow the committee to address a number of different topics for the upcoming year.

Electronic Services: Updates were provided to ATAC to post to the website in a timely manner throughout the year so information could be current on the VASFAA website. The committee provided support during the annual conference to assure the election process was smooth and successful.

Government Relations: This committee has been active this year keeping the membership current on topics of interest with listserv updates.

Membership: 395 individuals were members of VASFAA for 2008-2009.

New Century/ Presidents’ Council: The committee approved 5 applications from the membership for professional development grants and newsletter articles reporting on their activities were submitted by the recipients.

Newsletter: The committee produced 4 newsletters this year. Newsletter articles were provided by various members of VASFAA.

Nominations and Elections: The committee put together a slate of candidates for the 2009-2010 year. The following people will serve on the Executive Board for 2009-2010 – President: Sheila Nelson-Hensley; President-Elect: Heather Hollandsworth; Past President: Brenda Burke; Secretary: Melissa Barnes; Treasurer: Kerrie Roth; Treasurer-Elect: Margaret Murphy; Representatives-at-Large: Daniel Hewitt, Kiesha Pope, Paula Rafferty, and Donna Taylor; Special Appointee: Mike Hawkes; SCHEV Liaison: Lee Andes.

Non-Conference Training: Conducted a year-long webinar series with the theme of “Self Assessment for Optimum Compliance.” The committee also was responsible for two New Aid Officer Workshops – one in the fall and the other in the spring.

Public Relations: A media blitz was conducted in January to promote the Super Saturday events across the state utilizing the Virginia Press association’s PR Newswire. Information was in daily/weekly newspapers and over the radio media services.

Secondary Schools: 13 sites hosted Guidance Counselor workshops with over 300 people in attendance.

Sector Coordination: Each sector held meetings at the annual conference and presented concerns and suggestions to the Board for review. This information will be reviewed when plans are being made for the 2009-2010 year.

Site Selection: The 2010 annual conference will be held in Hampton, Virginia at the Embassy Suites.

Strategic Planning: The plan for the 2009-2010 year will be reviewed by the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 Executive Board at the Transition Meeting in June 2009.

What a successful year! VASFAA should be proud of all its accomplishments. At the end of the year, the budget appears to be in the black. This is truly wonderful!

On a personal note, I would like to thank the VASFAA membership for the opportunity to be your President this year. What a truly humbling experience! I was proud to attend various events on behalf of VASFAA and share our successes with others around the region. These opportunities would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of a lot of people. I look forward to working with Sheila next year to make her year just as successful!