NYSFAAA Executive Council Meeting

February 7-8, 2008

Treasurer’s Report

·        Tom looked at our investment strategies with the Smith-Barney representative. With recent dips in the market, NYSFAAA’s conservative investment strategy has served us well.

·        Revenue sharing checks last summer were sent to only Regions 2, 6, & 7. Remaining regions, including Region 3, will receive that missing check as well as the January revenue sharing check that is due. We will have $2,000 in revenue sharing for the 07-08 membership year.

·        A motion passed to update the P&P Manual to reflect that revenue sharing is based on the region’s membership numbers at the end of the membership year: June 30th.

·        Wayne Harewood has been appointed to be “Assistant Treasurer.” We discussed the complexity of the treasury and the issues that surround the treasurer during the transition after an election or if someone steps down. A motion was passed to create an office of “Past Treasurer” to help with future transitions. A constitutional amendment would need to be considered by the Governance Committee to begin the process of creating the office of “Past Treasurer.”

 

Membership

  • Region 3 has 187 current members. Total state membership is up by 40 people from a year ago: 1344 total NYSFAAA members. We anticipate an increase in membership with the upcoming tax workshops.
  • It is up to current members to encourage others to join and to remember to renew our own memberships year after year!
  • The Membership Brochure is being updated. Feedback is appreciated. Please let Gina know if you have ideas and suggestions.

 

Mentoring

  • Sean View and Tim O’Donnell will be the Region 3 representatives.

 

Communications

  • A lengthy discussion took place regarding the web site, particularly regarding the navigation buttons on the top heading of the site and the menu options or links along the left hand tool bar.
  • We discussed the option of a Blog vs. an Opinion Page. Motion passed to table the blog for now, motion was approved to establish an opinion page. An individual must be designated to serve as a reviewer who will post opinions to the site.
  • A motion passed to open event management to regional activities. The cost of using event management costs will be absorbed by the regions that choose to use it.

 

High School Outreach

  • Wall Charts and “How to Apply” mailing was done in December. 4400 pieces went out to high schools, libraries, legislators, FA offices, and community organizations.
  • A School Counselor Workshop wrap-up meeting will take place on March 13 & 14 in Syracuse. If anyone from Region 3 wants to get involved with future High School Outreach activities, please talk with Gina Soliz, Sean View, or Kate Bellefeuille.

 

Development

  • Sponsorship took a big hit this year, due to SLATE. Sponsorship is usually over $100,000, this year we have less than $40,000.
  • SLATE regulatory draft must be published prior to the Board of Regents meetings (upcoming meetings are scheduled for 3/6 and May). Public proposals to request funds collected from the AG were to be entertained in mid-January, however, the “formal request document” is not yet available. Heather McDonnell will continue to follow up. In the meantime, Judi Miladin and Sheryl Mihopolus have agreed to be our NYSFAAA Grant Writers and will be attending a grant writing workshop.

 

College Goal Sunday 2008

  • As of 2/7 there were over 1400 students registered statewide and 331 volunteers. This is a 100% increase over 2007!

 

HESC Report

  • HESC reiterated the redirect of the 1% default fee to be reallocated to TAP.
  • There are questions as to the launch date of MarketPlace.

 

Professional Development

  • Jim Briggs workshops were held in Albany and NYC.
  • EASFAA Leadership Training Workshops have just been announced to be held at SUNY Brockport (3/20), Excelsior College (3/17) and Berkeley College (3/7).

 

Novice Training

  • Will be held at SUNY Brockport June 7th-June 13th. The 2008 fee is $580 which includes membership dues. If we sign a 4 year contract with Brockport we will lock into their 2008 rates.

 

Conference 2007

  • Because there are still some figures that need to be resolved, a final conference report is not yet available.

 

Governance

  • Under Irv Bodofski, the Long Range Plan is moving along and making great progress. We plan to have a draft to the regions prior to the June Exec Council meeting.

 

Government Relations

  • Christine Sears and Jim Vallee are developing talking points for NYSFAAA members who will be making visits to State Legislators. The Albany Legislative Forum in being held on March 4th.

 

SLATE Summit

  • The regulatory language is not yet complete. We have not seen a draft yet, but Heather McDonnell has been advised to be patient with Joe Frey, due to the unique political situation that surrounds us. More to come…

                                               

Submitted to Region 3 by Gina Soliz.