NYSFAAA Region VIII Meeting Minutes

SUNY Potsdam

October 26, 2007

The meeting began at 10:05 am:

Review of Minutes – Kerrie Cooper moved to have the minutes approved. Karen Blankenburg seconded.
Treasurers’ Report – It was decided that the regional account would stay with the same bank. Suzanne will add Jim Vallee’s name as well as Pat Farmer’s as a back-up.
Development Update – NYSFAAA support is down. Last year, $105,00 was raised compared to $47,000 this year. NYSFAAA will be forced to dip into their reserves this year. They will post a loss of $50,000 from the conference. Anyone who is looking to donate to the scholarship still has time. Please visit the NYSFAAA website under the Support tab.
Membership – Bonnie said that they are currently 74 members compared to 117 last year. Please renew your membership by November 17th. Bonnie will send out a reminder. Overall NYSFAA membership is down.
HESC Update – Dawn Langdon presented the update. Currently, the HESC default rate is the lowest in history at 3.9%. The Symposium will be held next September on the 17th and 18th in Saratoga. HESC has announced that they will be paying the default fee for 2008-2009 academic year.
Executive Council Update –Kerry LuBold said that the next meeting will be held the second week of December. The annual report is available on the website. If anyone has any questions or concerns regarding SLATE, please send them to Kerry or Heather McDonnell.
School Counselor Workshop- Kerry said the sites are booked. The dates are December 4th at JeffersonCommunity College and December 5th at the Lake Placid Resort. Currently 30 people are signed up for JCC and 41 for Lake Placid. Kerry said they are still looking for volunteers. Schools may donate logo apparel/items as a raffle.
Training Updates – Pat Farmer is looking for training topics for February. EASFAA trainings are being held November 16th in Albany and November 29th in Syracuse. The topic is Counseling Students and Families, Tackling Financial Aid Issues. Region 8 has decided that it will not host College Goal Sunday since schools are already participating in similar events and SUNY Financial Aid Day. If anyone would like to volunteer in another region, they may do so.
Lender Updates – Katrina Delgrosso announced that she is now with Chase and will be covering schools across NY. Jason Santora addressed the devastation of the California wildfires that have affected their Call Centers. Please me patient if you are trying to get a hold of someone.
Holiday Meeting – The Holiday Party will be held on December 7th at the Mirror Lake Inn. The cost is $50 per person and there will be a cash bar only. The room charge is $166 a night with a $200 deposit at the time of reservation. We will still have a gift exchange. The limit per gift is $15. Shalena Duprey and Theresa Gieseke will be coordinating the raffle for a needy family in ClintonCounty.

Other Updates – April was presented with the Regional Service Award. The Spring meeting dates were set.The February 22nd meeting will be held at SUNY Plattsburgh. The May 8th meeting will be held at St. Lawrence University. The topic for the May meeting will be SLATE regulations.

Minutes submitted by Amanda Earnshaw.

Members Present:

Name / Organization
Tim O’Donnell / Access Group
Kristin Carey / AFC
Joe Martinkovic / ASA
Charlie Boland / Bank of America
Katrina Delgrosso / Chase
April Grant / ClarksonUniversity
Peggy Jarvis / ClarksonUniversity
Dan Dunn / College Loan Corporation
Dawn Langdon / HESC
Bonnie Evans / HESC
Julie Brouse / Jefferson -Lewis Boces
Amanda Earnshaw / KeyBank
Jim Vallee / M&T Bank
Elizabeth Key / National Education
Pam Nichols / NCCC
Shalena Duprey / NCCC
Mary Ellen Chamberlain / Paul Smith's College
Pat Farmer / SLU
B.J. Revill / SLU
Jason Santora / Student Loan Express
Kathy Parker / SUNY Canton
Kerrie Cooper / SUNY Canton
Kerry Lubold / SUNY Plattsburgh
Nicole Adner / SUNY Plattsburgh
Carolyn Corcoran / SUNY Potsdam
Jennifer Hayes / SUNY Potsdam
Theresa Gieseke / Teri
Karen Blankenburg / Wachovia