Mississippi State Report

Mississippi State Report

Seph Anderson

MASFAA has had a great first half of the year, and we have a lot of things to look forward to in the remainder of 2011-2012 as we move closer to our annual conference May 23-25 at The Inn at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.

2011 Fall Training

MASFAA Vice-President Greg Windham (Northeast Mississippi Community College) and his training committee  prepared an excellent fall training event that took place Wednesday October 12, 2011 at the Mississippi State University – Meridian Campus. The training was conducted by Department of Education trainers Mike Roberts and Wood Mason, along with State of Mississippi Financial Aid Director, Jennifer Rogers. We had 83 members attend Fall Training, and the event was well-received by all. We thank our trainers for their continued support of our association.  

2011 FSA Conference Follow-Up

I was pleased to see many familiar faces while attending the Federal Student Aid (FSA) conference in Las Vegas, NV this past November. In the midst of mobs of attendees, I’m happy to report that many from the MASFAA family attending FSA made time for a dutch-treat lunch together at the Rainforest Café. The MASFAA lunch during FSA was well-received by those in attendance, and provided a great chance for those members to both talk business and share a few laughs together. It’s something we plan to continue in the future. 

2012 NASFAA Leadership Conference

On the topic of conferences, the MASFAA board decided to send President-Elect Cindy May (Ole Miss) and Treasurer Brett Barefoot (Ole Miss) to the 2012 NASFAA Leadership Conference (March 4-6. 2012) in the Washington, D.C. area. Many MASFAA leaders have participated in this conference over the years and gained skills necessary to effectively lead MASFAA into the future, and I was very pleased to hear Brett and Cindy also found the conference to be insightful  as they prepare for enhanced leadership roles in 2012-2013.

2012 MASFAA Conference - May 23-25, 2012 - The Inn at Ole Miss

Nicole Patrick (Mississippi University for Woman), chair of the conference committee, has worked diligently with her conference committee members for months now planning and preparing for what should be one of the best conferences we have had in years! The selected theme of “Team MASFAA” is very fitting, as we have all really united in recent years due to things ranging from the conversion to DL to budget constraints faced by each of our offices. Understanding budget issues remain at the forefront for all of our offices, I’m pleased that our board voted to keep the conference registration at $150 as it was the prior year. In terms of the conference program, NASFAA President Justin Draeger, SASFAA Past-President Sandy Neel, and Department of Education Federal Trainers Dave Bartnicki and Wood Mason are among a host of individuals scheduled to present during conference.

Attendees are sure to be surprised by the headline member of the band performing at the President’s Reception, as Bruce Crain (retired Mississippi State University Financial Aid Director) will be performing with his band, Swingshift!

2012 MASFAA “Honorary Lifetime Members”

During Fall Training, our membership voted on nominees to receive the esteemed recognition of being “Honorary Lifetime Members.” After all ballots were counted, there were two individuals chosen: Bruce Crain and Jeanie Hughes. Both individuals have given a great deal of themselves personally and professionally to advance the mission of MASFAA over the years. Bruce served as Director of Financial Aid at Mississippi State University for many years, while among other places Jeanie Hughes most recently spent a great number of years with Education Services Foundation. Bruce and Jeanie are set to be honored as “Honorary Lifetime Members” during the upcoming conference in May.

2013 Conference Site Selection

After a thorough review of proposals for the 2013 conference, our board selected Harrah’s Casino and Resort in Tunica, MS to host the 2013 MASFAA Conference.

Seph Anderson

11-12 MASFAA President
Student Loan Coordinator
Office of Financial Aid
The University of Mississippi
257 Martindale Student Services Center
University, MS 38677
(662) 915-5546 office
(662) 915-1164 fax