Serving as Leaders
The Nominations and Elections
Committee is pleased to present the slate of candidates for SASFAA’s upcoming
election. Special thanks to members who submitted nominations and to
those who are willing to serve in a leadership capacity. SASFAA continues
leading as a vibrant organization due to the dedication and involvement of
wonderful volunteers.
Candidates for Election
President-Elect Nancy Tate and Celena Tulloss
Vice President Joan Bailey and April Tretter
Additional information, including resumes and candidacy statements, will
be provided at a later date. Voting opens Saturday, February 9, 2019, and closes Tuesday, February 19, 2019, at 3 pm eastern time.
Thank you again to everyone
who volunteered.
Sharon Oliver
soliver@nccu.edu
2018-19 Nominations and Election
Chair
Serving as Community
Service - helping, doing something for others, kindness
Hospitality - warm reception, helpful, welcoming to visitors, guests & strangers alike
As we embrace the beauty of fall and reminisce on memorable moments of summer, I hope each of you will remember to take a moment to enjoy the little things in life that evolve into something beautiful. Our daily encounters with with people from different walks of life really takes special people like YOU to perform the duties of our profession. We are "game changers" who bridge many gaps in making College a reality... that's who we are!
Our lives are filled with opportunities for Service & Hospitality. I hope each of you will take time to share these unique qualities with colleagues in your office or campus. Choose a day(s) to do your "Random Acts of Kindness & Love." Here are some suggestions to get your creative juices flowing! Have fun!!
- Share a small bag of candy, or a candy bar with someone who may be in need or doesn't have access to the simple things in life
- Make a donation, or do something helpful to make life a little easier for a cancer patient, or caregiver
- Stand up for victims of domestic violence by volunteering at a shelter, or spreading the word of resources available to victims
- Bake cookies, and give to random people who cross your path, or workers in a business that you frequent
- Adopt a shelter pet, or coordinate a food or blanket and towel drive
We're unique & special in our own way but the work we do makes us all ONE.
Let's "Celebrate You, Celebrate Me, Celebrate US and SMILE
(See Me In Love Embrace me for who I am)."
Regina Gilbert
rgilbert@watkins.edu
2018-19 Global Issues Committee
(TASFAA Global Issues Chair)
Serving in Difficult Times
A View from the Storm
To say October was a blur is an
understatement!
On Sunday, September 30 I left for our computer
conference. On October 5, I flew from
there to the SASFAA Executive Board Meeting in Knoxville. Saturday night, October 6 I flew back to
Tallahassee, FL around 11:30 p.m. The
next day we went to church, there was no mention of a storm. Sunday night we went to our local Publix only
to find that the shelves were nearly empty of basic items such as bread, water,
canned goods. As we approached the
checkout counter the person in front of us said “Isn’t it amazing how fast the
storm has grown?” My wife and I
responded by saying “What storm?” Only
then did we learn that a hurricane was forming in the Gulf.
On Monday, I listened to the weather projections. The storm would hit the Florida Gulf Coast as a category 1 storm. No big deal.
We have seen those before. By
mid-morning we were looking at the possibility of a category 3 storm with a projected
path over Tallahassee. Now I am begging
to pay attention!
About the same time I learned that our College emergency team was meeting. We waited
to see what action they would take before the storm. To our surprise, they closed the College for
the rest of the week and asked that no one return to campus until the following
Monday. Hearing this only heightened my concern. What did they know that had not been made
public? Were there anticipated issues we
didn’t know about?
By Monday night it was projected that the storm would
reach category 3 or higher. Now I am
really concerned! I spent Tuesday making preparations for the storm.
All items outside had to be brought inside, and those that couldn’t be
had to be fastened down. The day was
filled with activity.
Wednesday morning brought more bad news. Now the storm was predicted to be category 4, or higher. Regardless of
where the storm came ashore we were in for a rough time. By noon Tallahassee was a ghost town. The winds were picking up, and with them, rumors of a
category 5 storm swirled. While we had
light rain earlier in the day, around 3:00 the real storm bands arrived. We lost electricity about 4:30. The winds were howling, and all we could
do was sit and ride out the storm. Around
5:00 I stepped out on my front porch to see what damage had occurred in my
neighborhood. As I looked around I heard
a loud thud, a large hickory tree in our yard had fallen. It missed our house, but crushed our neighbor's fence and missed his house by only inches. Around 6:00 the storm passed. We sat
quietly in the dark.
Thursday morning I was up early, dressed, and outside to fully
reviewing the storm damage. Fortunately, our damage was limited to the tree, but the yard was a
mess. Around 8:30, I drove around downed trees and debris, in an attempt to find breakfast. As I reached the main road I saw unbelievable damage. Trees down, power lines down, trees across
power lines, roads closed, buildings damaged.
Wow! My heart broke for those who
experienced the catastrophic damage.
By afternoon we were out looking for a generator. Only stores with generators were open, but we
found one at Lowes. Now, the quest for gas
started, and we were fortunate enough to find all the gas we needed. Others
were not so fortunate.
On Friday, cleanup started.
My wife, Terrie, and I worked in the yard all day and had to hire a tree
service to remove the downed tree. The
day seemed to never end. Still no
power!!
At this point I had to make a decision. I was scheduled to attend the Mid-Western
Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators as part of the regional
exchange as President-Elect of SASFAA.
No power, limited cell phone service, debris all over my yard. I had to make a decision I never wanted to
make – I could not attend MASFAA. I was
truly disappointed as it was an event I had looked forward to for weeks. At that point I informed President Erslan I
could not attend. In addition I had to
call Delta as I wouldn’t use my ticket.
Delta was gracious and gave me full credit for the ticket.
After a couple weeks, Tallahassee Community College returned to normal
operations. The same is not true for our
schools to the west inclusive of Chipola State College, Gulf Coast State
College, and FSU Panama City. All
received significant damage.
By now many of you are asking “What does this have to do
with SASFAA?” Well, I am glad you
asked. Below are some of the things I
learned.
One of the hallmarks of SASFAA is our collegiality. Through the storm and into this week I have
received multiple text messages, calls, and emails inquiring about my safety
and asking if I needed anything. The
offers included lodging as needed. In crisis your SASFAA friends stand with you
through the storm.
Another lesson I learned is that in difficult times hard
decisions have to be made. I didn’t want
to abandon my trip to MASFAA, but it was necessary. There will be times for SASFAA when we will have to make hard to decisions
to keep the association strong. Our leaders and members must be willing to make those hard
decisions.
Finally, and I think the most important thing, I learned that it isn’t about things, it is about people.
In SASFAA our greatest strength is our membership. You are why we exist, and where our focus must continually strive to make sure what we do serves the membership.
I am so proud of our profession and our SASFAA
membership. Because of you our view from
the storm is truly one of hope.
Those of us who have lived through Hurricane Michael
thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support.
Bill Spiers
spiersb@tcc.fl.edu
2018-19SASFAA President-Elect
