Difficult Days

Dear SASFAA Family,

These are indeed difficult days in which we live.  Many of our member institutions have either gone to all online classes or canceled the remainder of the semester.  This will stretch the finances of the schools where our members work.  Please continue to keep all these matters in your thoughts and prayers.

With all the things going on, I have not had the opportunity to send out my brief after the Board meeting.  I am pleased to report that we had an excellent meeting with much discussion on important issues facing our association.  You can rest assured you have a strong Executive Board whose goal is to represent you and ensure funds are spent to provide the training needed to keep SASFAA members up to date on the issues facing financial aid.

In our meeting the Executive Board:

• Reviewed our budget

• Adopted a social media policy on how we choose which sites SASFAA as an organization will participate in and what can and cannot be posted on the site.  As you know, SASFAA must remain a-political and always avoid inappropriate postings about our members and institutions on our social media platforms.  Thank you Chad Sartini for your hard work on this project.

• The annual New Aid Officers Workshop was discussed, and Joan Bailey provided important information on the needed change to Tusculum University.

• Celena Tulloss, our President-Elect, worked with our state presidents and presented a plan to assist with the cost of attending SASFAA board meetings.

• Committees, states, and task force chairs provided updates on their projects.

After the Board Meeting we enjoyed a fantastic conference.  Almost 400 of our members joined us in Norfolk for “Courage, Compassion, Collegiality: A Survivor’s Guide for Uncharted Waters.”  Joan Zanders and her crew developed a program designed to meet the needs of every member.   Thank you Joan and crew for your wonderful work!!

If you have not made arrangements to send anyone to the New Aid Officers Workshop, there is still time.  This is an outstanding event and we feel certain we will be able to meet in June.  Hopefully COVID-19 will be in the review mirror at that point.  The training afforded your staff will be of benefit to you and your institution.

I will be calling for a conference call of the Executive Board next week to assess the impact of COVID-19 on our states.  Many are either rescheduling or canceling their annual conference. 

SASFAA is not only a professional association, but a family of financial aid professionals ready, willing, and able to help each other as needed.  I am thankful for the opportunity to serve an organization where we are all willing to help fellow members.  SASFAA is known for stepping up to the plate in hard times, and I know this will be the case as we work through this current situation. 

In these days of uncertainty, stay strong.

Bill Spiers
SPIERSB@tcc.fl.edu

SASFAA President
Tallahassee Community College

What Is Love?

What is love?

Okay, come on now…. we are all in academia, we know what love is, right?  Sure we know what Merriam Webster says: “a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties.”  However, we often hear people say “I love to read” or “I love to have dinner with friends.”  That isn’t for a person, it is for a thing you do.  Love as a verb means “to hold dear.”  So you can agree that there are different types of love, right?  You should…. because there is!  Love is bigger than you are.  Love is literally what drives each of us daily if we think about it.  Do you love what you do?  Who you do it for?  Why you do it?  Let’s be honest…. not every day we don’t!

We do not love every student we cross paths with, but we love the feeling we get when we are able to help them.  We do not love every co-worker we work with, but we love the feeling of being productive with them for the good of the cause.  We do not love every family member, all the time, but we love our family because it’s who we are and they are a part of us.  All of these things that we love make us who we are as a person.  For example, if I am being completely honest, I am results driven.  There is a serious satisfaction within me for having a project and seeing it through to completion, whether it be work or personal.  I have goals, all the time!  If I meet a goal, I look for a new one.  I know, I know, I am kind of weird like that but I find satisfaction in making things happen.  I am definitely a doer.  Those on this year's SC executive board who took the “Solving the People Puzzle” personality test know that I am a D personality…. results driven, take charge, and love a good challenge!  On the flip side, a D personality isn’t the best listener…. which I do work on, but - I already have an answer in my head, and I want to get it out and be efficient….so let’s move on here!

What do you love?  Well, that’s pretty simple to answer…. what do you think about the most?  Clearly what has your attention defines where your heart is.  Do you love a challenge?  Or do you love being the quiet person who provides solutions to those more ambitious?  I have news for you…. WE NEED ALL TYPES!  The world can benefit from what you have to offer.  Do more of what you love and be good at it!  Now, if your love is bullying people let's back down off of that and get something new to love…. but other than that, what do you love?  Let 2020 be the year you find what you love and give it your efforts.  I promise you, a happy you will reflect in all that you do….so go ahead, love and love hard.

Melanie Gillespie

mlgillespie@swu.edu

SCASFAA President

Southern Wesleyan University