MINUTES
MASFAA BOARD MEETING
July 29, 2005

ATTENDANCE
A Mississippi Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (MASFAA) meeting was held via conference call at 1:00 pm on July 29, 2005. The 2005-2006 Board of Directors members and Committee chairs in attendance were:

2005-2006:
Soraya Welden, President
Garry Jones, President-Elect
Laura Diven-Brown, Past President
LaShanda Chamberlain, Vice President
Michael Ruffin, Secretary
Ann Margaret Mullins, Treasurer
Robert Givens, Audit and Finance
Brenda Paganelli, Conference
Nancy Gault, Member-At-Large
Steve Greenough, Archives
Judith Vidrine, Vendor/Sponsor
Robyn Cilwik, Director
Peggy Shoemake, Director
Jackie Boone, Site Selection

Board Members and Committee Chairs not in attendance were:
Teresa Bost, State Aid
Billye Jean Stroud, Director
Donna O'Quinn, High School Relations
Marilyn James, Diversity
Brenda Carson, Legislative

Soraya called the meeting to order at 1:10 pm. She welcomed everyone and a brief role call was taken. Soraya noted that a quorum was present and the meeting started. She reminded everyone to update his or her membership for the 2005-2006 year

ITEMS COVERED:

Minutes from the May 29, 2005 Transitional Board Meeting had been emailed to each board member and committee chair prior to the call. These minutes were reviewed and were approved as presented. Soraya had also emailed the meeting agenda prior to the call.

Board Reports:

Michael Ruffin, Secretary
No report

Past President, Laura Diven-Brown
Laura reminded everyone to utilize the instructions sent by Soraya that detailed how to use the conference call system and to use the appropriate account number for your committee. Also noted that three reports were still missing from her President's report for the 2004-2005 year. She is actively seeking these additions.

President Elect, Garry Jones
No report - deferred discussion on the newsletter until the New Business section of the meeting.

Vice President-Training, LaShanda Chamberlain
LaShanda had already sent emails to the Training committee members indicating that Mary Givhan and Paula Laws had agreed to be facilitators at the Fall training. She had also asked for suggestions as to dates for the training. Nancy Gault at MUW suggested that they would be interested in hosting the training. Soraya mentioned that the dates needed to be mindful of SASFAA dates if possible.

Treasurer, Ann Margaret Mullins,
Ann Margaret said there had been little activity this fiscal year, only a few travel reimbursements and the recording of membership checks. Reminded members again to use the correct account ID for conference calls to record them correctly.

Member-At-Large, Nancy Gault
Working with Steve Smith in updating membership records on webpage through ATAC. Janice Prather was assisting as well. Asked if it was appropriate if she received the actual checks as opposed to the Treasurer. The web page indicates that the Member-at-Large receive the check, but no clear reason why. Decision was made to change the web page to have checks sent to the Treasurer.

Directors, Peggy, Billye Jean, Robyn.
No report.

President, Soraya Weldon
Reminded committee chairs to post their committee members to the web site.

Chair Reports
Archive, Steve Greenough
No report

Audit and Finance, Robert Givens
Plans to work with Treasurer to understand location and lists of CDs and accounts. Determined that nothing comes to maturity during his tenure - was very grateful.

Conference, Brenda Paganelli
Committee chairs had been selected and will meet officially on 8/18/2005. The first planned meeting for the entire committee was 9/12/2005 and should be the only meeting for the year. Several ideas had already been submitted.

Diversity, Marilyn James.
No report

Electronic Services, Steve Smith
Working with Nancy to update membership on web and other ideas that may provide enhancements and some cost benefit to the organization. Currently updating the laptop used by the Member at Large - evidently needs it badly.

High Schools Relations, Donna O'Quinn.
No report

Legislative Relations, Brenda Carson
No report

Membership, Nancy Gault
Currently working on updating the membership.

Newsletter, Garry Jones
Continued the work done by Soraya to change the format of the newsletter to an electronic version. Will discuss this change in New Business. Judith asked about ad solicitation and the timing and the consensus was that the timing would be the same as the prior year.

Nominations and Planning, Laura Diven-Brown
Working more on the planning aspect by developing a 5-year plan for MASFAA. SASFAA had asked for this and we did not have one. Will work with other members to develop this and maybe use other states assoc. as model.

State Aid, Teresa Bost
No report

Training, LaShanda Chamberlain
No report

Vendor/Sponsor, Judith Vidrine
Plan to meet with Brenda at the hotel for upcoming conference. Questions about timing of ads and sponsorship and how it would be done. Soraya may call additional meeting in Sept. to discuss sponsorship options.

OLD BUSINESS:
Site Selection - Soraya sent a spreadsheet containing the pros and cons with several coast area hotels. Jackie went over each point and facility with the group, and suggested the Palace Casino for 2007 and the Imperial Palace for 2008. There were several questions about multiple year contracts and impending construction at the Imperial Palace. Because the rates were so favorable for either May or June at the Palace, a multiple year contract wasn't needed. Construction at the Imperial Palace should be completed well in advance of 2008 and would provide a good meeting location. A recommendation to hold the conference at the above mentioned hotels for 2007 and 2008 was made by the committee chair. Nancy Gault made the motion to accept the recommendation and was seconded by Garry Jones. The motion passed. Dates for the conference in 2007 and 2008 were also discussed. After much discussion, Michael Ruffin made the motion to accept June 12-15, 2007 and June 10-13, 2008 for the respective year's dates. Laura seconded the motion and the motion passed.

2005-2006 goals - Soraya requested committee goals for 2005-2006 from each chair.

2005-2006 Budget - Soraya had previously emailed the proposed budget to all Directors and Board members. A few adjustments were made. A motion was made by ??? and seconded by ???? to accept the budget. The motion passed.

NEW BUSINESS:

Fall Training - a discussion on sponsorship fees was held and a decision to use the same fees as the previous year was made. A motion was made to set these fees at $250.00 was made by Ann Margaret and Laura seconded. The motion passed.

Newsletter - Soraya and Garry have worked with ATAC to use a .pdf format for the newsletter that would cost much less than a printed copy. Fees were $325 for 20 pages of articles and up to 5 photos, with a $7 charge for each additional photo and $10 per page extra. All ads would be half page and could be in color or black/white. This format would be cheaper and easier to distribute. A discussion as to who should receive the newsletter was held and it was decided that only paid members should be allowed to see the newsletter. Garry made a motion to accept this change and Robyn seconded the motion. The motion passed. The change will be effective in the October newsletter. A change to the Policies and Procedures will be made at the next meeting to insure this delivery method is acceptable.

CD Purchase - Ann Margaret made a motion to allow MASFAA to purchase another Certificate of Deposit with the excess funds in the operating checking account. She suggested $10,000, but there was discussion as to if this amount should be higher. She tabled her motion for now until a detailed plan could be developed that included rates and options on the CD.

Soraya told everyone the next Board meeting would in conjunction with the Fall training.

There was no additional New Business and the meeting was adjourned.