CAFAA Top Gun
Spring Conference, April 18 - 20, 2001
Colorado Springs, CO

Despite a springtime blizzard that shut down Denver International Airport the week before, over 150 people from around the state and beyond our borders converged at the Doubletree Hotel in Colorado Springs for CAFAA Top Gun. We all felt fortunate to revel in spring-like weather as well as informative and entertaining sessions.

The conference kicked off with a general session on "Reaching Your Personal Best" delivered by Susan Brodie of Unipac. This motivational session got us out of our chairs mingling with others as we discovered how to strive to achieve our best at work and in our personal lives. This was a great way to start the conference.

Over the next two days we were treated to a variety of informative sessions on a wide range of topics including customer service, return of title IV funds, consumer credit, new technologies, and, of course, policy updates from many agencies and organizations.

Other keynote speakers included Karen Webber of Regis University. Her talk, entitled "The Right Stuff: A Retrospective View of the Unique Qualities of Financial Aid Administrators", concluded with the "Ten Commandments of Financial Aid", which were definitely words to live by. To cap off the conference, we received an update from Kay Jacks of the Department of Education. It was very exciting to learn of all the new technologies en route that promise to help us streamline our processes.

Of course, a CAFAA Conference would not be complete without lots of great food and plenty of entertainment. This year's Conference Committee, headed up by Marty Somero of Western State College, organized a revival of the old "Gong Show" complete with a gong, a panel of judges, and a surprise visit from the Unknown Comic. Some of the acts were silly, but some were great. It was a wonderful chance to learn more about each other and to find out all the hidden talents we all possess.

The Fall Conference, chaired by Debbie Erickson of Citibank, will be held October 8-10 in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado. Hope to see you all there!