Welcome from the Editors
by Marlene Schmitt and Miriam Safir

To answer the question of the day: Where were we Thirty Years Ago?

Thirty years ago, Marnie was living the life of luxury as only a 4 year old can: playing on the beach, pretending to be a railroad conductor, and singing to herself. However, she remembers her sister, Diana, going off to school in the morning, and pining until she came home in the afternoon so they could play together again. Marnie also remembers being jealous of her sister -- that she got to go to that big building called "A.J. Schmidt Elementary School" and that Marnie had to wait a whole other year to go there too!

Where was Miriam 30 years ago? She was probably bopping around, being a kid, playing with her older brother and the family parrot "Lorika" (which her parents still have today). Miriam loved to play with her play kitchen and toy cookware. Her whole family had just moved to Holland from Germany, it was a very exciting time. She would walk to the local cheese market and get free samples! Miriam and her Mother would go to the farmers market and buy arm-loads of beautiful Dutch flowers. They would arrange them in vases together when they got home. Everything seemed so much simpler then.....

Welcome to the 1999/2000 WASFAA Newsletter. This year the Newsletter will be under the co-editorship of Marlene Schmitt and Miriam Safir. We have made a few changes to the newsletter. We are very excited about the year ahead and here's why - The 1999/2000 Newsletter will include the following sections or Key Features:

Executive Council:
Under this heading you will find the President's Report, Executive Council Meeting Summaries, and articles pertaining to the activities of the 1999/2000 WASFAA Executive Council.

State Reports:
These State Reports will vary from short news bullets to lengthy articles. States will highlight items of interest to the entire region such as major events and projects, conferences, election of officers, etc.

FFELP and Direct Loan Updates:
Updates pertaining to FFELP and Direct Loans will be provided by WASFAA's liaisons at the U.S. Department of Education and within the guarantee agency industry.

Committee and Special Task Force Reports:
Each issue will contain reports from several WASFAA Committees and Special Task Force Chairs. The reports will illustrate the accomplishments and activities planned, and provide useful information throughout the year.

Feature Articles:
Each Issue of the 1999/2000 WASFAA Newsletter will revolve around a theme. We have planned topics that are both informative, interesting and fun. The Feature Articles will focus on the theme of the issue.

Phunny's:
This new feature will include humorous stories, a comic strip or cartoon, and an occasional joke. We are accepting YOUR contributions. Share your talents with the WASFAA Community! Send your contributions to the address listed on the front page.

Who's News:
With the permission of those listed, we will continue to print job moves, awards, marriages and births so we can keep up to date with our colleagues. Send in your announcements!

Calendar of Events:
As in the past, we will post upcoming events, training opportunities, meetings and conferences on the back page of the newsletter.

If you would like to become involved in the WASFAA Newsletter, here's how:

Cub-Reporters - NEW-NEW-NEW!- Cub-Reporters are WASFAA members who have agreed to cover events within the region for the Newsletter. At the 1999 WASFAA Conference, Cub-Reporters volunteered at the Newcomers Reception. Each Cub-Reporter was given a "kit" which included a one-time-use camera, a journal, I.D. Badge, and some surprises. At the end of the event, the camera is returned to the Newsletter Committee for developing, and the Cub-Reporter submits their article for an upcoming Newsletter. Each Cub-Reporter will get a copy of the photographs they took. (Inside this issue: Cub-reporters cover the WASFAA Conference in San Diego, California - Check it out!)

Future events in which Cub-Reporters will be sought: State Conferences, WASFAA Summer Institute, any other event that may interest the membership at large. (If you are interested, contact the WASFAA Newsletter Committee.)

Committee Member - Make a one year commitment to serve on the committee, be part of the Editorial Team, write a bi-monthly comic strip, or help sign up writers for future feature articles.

Questionaire - Answer some of the questions on our questionairre and send it in.