SACRAO Newsletter - Summer 2024 Edition

SUMMER 2024 NEWSLETTER

Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers

President's Update

It’s an exciting time for the Executive Committee at SACRAO as we put the finishing touches on the accounts for the successful conference in Lexington, KY, and turn attention to the Summer Planning Meeting in Lubbock, TX, for our 2025 SACRAO Conference!

Recapping from the February 2024 events in Lexington, SACRAO hosted a total of 367 registrants for the Annual Conference. Due to the heroic efforts and meticulous planning of Local Area Chair, Nathan Congleton, and the Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) team, we enjoyed several days of great sessions, inspiring guest speakers, and a memorable Big Event evening at the Kentucky Horse Park Alltech Arena with music, great food, and highlighted with a parade of equestrian breeds With all that Lexington was able to offer to SACRAO, the LAC team was still able to return a significant amount of money to the association, helping us to ensure SACRAO’s financial strength for the future Many, many thanks to the entire Lexington team!

SACRAO@AACRAO was a great success this year, as our regional association took over the Howl at the Moon piano bar in Columbus, OH, for our event, sharing the venue with OACRAO, Ohio’s state association. The SACRAO@AACRAO event was again generously sponsored by David Haynes and his team at International Education Evaluations, and we offer our sincere thanks to our friends at IEE for their support. The live music was great, the tacos and churros were tasty, and the bar was crowded as the group enjoyed the event on the evening of April 9. A highlight of the evening was getting attendees off the dance floor just long enough for a photo op!

WHAT'S INSIDE THIS ISSUE: TO UPDATE

President's Update

Membership Report

Treasurer's Report

Past-President’s Report In Memory

President-Elect Report

For SACRAO 2025, the Lubbock LAC team will be led by co-chairs Brenda Martinez and Rex Oliver, who have already leapt into action planning for the event. Legend has it that everything is bigger in Texas, and that is proving to be true as we have contracted with not one but two event hotels for the conference and will hold the conference itself in the spacious and modern Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. Located in downtown Lubbock, the facility is also Texas-sized, coming in at 300,000 square feet with 1500 onsite free parking spaces. The central location of the Civic Center provides easy access to hotels, the Depot Entertainment District, a variety of restaurants, shopping, Texas Tech University, and Preston Smith International Airport.

The Executive Committee and the Local Arrangements Committee will be meeting in June at the MCM Elegante in Lubbock for the annual Summer Planning Meeting. The Program Committees, led by President-elect Sofia Montes and the Program Vice Presidents and Chairs, will be on site to begin to sketch out and assemble a strong program of sessions for next year ’ s annual conference Please save the date for SACRAO 2025 in Lubbock: February 16 – 19, 2025

Additionally, the association has completed the voting period for the incoming Nominations & Elections Committee officers, and we are ready to welcome our new slate of committee members when the results are tabulated The N&E is responsible for screening applications and nominating a robust and diverse slate of officers for the coming membership cycle, and we appreciate their commitment and deliberations, which are sometimes unrecognized as they occur behind the scenes Without their dedication, we would not be able to represent our member states with such a qualified roster of officer candidates

I would also remind our member institutions to keep an eye on their emails over the summer as SACRAO has kicked off its membership renewal period. Remember that membership in SACRAO entitles member institutions to an unlimited number of members, so add all the staff members that you would like to hear from SACRAO with updates, information about our free webinars, and conference information to your roster. Please also take a moment to determine who your institutional key contact members are and if they are still current on your roster. Key contacts are the designees at member institutions who will receive the renewal messages, so it is imperative that their contact info is current to facilitate institutional renewal. Diana Hull, SACRAO’s Vice President, States/Regionals and Membership, will be leading this effort, so please reach out for guidance at: vp-membership@sacrao.org

Please enjoy the summer newsletter content as the members of the Executive Committee and program teams bring you up to date on the happenings at SACRAO. As your spring term graduation events wind down, we send best wishes for the summer, with hopes that you will have a chance to enjoy a term will be upon us before we know it, so make hay wh

Ed Trombley SACRAO President president@sacrao.org

As spring blossoms, bringing with it the vibrant colors of blooming flowers, the chirping of baby birds, and the gentle patter of rain showers, we are also excited to announce the commencement of SACRAO membership renewals for the upcoming 2024-2025 cycle!

Invoices have been emailed to the designated key contacts at your institutions. To ensure uninterrupted access to SACRAO’s valuable resources and benefits, we kindly request that you prioritize the payment of these invoices.

SACRAO takes pride in our community of 323 active institutional members representing nearly 2,800 individuals across these organizations As you complete the renewal process, we encourage you to take a moment to review the lists of individuals associated with your institution While you have the flexibility to link an unlimited number of members to your school, it's essential to ensure the accuracy of these rosters

Removing individuals who are no longer part of your organization helps maintain the integrity of our membership database and minimizes the occurrence of bounced emails Your cooperation in keeping our records up to date is greatly appreciated and ensures that our communications reach the right individuals effectively

Your continued support and participation are integral to the SACRAO community, and we look forward to another year of collaboration, networking, and professional development together. We also encourage you to help us spread the word about SACRAO! Encourage your colleagues to join our vibrant community of higher education professionals. Together, we can advance our field, share knowledge, and support one another's growth.

If you have any questions or need assistance regarding your membership renewal or roster, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to SACRAO!

Diana Hull VP for States,

It’s dues renewal time! By the time you receive this newsletter, the key contacts at your institution will have received an invoice for 2024-2025 dues The easiest and quickest way to pay your dues for next year is via credit card on the SACRAO website The key contacts have access to make dues payments If an institution does not have a credit card as an option for dues payment, a check can be sent I encourage members paying by check to make sure to highlight the address at the top of the invoice and ensure the check is sent to that address (Duke University address) Several checks every year are sent to previous treasurers’ addresses because the accounts payable system was not updated with the current SACRAO address to use

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have about SACRAO’s accounts or financial processes

Amy Gleason Duke University

Past-President Report

As spring turns to summer, and commencements across the country give way to a new group of professionals entering the workforce, it can be hard at times to take a moment to stop and appreciate what one has in that moment. Serving in my role of the Immediate Past President for SACRAO, I had that opportunity in an unexpected way earlier this year. As many of you are aware, SACRAO lost two pillars of our organization with the untimely passing of Dorinda Harmon in late March and the passing of Carolyn Parham in mid-May as she lost her battle with cancer. Which is why I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of the many words that were shared about Dorinda and Carolyn between all of the organization’s past presidents when the news of their passing broke

For all those that knew Dorinda, there are just as many that unfortunately never had the opportunity to meet Dorinda Dorinda served as the SACRAO President in 2013-14 She received the Certificate of Appreciation in 2003, 2005, and 2010, the Distinguished Service Award in 2016 along with Honorary Membership that same year In addition to her service and dedication to SACRAO, she was equally involved and dedicated in her state organization of CACRAO She served as president in 2010-11, was awarded Honorary Membership in 2021, and just this past year had the newly created ACRAO Achievement Award named in her honor But these accolades are just a part of her story A story that touched the lives of many

Similar to Dorinda, Carolyn had a profound impact on the lives and careers of so many people within our organization and within the institution that she worked. Carolyn served as the SACRAO president in 1994-95. In 1994, she received the Certificate of Appreciation and was awarded Honorary Membership in 2003. Additionally, Carolyn served in many roles within ALACRAO including serving as President of the organization. It is evident that her time within both ALACRAO and SACRAO had a lasting impact on many individuals as is evident from some of the comments that have been shared about her since her passing.

As you can see from just these few comments by the 20+ past presidents that shared memories of both Dorinda and Carolyn, they will both truly be missed in the years to come. I, myself, am just as fortunate to have known Dorinda really well over my many years in both CACRAO and SACRAO, and I had the opportunity to meet Carolyn as I began my career within SACRAO many years ago.

Which is why I want to end on this note for all of the members that are reading Dorinda and Carolyn are just two of the many amazing individuals that make up our organization A lot of the comments that were shared about them both can be shared about so many of you and the impact that you have on others within our organization and within the institutions that you have been a part of It is so easy to become consumed by the jobs that we do that we forget to take a moment to appreciate the impact that we have on the lives of our students and the lives of those that we interact with on a regular basis But most importantly, we overlook the impact that others have had on our own lives both professionally and personally until it is too late

So, take a moment to thank those that have had an impact on your life In some cases, they may never realize that they impacted your life in any way Take a moment to relive the good times that have been shared Take a moment to appreciate your family and loved ones Because you never know when you will no longer have that moment You never know when someone will be gone before you are able to say, “thank you ” or “I appreciate you ” Don’t let that moment pass by and be filled with regret While there may never be another Dorinda or Carolyn in our organization or in our lives, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t many others equally deserving of praise and recognition. Now is your time to recognize the “Dorindas” and “Carolyns” in your life, and to be “Dorinda” and “Carolyn” in the lives of others that need you more than you may ever know.

Thank you, Dorinda and Carolyn, you both will be missed, and loved, always.

Patrick Frazier, Ed D SACRAO Immediate Past President

Dorinda Bird Quarterman Harmon 1953-2024

Dorinda was one of the first leaders of SACRAO I ever met She made SACRAO feel warm and friendly How could anyone not feel welcome with someone like her wonderful self at the microphone! – Cié Gee

I’m stunned, and deeply saddened by this news Dorinda (the Goddess) was my SACRAO soul mate, partner in mischief and dedicated to our profession She was a mentor to many Like many, I looked forward to her holiday greetings – Tim Culhan

I, too, am shocked like the rest of you Dorinda was a bright light who gave us all something special She lived life graciously, proudly, and in her own unique and delightful style She will be missed – Lisa Harris

Dorinda was a most interesting, amazing person. We’ll never forget the Mermaid of Charleston sweeping in on the luggage cart She loved a good time, but took the business of our association very seriously She was a mentor and good friend who leaves us with many fond memories – John Hall

As the years have passed, I can glean from all the responses to this news to be indicative of a truly consummate professional who was a true, fun-loving SACRAOn We are all certainly so fortunate to have been able to work over all our time with people like Dorinda As we are all shocked to the brevity of her time with us, that time was surely a memorable quality – Ritch Yount

Dorinda will continue to be a part of our lives for many many years to come because of the huge impact she had on us all – Sallie Marchello

Carolyn Parham 1942-2024

For those of you who knew Carolyn, you knew she was the ultimate professional – always a dedicated and hard worker who accomplished so much as registrar at the University of South Alabama and as a leader for so many years in SACRAO and Alabama ACRAO More importantly, once you met her, she became your life-long friend! – Carol Medders

Another huge lose What an individual The consummate professional, but full of fun and wit She loved to tell the Jerry Smith stories but was particularly fond of the “Do you know how to spell tip, son,” a story many of us remember from long ago – Paul Taylor

I admired everything about Carolyn. She could be firm and dogged, but without raising her voice and always showing calmness She was detailed and meticulous, but always seemed so casual and relaxed She always had a sweet smile and a pleasant word to say She always asked about you and your family with a true interest Carolyn was a consummate professional and a lovely lady, a friend, and a mentor – John Hall

If ever there was a real “Steel Magnolia” it was Carolyn I am saddened by her passing She was one of the brightest stars in my SACRAO universe – Chuck Morgan

President-Elect Report

Greetings from South Texas, SACRAO Friends! SACRAO – an organization that has supported your roles, careers, and professional networks – needs YOUR help now! As we plan a great conference with new experiences for you all, we find ourselves in need of more conference sessions Please log in to sacrao org with your credentials, and click on SACRAO 2025 Session Submission Please propose a session that you or a colleague can deliver in Lubbock between February 16 and 19 Remember, though, we need details! The more information you provide (title and session description, too), the sooner we can plan to include the session. If you have an idea and need help articulating a corresponding session description, contact me! I’ll be happy to help.

If you ' re not ready to present, but you still want to step up and get involved in some way, fill out the I'm Available Form. It's also accessible via your SACRAO login. Just look for the menu items shaded in black on the right hand side.

Sofia Almeda

sofia.almeda@utrgv.edu

FEBRUARY 16-19