SASA President Richard Bentley (Downstate Med Ctr.) reviewed the following points:

• The Auxiliary Service Corporations (ASC) are a useful tool in meeting campus mission as well as today's and tomorrow's challenges.
  
  
• Comments/ responses received from SUBOA on the SASA Mission/vision/goals document presented at the previous SUBOA meeting were sparse but positive.
  
  
• SASA's membership meeting frequency was reduced this year and the individual meetings have been significantly enhanced with in depth professional development programs.
  

  September's meeting focused on the state of the College Bookstore industry and the impact of E-commerce issues on our industry.
  
  December's meeting on "legal issues in auxiliary services" had a wide array of legal and financial professionals assembled to review and discuss corporate structures (ASC's/ IFRS) as well as opportunities of not-for-profit corporation access to low cost county IDA financing, legal ramification of subsidiaries and For-Profit subsidiaries, labor and employment law issues. Many recognize the need for increased access to low cost financing for very needed capital on our campuses. Comments from presenters regarding the state of SUNY's infrastructure as compared to other higher education entities highlighted this apparent need.
  
  Next meeting is on March 2 & 3 in Syracuse; an all star panel is being assembled to discuss disasters… not that nice book of plans that sits on a shelf, but rather a look at real disasters which have occurred including: paralyzing ice storms which turn a campus into a community shelter, a fire which knocks out a major dining hall, a flood the week before rush which renders a bookstore unusable, PCB's/ asbestos incidents and more. Learn:
  

  • What the auxiliaries can do to help the campus survive a disaster,
    
  • The role of the Government entity (self insured means what?),
    
  • The role of the corporation's insurance,
    
  • How to maximize/ expedite FEMA/ State emergency assistance ($).

  
  SUBOA members were asked to encourage their campus auxiliary professional to attend these valuable meetings.
  
  SUBOA members are welcomed to attend SASA's sessions as well.

Several Avenues for SUBOA-SASA communication exist. Mr. Bentley serves on SUBOA's Deregulation Committee/ Entrepreneurial subgroup and will try to attend all SUBOA meetings. William Long (New Paltz) is SASA's alternate representative. Mike Lewis (Potsdam) is SUBOA's liaison to SASA.