The AFSA Independents Section Advisory Board met in Colorado on July 13, 2003, to review the goals of the Section and develop a Plan of Work for the coming year.

Section Chair, Ben Cheek III, chairman of the Board and CEO, 1st Franklin Financial Corporation, Toccoa, Ga., thanked the 13-member Advisory Board for attending and welcomed new board member Rex Ellison, president, Republic Finance, Inc., Baton Rouge, La.

Discussing membership recruitment and fundraising, the Board decided to:

• Continue the VIP/Mentoring Program. Under the program, 25 CEOs (VIPs) from non-AFSA member companies were invited to the 2003 Independents Conference and Exposition in March. Seven of the 25 companies have joined AFSA with eight more strongly considering membership.

• Implement a new 2003-2004 AFSA Member-Sponsor-a-Member Campaign goal to recruit 50 new independent companies into the Section by March 2004. The sponsors and new members will be recognized at the 2004 conference in Indian Wells, Calif.

• Continue its work to raise money for the AFSAPAC. Nathan Benson, chief executive officer at Tidewater Finance in Virginia, was appointed as the 2003-2004 AFSAPAC chairman.
  

  Nathan Benson

  
  
• Work to raise more money for the AFSA Education Foundation during the Section's conference fundraisers and Silent Auction. The Section raised $8,600 this year to benefit the Foundation's development of a personal finance brochure in English and Spanish.

Plans are underway to develop the program for the 2004 Independents Conference, scheduled for March 24-27 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells, Calif.

The Advisory Board thanks the following Associate Member companies for their support of the meeting:
Under Cheek's leadership, the Independents Section Advisory Board members are committed to develop a stronger Independents membership and Section over the next year.