I can hardly believe that it’s been a little over a year since I started serving as President with the Central California FPA.  Many goals that we’ve set have been met, but so much is still left to do to revitalize our membership and offer an outstanding community to learn and share in.

            I’m gratified that this year we were able to get the website up and running strong, and the newsletter.  We had 5 meetings this year rather than 4, with Marv Tuttle, CEO of the FPA National coming to speak to us.  We are still working on an 8 CE credit day in December, hoping for a very low cost on this; (stay tuned!).  We have several GREAT programs already scheduled through the first quarter of next year.  So we are running ahead rather than behind!  Whew!  Kudos to Carol Widmer who has done an outstanding job!

            We set a goal this year of improving our involvement and relationship with CSU Fresno.  I am proud of this relationship and am looking forward to more involvement with the Dept. of Finance and Business Law.  We have engaged students to attend out meetings, and are working with the Internship program to offer opportunities to both you and students.  Our annual Scholarship is focused on paying for someone to attend the CFP Certificate Program.  Don’t forget!  You could apply for this “scholarship” yourself!  We also have established an audit status for this if you want a tune up in an area.  Many thanks to Kong Phimmachack for helping us achieve this goal.

            Dan Ray and Mark Prendergast helped us to set up and facilitate a very positive discussion with Senator Radanovich’s office regarding issues currently being reviewed by the SEC.  This centered mainly around the Fiduciary status of financial planners.   Our comments along with Marv Tuttle’s were warmly received by them.

            We had hopes of increased involvement from you, and attendance to the meetings.  What can we offer you that would encourage you to be involved?    

             A foundational element for us to understand is what YOU want from your local membership in the FPA.  Different programs?  Organized study groups?  We are sending out a membership survey separately in a couple of weeks.  PLEASE take the time to give us feedback here.

             One goal that we didn’t make any headway on was to increase involvement at the board level.  We wanted 2 or 3 people for each area to spread the work. We have 2 key positions that were never filled this year.  This is also true for 2009.  Remember, these positions usually only require 1-3 hours per month of commitment.  This is your chance to make a difference in our community!  If you are willing to serve, please contact me at jayne@ferrantefinancial.com           

Board of Directors 2009

President          Stan Dorrance, MBA, CFP©

Chair                Jayne Ferrante, CFP©

Treasurer          Open

Secretary          John Longstaff, CFP©

Membership      Kong Phimmachack, CFP©

Programs          Carol Widmer, CFP©, GRI

Sponsorship      Rod Thornton, CLUY, CHFC

Gov’t Relations   Open

Public Relations Jayne Ferrante, CFP©

Pro Bono          Bill Thompson, CFP©

See you on the 18^th!

Last year, several chapter members offered a learning experience to some staff members of the Boys & Girls Club here in Fresno.  The situation was this: nationally, the Boys & Girls Clubs offer a terrific pension plan opportunity to eligible employees, but surprisingly little information had been made available to help local employees understand just how beneficial this plan could be for them.

So, a half dozen chapter members spent a Saturday morning down at one of the clubs talking some very basic things aimed at growing  staffers knowledge about preparing financially for retirement and how their pension plan could be so very helpful.

We talked about things such as sources of income for retirement, some keys to a financially “comfortable” retirement, their pension plan, how it works, how they enroll, investment choices and more.  You get the idea.

The staffers participating were really thankful for what we provided them. 

Your participating FPA chapter members were rewarded with some warm feelings of being helpful to people who had very real needs.

And, we want to do it again, and invite your joining us.  We’re evaluating two pro bono alternatives now, each involving teenagers in potentially difficult situations and each aimed at helping them with (financial) skills which can lead to them being contributing members of society. We hope to implement a learning experience later this year for the group selected.

Certificate Program in Financial Planning

2009

Class Dates to be Determined

The Department of Finance and Business Law of the Craig School of Business at California State University, Fresno will offer a Certificate Program in Financial Planning that fulfills the educational component of the CFP^® certification. The Program consists of six courses with each course taught within a 4-week term, meeting 3 hours on Friday evening (6 p.m.-9 p.m.) and 7 hours on Saturday (9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1 p.m.-5 p.m.) each week, totaling 40 hours per course. Candidates who complete the six courses in the sequence, who receive at least “C” from each course, and who maintain an overall GPA higher than 2.5 will complete the Program in eight months.

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Certificate Program Fees:

Course fee: $450 per course (excluding the required textbook)

Seat limit:  15         

Payment schedule:

Course fees, payable to “CSUF Foundation,” must be paid one week prior to the start of each course.

For more program information, please contact:

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the marks CFP^®, Certified Financial Planner™, and CFP (with flame logo)^®, which it awards to individuals who successfully complete initial and ongoing certification requirements.

California State University, Fresno (CSUF) does not certify individuals to use the CFP^® Certified Financial Planner™, and  certification marks. CFP certification is solely granted by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. to those persons who, in addition to completing an educational requirement such as this CFP Board-Registered Program, have met ethics, experience and examination requirements.

FPA National Events

FPA Business Solutions

March 9-11, 2009

The Westin O’Hare, Chicago, IL

FPA Business Solutions conference on advanced business management consists of specialized content intended for financial planning professionals focusing on business management, technology and compliance issues. Early Bird Registration ends January 23, 2009

For more information, please visit: http://www.fpanet.org/EventsConferences/Conferences/BusinessSolutions

FPA Retreat 2009

April 27-30, 2009

TBD

Retreat is not your average conference — it is as much about connecting and conversation as it is about advanced education and pushing the boundaries of financial planning. Because of the strong focus on the "retreat experience," attendance is limited.

For more information, please visit: http://www.fpanet.org/EventsConferences/Conferences/Retreat/