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The Planner News Briefs	Nov-Dec 2009
Greetings <%=[FAMILIAR]%>: Welcome to this edition of Financial Planning Association of Nevada’s monthly news brief. In it you will find useful information about our chapter and its programs promoting the financial planning profession. Editor's Note: We would like to offer our condolences to two board members who lost loved ones over the last 8 weeks. Eleesa Aimaq lost her brother, Yang Smith, to cancer. Karen Davenport lost her husband, Billy Davenport, to cancer.
President’s Message Jocelyn Holzwarth Dear Fellow Planners: With the holiday season upon us – we want to wish you, your family and clients Happy Holidays. In November I had the opportunity along with Pat Meidell, CFP and Eleesa Aimaq, CLU, ChFC to attend the FPA Chapter Leaders Conference in Denver, CO. I’m proud to announce that the FPA of Nevada received the Pinnacle award, an acknowledgments of receiving “Gold Level” for 5 consecutive years. I sincerely want to thank the past FPA Board members and Chapter Executives who made this award a reality. Only a small percentage of FPA chapters nationally have received this level and we want to continue to build on that success. With that said, we’ve had quite a year! With the worst of the recession behind us, we can begin to look forward to a new year. Even locally, for the first time in many months, Nevada’s unemployment rate fell – hopefully a sign of better times to come. We look forward to continue reaching out to the community and our members, providing opportunities to provide financial advice for the public, quality programs for members, as well as collaboration with other organizations. We look to 2010 as a year of rebuilding and hope that you will partner with us in our efforts to plan and grow together. In the meantime, have a special holiday celebration and give thanks for all the blessings we still have as planners, a community and a nation. Happy Holidays! Upcoming Programs We are planning our first quarterly educational meeting for January 20 at UNLV Tam Alumni Center in Las Vegas. You will receive more information about this program in a few days after we finalize the arrangements. So save the date 1/20/2010 7:30 a - 1:00 p. Membership Update Eleesa Aimaq Congratulations to Stephen Close for his loyal 5 years as a member of the Nevada Financial Planning Association. And a big cheer for Patrick Valenty who has supported us for a huge 15 years! We wouldn’t be here as an association without members like you. Pro-Bono Eleesa Aimaq & Patricia Meidell The training in Denver at the Financial Planning Association’s Pro Bono Track was intense. The amount of information was overwhelming. And the quality of the instruction was amazing. Lucky for me they gave us a flash drive with most of the resources pre-loaded. We heard from some of the large chapters that had well developed pro bono programs running with the help of substantial grant money. Other chapters had partnered with existing charities as we are doing at St. Rose Hospital with our Financial Check-up program. Most of the programs at other chapters were “one touch.” There were very few programs with any follow through but those had a multiplier effect in the community. There was a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of various strategies. It became apparent that there was not one answer. The pro bono programs were suited to each chapter’s unique character. We spent quite a bit of time on actual planning practices covering credit counseloring, budgeting, and bankruptcy. We learned from the New York, New Orleans, and Virginia chapters which had had extensive experience in disaster planning. We will be resuming our Financial Literacy for Women Program in Las Vegas on January 12 at the Barbara Greenspun WomensCare Center. If you would like to volunteer to teach one or more sessions of this program, or if you would just like more information, contact Eleesa Aimaq. We suggest that this program might be instructional for some of your clients or your client's children who need to learn the basics of financial planning and money management. The program is non-commercial, unbiased, and not in any way a prospecting event. You are also welcome to attend with any guests. We are currently working on a similar program in Reno. Government Relations Gregory Crawford Over the last several weeks there have been many issues raised in Congress which profoundly affect how we conduct business. Through the efforts of the FPA and its partners, many of these issues which would negatively affect our profession and relationship with our clients have been nipped in the bud. To learn more about FPA's government relations programs visit the FPA website. Click here. FPA-PAC	Support Our Contributing Partners—They Support Us Featured Article GRATS The Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) has been getting quite a bit of attention from estate planners recently. The reason is that low market interest rates create a window of opportunity for passing assets to heirs without incurring much, if any, estate or gift tax... Click here for complete article News Briefs Gift Planning Advisors Program 2010 The Gift Planning Advisors program on October 7 was an outstanding success. The coalition of financial service organizations and local foundations and trusts is moving forward with plans for next year's event. Please mark your calendar for October 27. AFS 24th Annual Meeting & Call for Papers The 24th annual meeting of the Academy of Financial Services, held with the Financial Planning Association for the third year, is scheduled for October 9-10, 2010 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colo. Click here for more information and how to submit papers. The FPA Retreat 2010 Web site is now live! FPA Retreat 2010, April 22-25 in San Antonio, Texas, is the continuation of a tradition that brings together the profession's best and brightest financial planners. The 2010 program offers some of the most technical educational sessions and high-level networking opportunities in the financial planning profession. Click here for more information. NorCal Conference Early Bird Pricing for the 2010 FPA NorCal Conference starts on December 15, 2009 at http://www.fpanorcal.org. FPA members save $200 ! The 2010 conference is on June 2 and 3 at San Francisco's Palace Hotel. Click their link above for more information or call Bob Goldman at (415) 331-1546. FPA 2010 Early Bird Registation FPA 2010 Business Solutions will take place March 1-3 in Dallas. Save $280. Early Bird Registration is open until January 22. Click here for more information.
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