(Acworth, Ga. – June 11, 2015) Chattahoochee Technical College is pleased to announce that a staff member has received a rarely-given state award recognizing excellence in his field. Jody Darby, who serves as the Executive Director of Student Financial Services, was recently honored with the Georgia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (GASFAA) Past Presidents’ Award for Distinguished Service.
Since GASFAA’s inception in 1967, its primary purpose has been to promote the professional preparation and effectiveness of financial aid administrators in our state through training and development. GASFAA’s membership is made up of more than 750 individuals from across more than 150 colleges, schools, and companies across Georgia.
“The award is in recognition for all that Jody has done to support others within the area of Student Financial Services—not only within GASFAA but also in our own system [Technical College System of Georgia] and in the State of Georgia,” said Catrice Hufstetler, Vice President of Administrative Services. “To put this award in perspective, the pool of candidates is comprised of staff from the technical college system, the Board of Regents [University System of Georgia], and private and proprietary colleges in our state. This is a huge honor.”
Chaired by Cathy Crawley, Director of Financial Aid at Georgia College and State University and GASFAA’s Immediate Past President, GASFAA’s Past Presidents’ Council seeks nominations and selects the recipient. Nominees must be GASFAA members with at least 10 years of service. Those selected for the award—which hasn’t seen a new recipient in seven years—must express leadership performance and have demonstrated contributions beyond what is expected from their respective positions. For more information about GASFAA, you can visit www.gasfaa.org.
Darby shares the honor with his staff.
“I cannot thank my staff enough—past and present. Being able to be active in state, regional, and national boards and activities can come only after I’m certain that students are taken care of first and foremost,” Darby said. “The support of my staff and peers is equally as important as the support from my supervisors above me. Nothing positive happens without surrounding oneself with the right people, and I am truly fortunate.”
Growing up on a family farm in northwest Georgia, Darby said he didn’t realize how a simple work-study position in Dalton State College’s Financial Aid Office would spark an interest in him as a college student fresh from high school and shape his entire career nearly 20 years later. He said student success has always been, and remains, a top professional goal and drives him daily.
“My current and former supervisors, including Catrice [Hufstetler] and [President] Dr. [Ron] Newcomb, have allowed me opportunities to be active in advocating on behalf of our students through professional association involvement, and their support is vitally important and sincerely appreciated,” Darby said. “This award is honestly a recognition of CTC Student Financial Services as a whole. I couldn’t ask for a better team or for better colleagues around the state who assist students and families, daily, in reaching their dreams of a college education and brighter tomorrows.”
Darby holds a Master of Business Administration from Shorter University and a Bachelor of Business Administration and Management from Kennesaw State University. He began working at North Metro Technical College, now Chattahoochee Technical College, in 2001 as the Financial Aid Administrator. He later took a hiatus from the college beginning in 2003, but Darby returned to NMTC in 2007 as Director of Financial Aid. He has been Executive Director of Student Financial Services at CTC since mid-2009. Darby is a May 2015 graduate of TCSG’s Administrative Services’ Executive Academy and will serve as CTC’s representative in TCSG’s Executive Leadership Academy beginning in July. He is a current board member of GASFAA, SASFAA (the nation’s nine-state southern region association) and Cherokee FOCUS. As well, he is an active volunteer for Georgia 4-H and for Distinguished Young Women of Georgia (formerly Junior Miss), and he resides in Calhoun.