FAME celebrated another year of successful business and educational partnerships at its annual meeting and awards event, Showcase Maine, which was held on November 13, 2014, at Portland’s Holiday Inn By The Bay.
The evening featured a reception, including a showcase of exhibits by Maine businesses and educational organizations that partner with FAME; a dinner and awards presentation; and a keynote speech by Bull Moose founder Brett Wickard.
“FAME enjoyed celebrating the successes of the past year with our partners in Maine’s business and higher education communities,” said Bruce Wagner, FAME’s Chief Executive Officer. “We were pleased to recognize key partners with awards and to unveil our future plans for growth as we seek to enhance and expand Maine’s economy.”
Prior to Showcase Maine, FAME’s annual dinner and awards ceremony, the FAME Board met for its monthly meeting and approved financing for two Maine businesses involved in the natural resources sector: North Atlantic, Inc., a Portland-based wholesale importer and distributor of frozen seafood; and Lincoln Paper & Tissue, LLC, a Lincoln-based manufacturer of commodity and specialty tissue products. The board approved the renewal of loan insurance on a Bangor Savings Bank $5 million line of credit for North Atlantic. FAME has supported the company’s financing needs since 2009, and the board’s action will help the company retain seven jobs. The board also approved a $1 million direct loan to Lincoln Paper & Tissue for working capital needs following a fire and flood at the facility in recent years. FAME’s actions will help the mill retain 175 direct jobs and hundreds more indirect jobs in the local economy.
“Lincoln Paper & Tissue greatly appreciates FAME’s swift assistance and commitment to the success of the mill,” stated Keith Van Scotter, President & CEO. “FAME’s efforts and commitment to the region will go a long way toward helping to retain good-paying jobs in the area and to a bright future for the facility.”
Finally, the board also elected new officers for the 2015 year: Raymond Nowak was re-elected to serve as chair; James Violette, Jr. was elected as vice-chair; and Cheri Walker was re-elected as treasurer.
FAME is pleased to announce a statewide expansion of the SALT program in Maine. Created by American Student Assistance (ASA), SALT is an innovative program designed to empower college students and alumni to confidently approach, manage, and pay back their student loans while gaining financial skills for life.
In 2012, FAME and ASA launched SALT as a pilot program at ten participating Maine colleges and universities. As a result of the pilot, Maine has become a national leader in its statewide efforts to promote financial literacy. Colleges and universities across the state have engaged thousands of students to utilize SALT, which offers well-timed, neutral financial education resources, advice, and self-paced courses designed from the student’s point of view. Students also have access to live one-on-one counseling from trained advisors who can answer students’ questions objectively and advocate on their behalf.
FAME’s newest effort will extend SALT in Maine for an additional two years, and will be offered at all interested Maine colleges at a reduced sponsorship level, made possible by financial support from FAME and ASA. In addition, all Maine high school students will have access to a customized saltmoney.org site, including interactive money management lessons, a scholarship search tool, and resources to assist in college planning.
“Maine students often try to navigate the college financing and loan repayment waters with inadequate knowledge of the process and without thinking through the consequences of their indebtedness,” said FAME Chief Executive Officer Bruce Wagner. “FAME already offers many services to support students in their pursuit of higher education. With the statewide launch of SALT, FAME is providing another opportunity for Maine students to be better prepared to plan their futures.”
FAME continues to maintain impressively low cohort default rates for Maine student loan borrowers. According to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Education, FAME’s federal Fiscal Year 2011 three-year cohort default rate was 7.1 percent of borrowers. This represents nearly a full percentage point decrease compared to last year’s rate of 8.0 percent. By comparison, the national three-year average was 13.7 percent, which represents a one-point drop from last year’s national average of 14.7 percent. The cumulative rate for other guaranty agencies like FAME was 9.4 percent. Maine’s official rate was 12.8 percent, but this represents the addition of federal direct loan borrowers to the cohort. Direct loan borrowers interact with the U.S. Department of Education regarding their loans, and not with FAME.
Cohort Default Rates measure the percentage of all federal Stafford Loan borrowers entering repayment in a given federal fiscal year who default on their loans prior to the end of the second following fiscal year. This is the first year that only a three-year rate is being released by the U.S. Department of Education. A three-year cohort default rate is the percentage of a school’s borrowers who enter repayment on certain Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans during a particular federal fiscal year, October 1 to September 30, and default or meet other specified conditions prior to the end of the second following fiscal year.
“FAME’s ability to maintain a low default rate benefits lenders, schools, and, most importantly, Maine students,” stated FAME Board Chair Ray Nowak. “FAME’s default rate is the result of expanded college access, financial education and debt management services that support financial aid offices and educate borrowers.”
“These results show the value of the personalized financial education and default prevention efforts of FAME and our lender partners. FAME’s emphasis on default prevention is the right one for Maine students and families,” stated FAME Chief Executive Officer Bruce Wagner.
FAME believes that financial education is the cornerstone of debt management and default prevention. Two years ago, FAME launched SALT, a collaboration with American Student Assistance that delivers financial education and debt management services free-of-charge to Maine students and alumni. The vast majority of Maine college students now have access to SALT’s proactive debt management services, and FAME recently secured an agreement to expand SALT statewide.
In 2015, FAME will continue its commitment to providing financial education in Maine by co-sponsoring “Fostering Financial Education in Maine Schools,” a financial literacy conference for Maine teachers, administrators, counselors and others.
