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For Immediate Release: 05/29/2002
Phoenix, AZ – Florida Educational Loan Marketing Corporation (FELMAC), Florida's designated secondary market for education loans, today announced that distinguished Florida public servant John T. (Tom) Herndon has joined the Board of Directors for its parent company, Southwest Student Services Corporation (Southwest). Southwest, a nationally recognized nonprofit higher education lender, is headquartered in the metropolitan Phoenix area.
Southwest's Chairman and CEO, Vince Roig welcomed Herndon to the Board saying: "Tom has been a friend and associate for many years. His tremendous personal integrity and wealth of experience in the financial arena and in public service will add significantly to our strength in Florida and our performance as a leader in the student loan industry."
Herndon has served as Executive Director of the Florida State Board of Administration (FSBA) from November of 1996 through the present. In that capacity, he implemented the largest and most complex pension plan conversion in the nation's history.
The Public Employee Optional Retirement Program that Herndon championed has been lauded as a significant benefit for the nearly 600,000 active government employees in the Florida Retirement System. Assets under his management at the present time exceed $125 billion, which ranks the FSBA as the third largest pension fund in the United States and the ninth in the world. Under Herndon's leadership, Florida Retirement System assets rose a healthy 69 percent, despite problematic downturns in the U.S. financial markets.
Herndon announced recently that he is set to retire from the FSBA on June 28, 2002. He said of his transition: "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work for some exceptional leaders in Florida, including Governors Bush, Chiles, Martinez, and Graham. I've stayed at this job longer than any of my previous public service jobs because of the tremendous professional satisfaction I have enjoyed, but I'm ready for a new challenge." Herndon begins his new responsibilities as a Member of the Southwest Student Services Corporation Board of Directors immediately.
Herndon went on to say: "I am extremely pleased and excited about the opportunity to serve on Southwest's Board, and to work with Vince in his capacity as chairman, and the other corporate directors in their tireless efforts to make affordable higher education financing available to students and families."
With a distinguished career spanning 32 years of government service, Herndon began as a social worker. His various positions have included stints as Florida Public Service Commissioner, director of the Department of Revenue, Legislative Staff director, State Budget director, district administrator for the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, and the chief of staff for Governors Graham and Chiles.
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