Finance Division
- Frank Headswift, Finance Division Manager
- Lujuana Haugen, Payroll Technician
- Marjorie Bearing, Accounts Payable Technician
- Loylene Little Bird, Internal Controls Technician
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(From the November 2009 Newsletter)
We have completed our onsite audit review and are now waiting for the draft copy of the audit. Being a part of this team has been an honor for me and seeing the finance division in action during this audit made me very proud of this team. I call them a team because that is what we are. We have all worked hard and we have accomplished so mush together. I am very proud of all the people that have made this audit a success, albeit we still have a lot of work to do. The Executive Director has set a goal for the Housing Authority, “to have a finding free audit”. We are up to the challenge and are moving to that direction with that goal in mind.
In the past the audit would strike fear in me and I would instantly get stressed out. This year was no different, but this year was we were prepared. During the exit interview, Dave Yuhas lead auditor for Joseph Eve, gave a report of the findings that are going to be listed in the audit and announced that the audit will be un-qualified for the third year. The best news of all was there was no questioned cost identified in this audit and that marks the second year. I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish and I am glad that we are a part of this team here at the housing authority.
I would like to thank all of my staff for all of their dedication and hard work, thank you.
Lujuana Haugen, Accounting Technician/Payroll
Marjorie Bearing, Accounting Technician/Accounts Payable
Loylene Little Bird, Internal Controls Technician
Kristi Speelman, Finance Technician
Andreen Parker, Travel Technician
Roberta Haugen, Finance Filer
Frank Headswift, Finance Division Manager.
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From October 2009 Newsletter
The Montana Coalition met on October 14th and 15th in Billings, MT. The meeting was hosted by the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Housing Authority. All tribes were represented except the Crow Tribe and Little Shell band of Chippewa. The coalition started work on the mission statement and discussed issues concerning USDA. The Fort Peck tribe sponsored a Logo contest in their schools on their reservation. The winning Logo was selected and the winner received a cash prize.
I would like to welcome Andreen Parker as the travel technician, and Kristi Speelman as Finance technician/filer. Both applied to an in-house advertisement posted by the Finance Division.
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(from July 2009 newsletter)
What a ride! I have been an employee of the housing authority since July 1994. In those years I have seen the ups and downs of this program. Theses last four years have been the most fulfilling and exciting since I have started.
We have had some very influential people that have been to the NCTHA office over the years, Regional HUD staff, national HUD staff and the HUD secretary. In the past, most visits were here to help to correct some deficiency that needed to be addressed. Since we have been doing so well, the visits have been more exciting and welcome then the past.
We now have more funding and that means more work. They have just released the environmental compliance reporting requirements for the American recovery and reinvestment act, ARRA, and have scheduled a Webcast for all ARRA grant recipients. We have been waiting for this release since the grants were released in April. We now have the reporting requirements for the funds. More work…
Montana Housing Coalition: The Montana Tribes have started a Coalition to address the housing needs for all tribes on Montana. The housing needs for all reservations are the same. There is overcrowding, long waiting list and a lack of funding just to name a few. There is a need to unify and have a voice in Washington DC, Helena and with the support of tribal government we can make a difference. At the quarterly meeting in Ft. Belknap, MT, I was nominated Treasurer for the Coalition and will report on the meetings using the news letter. I am very proud to be part of this coalition.
Thank you, Frank Headswift
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(from the June 2009 newsletter)
Finance Division - Frank Headswift
I was asked to prepare a presentation for the 1st Annual Great Plains Tribal Housing Forum on Strategies for Financial Leveraging. In this presentation I highlighted the Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Grant Program and the title VI project. This gave me an opportunity to let the tribal entities in attendance see how the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Housing Authority is leveraging the Indian Housing Block Grant. With leveraging, we can plan for more projects that are needed here on the reservation and make the ever shrinking appropriations work more for what is needed.
This forum took place in Rapid City, South Dakota on June 24th & 25th, 2009. It was hosted by the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) and almost every single tribe in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas was represented at this forum. In all, over 300 people in the housing field attended this event. I am honored that the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Housing Authority was asked by NAIHC to be a presenter at this event. It is clear that our good work that we have been doing with our program is being recognized by not only HUD, but other Organizations across the country.
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MARCH 2009 News Letter post
I was very fortunate to attend the Native American Indian Housing Council, NAIHC, annual Legislative Conference held in Washington DC. This event allows tribes an opportunity to set meetings with their state governmental officials.
This year the focus was on President Obama’s Stimulus package and what was allocated for the tribes. There is a lot of money that tribes are going to eligible to receive on a grant basis and there is going to be more that tribes can compete for. We were able to meet with the Montana Senators Tester and Baucus, and MT representative Rehberg. We scheduled meetings with HUD, USDA, Penn State University, U.S. Department of the Interior and Indian Health Service.
This trip was very informative and we stayed very busy getting from one meeting to the next. I think I walked about 20 miles this whole trip. I got to see the capitol building and the other land marks that are in the area. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to travel to the nation’s capitol and to meet the movers and shakers of this great land we live in. I thank everyone who traveled with me and everyone who made this trip possible.
Frank Headswift
NCTHA Finance Division Manager.
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From the December 2008 Newsletter
The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Housing Authority has finished the Audit field work conducted by the Joseph Eve Company. It was a very rewarding 2 weeks. Audits prior to this year have been very stressful for me and the Finance Division, this year we were ready for them. The audit for FY 07 was an unqualified audit and we have been working hard to keep this years audit unqualified. We have been refining our process and procedures to help us identify and effectively execute any changes that we need in order to do business. The finance division was very confident that we have meet and exceeded what we set out to accomplish for the prior year audit. I would like to thank the other divisions for all their help, understanding and patience. I am very proud of the hard work and dedication the Finance Division has shown over the past two years in helping the NCTHA accomplish this common goal we all shared.