My experience is that I often do not receive notification about the status of my
proposals until January. Once, however, I was notified around Christmas. I
have never received notification as early as September. The proposals are
submitted to volunteer reviewers in various categories. And it takes time for
the various volunteer groups to complete their reviews. The length of time
required is fairly standard practice for most National professional
organizations.
I am sure NAEA would like to notify everyone sooner, but it takes time. :-)