In the February issue of TESOL Connections, I shared what the TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo meant to me. I noted the excitement, collegiality, and welcoming spirit that I felt at TESOL 2018 not only as the association’s executive director, but as a first-time convention attendee myself. No longer a newcomer, I approached Atlanta with all the eagerness and enthusiasm I had taken to Chicago. And I wasn’t disappointed. I was pleased to welcome another 400 first-timers to the convention, along with participants from more than 100 countries.

I appreciated the tone that our plenary speakers set, and the inclusive message that keynotes sent in focusing on endangered languages, local and global considerations in developing expertise in TESOL, building a beloved community of educators, and the power of language and the language of power. (View keynote video recordings here.)

In addition to 1,135 convention sessions, touching topics from A to, well, not Z, but Y (literally from “Academic ESL and the "Co-requisite Model": Good Fit or Crisis” to “Your TEAM for Teaching ELLs Academic Language”), we also held numerous meetings for various TESOL governance groups. One thing that I was so happy with this year is that we were able to rearrange schedules so that all of our volunteer leaders could come together in a fully inclusive Leadership Forum. It seems like bringing all of our leaders together would be an easy task. But with 115 affiliates, 20 interest sections, 11 professional learning networks, eight professional councils, three committees, 11 board members, and three new board members, scheduling meetings to bring us all together required a herculean effort. Given the important issues that we discussed, including our strategic plan, our new affiliate peer advisory program, and the suggestion for a new member mentoring initiative, bringing everyone together to discuss and provide input was invaluable.

As I have mentioned before, our convocation perfectly encapsulates all aspects of the strategic outcomes we are trying to achieve as an association. Nothing can illustrate our Global Presence and Connectivity better than an event that brings more than 5,000 TESOL educators together from around the globe. Nothing can demonstrate our Knowledge and Expertise better than a week packed with professional learning sessions. And nothing can express the power of our advocacy voice better than the collection of dedicated educators that comes together at the TESOL Convention to lift ourselves and our colleagues up and to advance excellence in English language teaching.

We would not have been able to do any of this without the hard work and dedication of so many people and organizations. I would like to thank our sponsors for the financial support that helps us keep other costs down and for our ongoing partnerships that support English language teachers throughout the year; the exhibitors (pdf), who not only shared products and services on the expo floor, but who also presented, attended sessions, and otherwise contributed to a vibrant convention; all of the presenters who shared their expertise with their colleagues; and the more than 200 volunteers who read proposals and help support so many other aspects of the Convention. I would like to thank the Conferences Professional Council, strand coordinators and assistant strand coordinators, and the local team of volunteers for their dedication and hard work that started well before any of us showed up at the convention center. Mostly, though, I would like to thank our incredible TESOL staff—Alana, David, Heidi, Jaime, Jim, John, Lisa, Kari, Myrna, Nancy, Pat, Rikka, Rita, Rod, and Valerie—for their untiring work and unwavering dedication to our members and attendees.

The convention is a time for celebration, and we were pleased to help several colleague organizations celebrate important milestones, including the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Department of State’s English Language Fellow Program; 50 years of affiliation between TESOL and New Jersey TESOL/New Jersey Bilingual Educators and Puerto Rico TESOL; the 25th anniversary of the TESOL Association of New Zealand; the 20th anniversary of TIRF, the International Research Foundation for English Education; and the 20th anniversary of the Commission on English Language Accreditation (CEA). But it is also a time to regroup and recognize what we still need to do.

As I mentioned in my opening remarks at the Convention, we all know too many teachers who cannot get the support to attend the Convention or even to join TESOL or a local affiliate, too many who do not have access to resources and information, and too many who feel that their voices go unheard. So it is up to all of us to share the knowledge and information that we have gained; to encourage others to join us in our association and at our convention; and to remind everyone that when speak together, though we may come from different backgrounds and speak with different accents, our voice is powerful. I will be dedicated to accomplishing these goals throughout the year. I hope that I can count on your support, and I look forward to seeing all of you—and more of you!—in Denver, Colorado, USA next April.