Dear ICIS Members and Friends,

We have many calendars in our lives: Gregorian, lunar, academic, and even TESOL. And, according to the TESOL calendar, we are about to begin an exciting new leadership year. Heidi Faust will be taking the reigns as our new ICIS chair, Maxi-Ann Campbell as chair-elect, and Patriann Smith as our new newsletter editor, as Austin Pack continues to build and strengthen our online community as community manager. It has been a pleasure serving our IS alongside these colleagues and our amazing outgoing newsletter editor, Kris Acheson-Clair, who I think we can all agree has brought InterCom to another level! We’ve had more issues and articles this year than in recent memory. And, of course, that could only be achieved through your contributions and readership!

It is my hope that you continue to share what you are interested in, what you are researching, what you are encountering, what you are applying, and what you are reading. This is our community, and it is only as strong and effective as our active involvement. For those of you making plans to attend the TESOL Annual Convention in Toronto, I hope you will mark your calendars with some of the following:

ICIS Annual Open Meeting
Thursday, 26 March 5 pm–6:30 pm, Room 202A

ICIS Social Dinner
Thursday, 26 March after Open Meeting, Room TBA

ICIS Academic Session: Orientation, Collaboration, and Adjustment: Facilitating Multicultural Interactions Around the World
Saturday, 28 March 1pm, Room 104A

ICIS/NNEST InterSection: English-Only Policies' Impact on Intercultural Communication, Classroom Relationships, and Effectiveness
Saturday, 28 March 9:30am, Room 103A

ICIS/ESP InterSection: Communicating Across Borders: The Case for Culturally Intelligent Practitioners Saturday, 28 March 9:30am, Room 202D

Also, throughout this year’s convention, we have 22 IC-related presentations going on as well as a couple of roundtable and poster sessions. You can search for IC-specific speakers and topics using TESOL’s online itinerary planner to plan your convention experience.

Want to be more involved? Volunteer to join our ICIS information table on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning to talk to other attendees about ICIS involvement and connect with others who share our interests and passions in this field.

Remember, most of all, there are more ways to be involved than TESOL convention—we are a year-round interest section. Have an idea? Want to be involved? Reach out to your membership, gain momentum, and make it happen together!

Again, it has been my pleasure serving our IS this year.

Best,

Amy Alice Chastain
ICIS Chair 2014–2015