Dear Colleagues,

The time has come for me to write the letter from the chair for the TEIS Newsletter. This letter serves as my farewell as I prepare to step down and pass the baton on to Anne Walker, our incoming chair. What I have appreciated most about my time as chair has been the overwhelming support you demonstrated for the submission and adjudication of our TEIS proposals, your vibrant participation in our e-list and newsletters, and your active engagement in our election process. Thank you for your wonderful participation!

Your collective participation in our IS has renewed my faith in service to the field through our organization. No matter what, we are the organization and we make it what it is! If the organization is vibrant, it is because we are and so I thank all of you who have been actively engaged by submitting proposals and reviewing proposals. If you did not participate in 2011 in this manner, remember, 2012 is happening now and the call will be upon us soon to once again show our true colors by participating in the submission and review process for 2012! I look forward to doing both!

To all of you who have initiated or participated in conversations on our e-list and have contributed to our newsletters, I say a heartfelt thank you too. I also say a very special thank you to our newsletter editor, Hyunsoo Hur, who has been most diligent and meticulous in carrying out her duties. Hyunsoo, you have been most patient with me and while I have not always responded to your deadlines in a timely manner, I want you to know that I am most appreciative of your excellent work and contribution to our TEIS! Thank you so much. To our new and incoming newsletter editor, Valerie Traurig, congratulations on your election and thank you in advance for all your work! Again, to all of you who have not had a chance to participate by writing your thoughts, the invitation is open; please accept it and make your IS a more invigorating place to be.

I also want to thank all the other members who participated in our last election. In addition to Valerie, I want to commend Nellie Deutsch and Susan Spezzini who along with our winner (our chair-elect-elect) Nikki Ashcraft have made the election of our chair for 2014-2015 so very exciting and interesting. We did not have any nominations for our webmaster and so our current webmaster, Joel Hardman, will remain on board. Thank you, Joel!

Your active participation in our IS has demonstrated your investment in our organization and has contributed to a very good year. I am thrilled to have served you this year and I look forward to being around for many more years through my active engagement in our activities and as I support our incoming leaders. Please do read the blitz of e-list messages that will be coming your way as our conference approaches. We need volunteers to staff the TEIS booth and we need you to attend our special TEIS convention sessions and member meetings, so please watch for these announcements. See all of you in Philadelphia!