Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! The new year has begun with a flurry of activities and shows no sign of slowing down.

Some transitions will be taking place in the editorial committee of the Journal in the next few months. Pat Wetzel, who has given outstanding service as managing editor, will be stepping down with the publication of volume 34:1, and Tim Vance will assume her responsibilities with volume 34:2. In addition, Amy Vladeck Heinrich is retiring as literature and linguistics book review editor; Sarah Pradt has agreed to take on the position. We are extraordinarily fortunate in our field to have such dedicated and competent volunteers willing to devote the many hours it takes to produce a journal of high quality. Thanks to all of the editors for their exceptional work.

A recent trip to Washington, D.C. for a board meeting of the Joint National Committee on Languages/National Council of Languages and International Studies, of which ATJ is a member, reminded me of the value of that organization's web site: http://www.languagepolicy.org. The site includes frequent updates on legislation pending in Congress which affects language and international studies educators at all levels, links to grant announcements as they are made, a very useful section on grantsmanship and grant-writing, and many other useful features. For example, information about the current competition for Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grants to states or districts for starting or strengthening elementary school language programs has recently been posted. I encourage you to browse the site frequently. (There is a link from the ATJ homepage.)

I also encourage all of you to attend this year's ATJ Seminar in San Diego on March 9. We can look forward to a wide variety of interesting presentations again this year, culminating in a Past Presidents' Panel featuring reflections on the road we have traveled and our future direction by Professors Roy Andrew Miller, Eleanor H. Jorden, Hiroshi Miyaji (in person), and Akira Komai and James O'Brien (in absentia). I want to express my appreciation to the five-member Seminar Committee (Seiichi Makino, Hiroko Kataoka, Joan Ericson, Judith Rabinovitch, Kazuo Tsuda) for their hard work in reviewing anonymously a large number of proposals and organziing them into an exciting program of interest to all.

In addition, I want to thank the hardworking Nominations Committee (which consisted of those Board members whose terms end this March). It is always difficult to narrow the number of candidates for the Board to the requisite slate of ten, and I am sure you will have an equally difficult time selecting from among this group of leaders in our field. By agreeing to stand for election, these nominees demonstrate a great commitment to the profession. Congratulations to each of them on having been nominated.

As recommended by the ATJ Board, we are working on facilitating ongoing communications among various "special interest groups" (SIGs) within the ATJ membership. So far, we have had suggestions for several such groups--classical Japanese, heritage learners, K-12 materials development, teacher preparation, etc. We welcome suggestions for other such groups and hope to announce a mechanism for their functioning shortly.

I look forward to seeing you in San Diego in just a few weeks at the ATJ Seminar, the ATJ General Membership meeting, and the ATJ-sponsored AAS Roundtable "Between/Beyond Cultures: The Teaching and Learning of Heritage Languages in North America."

Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to those of you who have made contributions to the newly established ATJ endowment. Please consider making a contribution--and please also encourage your colleagues and students to become members of ATJ. We have enclosed membership brochures--and you can also refer new members to the ATJ homepage.

Laurel Rasplica Rodd, President