This past June, a large group of PNW-MAA members together with Western Regional AMS members put on a grand show at Portland State University. There are too many contributing individuals to list here, but it is appropriate to point out two individuals that deserve special merit for their work on this meeting: Jeanette Palmiter, Portland State University, and Ken Ross, University of Oregon. I know from a count of e-mails, phone-calls, and face-to-face meetings and from the success of the meeting itself that this duo invested a tremendous amount of time in planning this meeting.

Our next two section meetings will be at Whitman College in Walla Walla and the University of Alaska at Anchorage. The planning group for the Whitman meeting is chaired by Albert Schueller of Whitman College. Albert is joined by Laura Schueller, Whitman College, and Erik Schulz, Walla Walla Community College. Together the three are well on their way to creating a terrific event for us. Larry Foster of the University of Alaska Anchorage is the point person for the Alaska meeting. This meeting should be particularly exciting in that we expect interest from mathematicians all over North America.

The meetings of PNW-MAA are a wonderful opportunity for us to share ideas, for students to meet other mathematics students and mathematicians, and for all of us to renew old friendships and create new bonds. I hope to see you and your students in Walla Walla this June.

We are fortunate to have a collection of dedicated individuals in our section who have agreed to take on various duties in our service.

The committee to nominate and select the section’s Distinguished Teaching Award winner is currently reviewing nominations and will select the DTA winner soon for announcement at our June meeting. Chairing the committee this year is Mary Ehlers of Seattle University. Elena Toneva of Eastern Washington University, Wendy Houston of Everett Community College and Dick Koch of the University of Oregon round out this year’s committee.

This winter, we will be voting on a new governor for the section. Afton Cayford of the University of British Columbia has agreed to serve as chair of the three person nominating committee for this position. Also serving are Millie Johnson of Western Washington University and Nancy Neudauer of Pacific University. They will be selecting several candidates and submitting their names and short bios to the MAA headquarters. Subsequently, the headquarters will conduct an election in our section.

There are two other groups that have completed their work for our section recently. The bylaws committee was chaired by Jenny McNulty, University of Montana, and included Ken Ross, University of Oregon, Larry Curnutt, Bellevue Community College, and Mary Ehlers, Seattle University. The Nominating Committee for Section Officers was chaired by Richard Iltis of Willamette University and had members Millie Johnson, Western Washington University and Yves Neivergelt, Eastern Washington University

Finally, I want to recognize the efforts of a special group of early-career faculty who have created a vibrant project NeXT in the Pacific Northwest. Of particular note are Nancy Neudauer and Jenny McNulty who have been overseeing the section NeXT activities for several years. On behalf of the entire section, thank you, Jenny and Nancy, for creating a program that will have lasting impact on young faculty, the section, and our students.