IWANT TO BEGIN this annual report, my fifth, by expressing gratitude to a number of people. First, I'd like to thank the members of the Delegate Assembly Steering Committee for their helpful observations during a three-day visit to the MLA headquarters in October. At the end of their stay the group expressed an opinion I have heard frequently from those who spend time in our offices—that it would be instructive for every member of the association to see firsthand how much goes on at 62 Fifth Avenue. Such visits would, among other things, bring our members face to face with an imaginative and hard-working group of professional individuals who are dedicated to their work and who perform above and beyond the call of duty, frequently on weekends and late at night. As chairman of the ACLS Conference of Secretaries I am familiar with all learned societies in the humanities, and I can say without hesitation that our association has the most gifted staff in the country. Many of those who work here could earn more money in other jobs, but they take pride in the MLA and in its various services to the profession and thus choose to stay with us. Our members are clearly fortunate to have the services of these men and women.