by Ray Verzasconi, Past PNCFL Executive Director

From my initial involvement in 1972 until my retirement in 1999, PNCFL offered me the opportunity to meet many superb people and to have formed lasting memories with them.

I could not list all of them, of course, but I will mention Harry Reinert of Vashon Island, WA, who talked me into succeeding him as executive director in 1978; Ann Tollefson of Casper, Wyoming; Suki Vance of Kalispell, Montana; Dennis Ohrtman of Lewiston, Idaho; Debbie Parks of Tacoma, Washington; recently deceased Wolf Hollerbach of Fairbanks, Alaska; and Carl Falsgraf of Eugene, Oregon. I remember gabfests with a few of them that sometimes lasted until 5 a.m. as we tried to resolve not only the problems facing our profession but also to rescue the very soul of education in the U.S.

I also remember working with many other people as we wrestled with the very same questions that challenge you today. How do we motivate our students who often come from very different backgrounds? How do we use technology without letting it use us? How do we foster a real and civil dialogue between all language teachers, K-16? What role does grammar play in the language classroom and at what level? How do we assess what our students do in all four skills and their understanding and appreciation for other cultures with both reliability and validity?
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