For those who could not make the annual meeting we talked a little about the future of the committee leadership and membership. On the membership side, we are all up for rotation April 14, 2008. What this means is that some members will have to rotated off as they have served out their 3, three-year terms while the others will be considered for reappointment. I will send out details on that process a little later. What I really wanted to get to is the committee leadership. Along with the committee rotation comes my rotation and ultimate "official" departure. A chair can serve 2 consecutive three-year terms and I am in my last year of my last term. Added to this I am just finishing up my 12th year as a committee member which means I was extended one term beyond the maximum committee member life span of 3, three-year terms. In short, I gotta go. Or put another way, my "rein of terror" is coming to end. The big step for the committee is to find a new chair. TRB has guidance on this and I have attached what the TRB Leadership Guide has to say on the matter. The bottom line is that I am notifying everyone that we need a new chair and I am looking for your nominations or thoughts for the new chair. Self nominations are certainly welcome and in fact that is what I did. Since Tom and I will be openly discussing this, it is ultimately a TRB staff decision, you can let your thoughts be known to either Tom or I or both. Here is the link to the Leadership Guide which is the bible for TRB chairs. Chapter 5 talks about committees, their responsibilities and what a committee chair might be getting themselves into. The job does take a certain time commitment but I have also found it very rewarding. http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/dva/DivAGuide.pdf Finally, the next chair does not have to come from inside the committee so if know someone who would be good and interested please feel free to pass this along or have them contact Tom and/or me. -- Ed Christopher 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA RC-TST-PLN 19900 Governors Dr Olympia Fields, IL 60461