annual meeting of the Pacific Northwest Conference on Foreign Languages (PNCFL) on May 4-5, 1973, carried out its intent of promoting closer cooperation among all branches of the foreign language Approximately 300 representatives of the many facets of the profession were brought together under one roof on Orcas Island at Rosario Resort, a secluded area surrounded by trees and mountains on one side and looking out on the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound on the other. The location provided an informal, quiet atmosphere which encouraged interchange of ideas across some of the traditional barriers within the ranks of foreign language scholars and teachers. The program itself was designed to appeal to the wide variety of interest found among members of the Sessions devoted to literary scholarship, to linguistic research, and to language pedagogy brought together seventy-four speakers representing forty-two secondary schools and universities in seventeen states and three Canadian provinces. Program chairman Harry Reinert, high school teacher and foreign language consultant in the Edmonds (Washington) School District, chose as the theme for the conference A Helping Hand, referring toJob: Then will I confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. PNCFL President Walter L. Robinson of Western Washington State College developed the theme of Job more fully in his opening remarks, noting that one might be reminded of Job's cursing the day he was born or of the terrible misfortunes which befell him. The foreign language profession also has problems: the constant erosion of language requirements in colleges, curtailment of high school sequences, leveling off of enrollment in general and in foreign language in particular. Thus, said Robinson, the conference could be viewed as a gathering of Job's comforters. But if we assemble here to lament our woes, then our theme from Job should be 'Miserable comforters are ye all.' Rather let us hope that out of our present troubles and our present deliberations here we may emerge as better practitioners of our profession. Before President Robinson formally opened the program, national and regional leaders had already engaged in two pre-conference working sessions in which they sought ways of combatting problems of the profession by utilizing the profession's own resources. C. Edward Scebold, Executive Secretary of ACTFL; Hans W. Deeken, Executive Secretary of AATG; and Carl Dellaccio, President-Elect of ACTFL, served as advisors to a gathering of sixteen Pacific Northwest foreign language leaders to discuss practical steps toward improvement of the status of foreign languages, both in terms of public image and of professional cooperation. Among the participants were state foreign language supervisors, presidents of regional and state foreign language associations, and presidents of state chapters of individual language associations. These discussions resulted in a proposal which was endorsed by the PNCFL members attending the business meeting on May 5: