This brief message is one of gratitude and appreciation.

Thank you, Vernacular Architecture Forum members for making VAF a great organization.

Special thanks to all those past and present who serve on VAF committees and the board. The incredible knowledge, time and commitment to the organization is indispensable and deeply appreciated.

As the fairly new President of VAF, I am fortunate to carry forward efforts initiated by my predecessors to ensure relevancy, a robust future and clear trajectory while aligning with our mission, bylaws, and non-profit best practices. This includes improving communication within VAF and to those outside the organization.

During this last year, our Communications Committee has significantly increased our presence on social media (VAF Instagram) and our Membership Committee launched a survey for feedback on the 2023 conference in Plymouth (summary results in this issue). One of our next steps is to fill two roles outlined in our bylaws that will further and complement this success:

VAN Editor and Web Editor. The announcements for both roles are described in separate posts. Please consider serving in one of these positions.

Thank you, Michelle Jones for serving as the interim VAN editor for the last year!

Best regards,

Elaine Jackson-Retondo

Vernacular Architecture President