2010 is the 30th anniversary of the founding of Pro Lingua Associates. Only a small percentage of new businesses survive this long, and the list of fine, independent publishing houses that were serving the teachers of English around the world in 1980 has been greatly reduced since then. Although most of them were merged into other companies, many of their books and their distinctive personalities have been lost to our profession. We have survived and flourished, thanks to you, our customers and friends, and we are proud of it.

On anniversaries, a bit of history seems appropriate. In 1980 the five of us associates, Ray Clark, Pat Moran, Mike Jerald, and Elise and Andy Burrows all lived in Brattleboro, Vermont; we had moved here in the 1960's and '70's. What brought us together was that we had all been students and/or faculty members of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at the School for International Training (now known as World Learning’s SIT Graduate Institute).

We started working and planning for Pro Lingua in the fall of 1979, not in a garage like Ben & Jerry's but in our living rooms. For two years before that, Ray, Pat, and Andy had been working together as a team developing language teaching materials for the Peace Corps. When the contract ended, we decided to go into business for ourselves. Our first book was Language Teaching Techniques, published in January, 1980. We kept it in print until 2001. A new, much revised version is in the planning. Our second book was our classic, The ESL Miscellany; in 2005 we published the fourth edition.

We set up our first office in an 1848 farm house in the center of Brattleboro. Ray, our editor, lived in the back. He was literally moonlighting for Pro Lingua while he earned his living first doing special projects for the Experiment working with Haitian refugees and others and then as director of the Experiment's International Students of English programs. Andy put the books together and handled orders during the day. Pat did illustrations and odd jobs. A few years later, Elise came on board to help run the office, answer the phone, take orders, and do the shipping. Her part-time job soon became a very full-time commitment. Ray moved out and Elise and Andy moved into the office with their two children. The last associate to join Pro Lingua was Mike, our first customer, friend, cheer leader, and all around helper. By 1999 we had outgrown our little farm house, and we moved the office into a big space carved out of the third floor of Brattleboro's old Cotton Mill, which for most of its life had been the home of the Dunham Boot Factory. It is now filled with small entrepreneurial businesses, artists' studios, a jazz center, and a circus school - a fascinating mix. Our offices overlook the Connecticut River, specifically over a backwater under which archeologists have found the foundations of Fort Dummer, the first European settlement in Vermont. Just across the river, we see the seasonal colors change on Mount Wantastiquet in New Hampshire. The building is interesting, and this corner of Vermont very beautiful. Teachers are always welcome to visit us; we recommend that you call first.

Today Pat continues teaching at the SIT Graduate Institute’s MAT Program, and occasionally helps out with conferences. Mike has retired and is enjoying life in Brattleboro as an active member of Brattleboro’s theater community. Mike also helps out at some of our conferences and along with Pat, continues to advise the other three associates, Ray, Andy, and Elise. Ray spends most of his time at our Pro Lingua office serving as editor and marketing coordinator, teaches in the summer MAT program at SIT, and also serves as a consultant/teacher for the Massachusetts Department of Education and the Boston Public Schools. Elise and Andy continue full time doing everything else that needs to be done to keep our business alive and well.

We have come a long way since our first book in 1980, and we now have a list of over 80 titles, along with dozens of supplementary materials and CDs, and we look forward to continuing to publish new and distinctive teaching materials.