This is my third ETAPS as steering committee chair; in the middle of this week I hand over to my successor, Vladimiro Sassone. It has been a privilege to hold this job, although three years is long enough and I am looking forward to being free to submit papers to ETAPS again!

The ETAPSen while I've been SC chair have been in Edinburgh (by coincidence my own city, though I did *not* also act as local organiser!), Vienna and Braga. Looking forward, ETAPS'08 will be in Budapest, ETAPS'09 in York. Enquiries from energetic potential local organisers of future ETAPSen -- especially, but not exclusively, in equally beautiful cities -- are welcome at any time; talk to Vladimiro!

The first ETAPS, in Lisbon in 1998, was one of the first conferences I ever attended. Since then I have missed only Barcelona in 2004 (I was on maternity leave with a small baby who didn't sleep much...). In that time I have seen ETAPS grow from promising beginnings into its current preeminent position, in which authors submit their best work and even the best research leaders seem to feel honoured to be invited to speak. What I particularly value about ETAPS is the opportunity it provides to dip into conferences one would not normally attend: coming to ETAPS is an educational experience both in its depth and in its breadth. The main challenge I see facing ETAPS in the future is to allow for further growth without making ETAPS too daunting to organise, or forcing it to take place in expensive conference centres. I look forward to attending future ETAPSen, and I hope you do too!