WG Node Lifecycle annual report 2025

Signed-off-by: Ryan Hallisey <rhallisey@nvidia.com>

Author: rthallisey

wg-node-lifecycle/annual-report-2025.md

@@ -2,32 +2,43 @@
 
 ## Current initiatives and Project Health
 
-
 1. What work did the WG do this year that should be highlighted?
 
-<!--
-   Some example items that might be worth highlighting:
-   - artifacts
-   - reports
-   - white papers
-   - work not tracked in KEPs
--->
+WG Node Lifecycle was formed approximately 6 months ago to explore and improve
+node and pod lifecycle in Kubernetes. Since its formation, the group has been
+ramping up with weekly meetings and active discussions across
+multiple SIGs.
+
+The group presented at KubeCon NA Maintainer Summit, highlighting the two
+primary areas of focus - **Pod Eviction** and **Node Maintenance**:
+
+- [KubeCon NA Maintainer Summit Talk](https://youtu.be/yh3tkE1fw-4?si=Duk-QUwpNvNU4kin)
+
+Key initiatives the WG is driving:
+
+**Targeting Kubernetes 1.36**
+- [EvictionRequest API](https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/issues/4563) — Introduce EvictionRequest API (fka Evacuation) to allow managed graceful pod termination.
+
+**Targeting Kubernetes 1.37**
+- [Specialized Lifecycle Management](https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/issues/5683) — A new KEP replacing [Declarative Node Maintenance](https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/issues/4212) with a broader scope.
+
+The group has been actively discussing these lifecycle ideas across stakeholder SIGs (Apps,
+Autoscaling, CLI, Cloud Provider, Cluster Lifecycle, Node, and Scheduling) to gather requirements and align on design.
 
 2. Are there any areas and/or subprojects that your group needs help with (e.g. fewer than 2 active OWNERS)?
 
+We have no subprojects at the moment. Our focus is on our KEPs.
+
 ## Operational
 
 Operational tasks in [wg-governance.md]:
 
-- [ ] [README.md] reviewed for accuracy and updated if needed
-- [ ] WG leaders in [sigs.yaml] are accurate and active, and updated if needed
-- [ ] Meeting notes and recordings for 2025 are linked from [README.md] and updated/uploaded if needed
-- [ ] Updates provided to sponsoring SIGs in 2025
-      - [$sig-name](https://git.k8s.io/community/$sig-id/)
-        - links to email, meeting notes, slides, or recordings, etc
-      - [$sig-name](https://git.k8s.io/community/$sig-id/)
-        - links to email, meeting notes, slides, or recordings, etc
-      -
+- [x] [README.md] reviewed for accuracy and updated if needed
+- [x] WG leaders in [sigs.yaml] are accurate and active, and updated if needed
+- [x] Meeting notes and recordings for 2025 are linked from [README.md] and updated/uploaded if needed
+- [x] Updates provided to sponsoring SIGs in 2025
+      - KubeCon NA 2025 Maintainer Summit talk:
+        [WG Node Lifecycle - Getting Started](https://youtu.be/yh3tkE1fw-4?si=Duk-QUwpNvNU4kin)
 
 [wg-governance.md]: https://git.k8s.io/community/committee-steering/governance/wg-governance.md
 [README.md]: https://git.k8s.io/community/wg-node-lifecycle/README.md