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July - August Message
District 6 Members,
This is my last President’s message before the ITE
Annual Meeting in Anaheim and I am getting excited to see
everyone again.
I had several goals that I’d set out to accomplish
as President and as an officer of the Western District. Over
the past year, we’ve made great strides. I’ll
highlight just a few of our accomplishments in this message.
It has been one of my priorities to reach out to young professionals
and potential new members. An ITE Group on Facebook has been
created to reach out to young professionals and students,
and to encourage any interested member to join. We have received
new young professional members joining ITE as a result of
the ITE Group. Also, a new Employer Recognition Award has
been developed by the District Career Guidance Committee Chair,
to recognize employers for support of young professional involvement
in ITE Activities (young professional defined as an ITE member,
35 years of age or younger). In addition, our mentoring program
has grown significantly and more than doubled in size since
its inception.
The District Endowment Fund has grown, and is close to $100,000.
A January workshop was planned and organized for the Endowment
Fund Committee to focus on fundraising and strategic planning.
The committee has been busy fundraising and preparing for
the Annual Meeting. During the meeting in Anaheim, ITE shirts,
teddy bears, and temporary ITE tattoos will be for sale to
fundraise for the Endowment Fund. In addition, an Endowment
Fund website with online donation abilities will be launched.
I have no doubt that the Fund will continue to grow and we
will meet our goal of $500,000. I want to thank the membership,
individuals, Sections and Chapters, and corporate sponsors
for your generous donations to the District Endowment Fund.
All of our accomplishments could not have been possible without
the efforts of the District officers, committee chairs, and
membership support. I want thank all of you for both your
time and support.
At this time, I would like to welcome our new WesternITE Web
Manager, France Campbell, who brings past experience as a
webmaster for the Georgia Section. France has taken the position
with a running start. He is looking at ways to improve the
speed and storage of our website while lowering internet provider
costs.
Over the past year, I have been traveling to several Section
and Chapter meetings. It’s been a great experience to
meet ITE members throughout the District and build relationships.
In May, I had the opportunity to give a report on District
Activities and swear in the new officers at the Oregon Section
meeting. Also in May, I participated in the Intermountain
Section meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
During the meeting, I had the opportunity to give a brief presentation
on District activities and celebrated my birthday during the
meeting.
In June, I found my travels taking me to California, and I had
an opportunity to visit the Southern California Section, the
Riverside-San Bernardino Section, and the San Francisco Bay
Area Section. At each of these Section meetings, I was given
the honor of swearing in their new officers and providing an
update on the District’s activities. During the Southern
California Section meeting, I gave a technical presentation
on Contextually Complete Streets. I would like to thank these
sections for inviting and hosting me at their section meetings.
It was my pleasure to recognize Wes Pringle with a Presidential
Proclamation at the Southern California Section meeting for
his distinguished service to ITE and the industry. Wes has been
a member of ITE since 1963 and served ITE in virtually all leadership
positions, including Section President, District President,
International Director, and District Administrator. Wes has
truly dedicated his life to service to ITE and the betterment
of the profession and always placed engineering ethics and principals
in highest regard.
At the San Francisco Bay Area Section meeting, I had the honor
of recognizing Tom Clausen with a Presidential Proclamation.
Tom has been a member of ITE for 33 years and has served ITE
as Section President, District President, International Director,
and Chair of numerous committees, and has contributed over the
years to advancing ITE in an outstanding fashion. In addition,
Tom has served as an instructor for the Institute of Transportation
Studies at his alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley,
contributing to the career development of engineering professionals.
I encourage all of you to take the time to get to know each
of the candidates and please remember to vote. I would like
to wish the best of luck to our candidates for International
Director and Secretary-Treasurer and thank them for their continued
commitment and participation in the District. Again, please
take the time to vote!
The 2008 ITE District Annual Meeting (joint with International)
in Anaheim is from August 17-20, 2008. Early registration expires
on July 18th, so plan to register early for the savings. I am
looking forward to seeing everyone in Anaheim in August! |
