There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west.  And in the ITE Western District it’s pretty good!  But it makes me wonder, how can we do better?   This year I am focused on engagement with our members and ways of increasing our levels of engagement.  Each month I will be writing about examples of engagement, whether it’s how the Board interacts with the Sections and Chapters, or how members engage with one another.

Recently each of you received a survey in your e-mail, asking you to answer a few short questions about professional conferences.  We know there are many choices, so how does one choose?  Is the decision driven by training and technical content, location, cost, employer support, networking opportunities, a combination of these or perhaps something else?  Our mission as the Western District Board is to serve the membership.  We want to hear from you to know what works and what doesn’t, and what you’d like to see.  The Western District Annual Meeting is our largest event of the year.   So why don’t we see more of you attending our Annual Meeting each summer?  Please take the survey and share your thoughts.  And if the survey doesn’t quite tap into your ideas then send me an e-mail or pick up the phone.  In June 2017 the Western District Annual Meeting will be in San Diego; I hope to see many of you there, especially newer members that haven’t attended a District Meeting before as well as those that haven’t recently attended an Annual Meeting.

In today’s world our membership is more diverse than ever, and thus we must provide multiple platforms to engage with one another.  In the Western District we provide many engaging paths you can go by.  These include: social media such as Twitter and Facebook; electronic media such as the E-News, the ITE International Community, and our website westernite.org; and traditional media with our bi-annual printed editions of WesternITE.  Starting with this month’s E-News there will be a spotlight article on one of our Sections or Chapters.  These will differ from the WesternITE Section activity reports.  The Section/Chapter spotlights will provide a window into their world, and to kick us off the Central Coast Section has written this month’s spotlight article.

Whether you prefer print, desktop, or mobile media, there is no substitution for meeting people in person.  This past month I was able to attend Section meetings in San Francisco, Northern California and Arizona, the Idaho Chapter Annual Conference, and visit with Student Chapters at Boise State and the University of Arizona.   As I wind on down the road of the Western District, here is what I can report  – our Sections, Chapters and Students are leading the way to a bright future, and Together We Are The Best!

Mark Spencer, PE
Western District President