By Pat Marnell, Western District President

Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that it is already the end of January 2025. I hope each of you took some time over the holidays to relax, recharge, and reflect on the past year. I have a feeling that 2025 is going to be a very busy and rewarding year! In 2025, I encourage all members to get more involved with the ITE community. Whether it’s at the Section or District level, or through an ITE council, or on the ITE Community Forums, your contributions are vital to advancing the industry and building ITE as a community of transportation professionals. I would like to thank Doug Smith for his leadership of the District as President in 2024. I’m just starting to truly appreciate the scope of the job, and I am sure I will have many questions for him over the course of the year. Next, I would like to officially welcome Cameron Shew to the board as Secretary/Treasurer. Further, I would like to congratulate Kimberly Leung on transitioning from Past President straight into the role of International Director. Finally, let me welcome the 2025 Section Representative to the District Board. I look forward to working with, and getting to know, each of you this year.

I would like to commend Maggie Lin and Atousa Gorg for participating as part of the 2025 Leadership ITE (LITE) program. LITE is an amazing program and I look forward to you both sharing your knowledge within the District and your communities. Winter is awards season for ITE. Please consider submitting a project or person for one of the many awards administered through our Technical, Career Guidance, and Student Committees. More details on awards are available below. The Western District Winter Board Meeting will be held on January 31 st and the Western District Student Leadership Summit will be held at UCLA from January 31 st to February 2nd . Our next District E-News will include information from that meeting. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the ongoing wildfires in the LA area and extend my sympathy to everyone who has been impacted. For better or for worse, wildfires are something that connects every state in the Western District. My home state of Oregon dealt with the same devastating combination of high winds and dry conditions in September of 2020, resulting in the state’s most destructive fire season on record. While there are no simple solutions to the complex issue of wildfires, I urge all of you to consider the inevitability of wildfires and the risks they pose in your personal and professional lives.

The Western District Annual Meeting will be held in Long Beach, California this summer from June 29 th to July 2 nd . I’m particularly excited about Monday’s family night event which will be held on the Queen Mary. Annual meeting registration is open, with early registration rates until March 1 st . Don’t delay, we are expecting a sold-out meeting Classified as Confidential.

Also, please join me in extending a huge thank you to all the members of the Long Beach LAC. I know how much effort it is to run a big meeting. Every member of the LAC is an absolute rock star for volunteering their time to make the meeting a success. In closing let me say that it is truly an honor to serve as your 2025 Western District President. Let’s make 2025 a year of collaboration, innovation, and community. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Long Beach meeting. If you have any concerns or questions about the District, feel free to reach out to me, your Section Representative, or any of the Board Members.

Cheers,

Pat Marnell