By Doug Smith, P.E. Western District President

This month I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Anchorage, Alaska visiting with our ITE Alaska section members. It was a great trip where I had the opportunity to speak to attendees at the monthly luncheon held at BP Center (60 attendees) and talk with members and friends at a networking event that night where we met with about 20 local professionals. I was able to spend some time in my local office and met the Mayor of Anchorage at lunch the first day (by mistake at a food court)! The Alaska section is made up of dedicated engineering professionals who need to be resourceful and wear multiple hats. I want to thank Brad Coy, Matthew Coburn, Colin Singleton and Mohamed Niagne for organizing two amazing events and for their hospitality while I was in Anchorage. It was a great three days and it allowed me to bring back an understanding of what defines our rural section challenges.

We are less than a month away from the Western ITE Annual Meeting in Sacramento, CA! There are many events available for you at this meeting. But first let’s talk about Sacramento. Not only is Sacramento the Capital of the State of California and headquarters to many of our state agencies such as California Department of Transportation but it is also an easy drive to destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Lake Tahoe and the basin as well as Yosemite National Park. But there are a lot of reasons to visit Sacramento proper –

• Sacramento played a pivotal role in the 19th-century Gold Rush, acting as a major distribution point for gold miners.
• Often referred to as the “City of Trees,” Sacramento boasts more trees per capita than most major cities in the world.
• Utilize the city’s extensive network of biking and walking trails, like the American River Parkway, to immerse yourself in the natural beauty.
• There are also great restaurants featuring farm to table cuisine and numerous museums in town not to mention a professional minor league baseball team. You can visit Things To Do in Sacramento | Museums, Shopping & Attractions (visitsacramento.com) for more information.

There are many events on the program to highlight including a strong technical program, some highlights include:

• Monday, June 24^th evening is the Western District Family Night at the Punch Bowl Social.
• Tuesday, June 25^th is the Western District Annual Business Meeting luncheon at the Sheraton Grand Magnolia Room.
• Tuesday, June 25^th in the evening we will have the District Annual Awards Banquet in Grand Nave Ballroom. This dinner will include awards and dancing so bring your best western outfits to wear to the event.

But one event you should include on your agenda is the Western District Bowl on Tuesday afternoon at 3PM on the 3^rd Floor. Don’t miss out on this Western District Professional Competition at the Annual Meeting in Sacramento, CA.  If you’ve ever attended a Western District Annual Meeting, then you’ve likely seen or participated in the Professional Traffic Bowl. This event pits teams of professionals against each other to answer transportation and other questions in a jeopardy style format.  This year we are introducing a new competition format based on the popular Family Feud gameshow that has been renamed the “WD Bowl.”   This event will still feature all of things we love about the Professional Traffic Bowl: wise-cracking MC, panel of esteemed judges, audience commentary, head-to-head competition, drinks, snacks, and more.  Teams consisting of 4-5 contestants (maximum of 8 teams) must try to guess the top answers to survey questions from our members.  Sign up your team at the registration desk in Sacramento or in advance of the meeting through this link.

Please continue to check your e-mails and the Annual Meeting website for more details about our Western District meeting. I look forward to seeing everyone soon! Wishing everyone safe travels as you make your way to Sacramento. As always, if you would like to talk about the ITE Western District, please reach out to me. I’m never too busy to make time to discuss ITE.