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May
- June Message
District 6 Members,
ITE campaigning for elections is underway and you may have had an opportunity to meet a few of the candidates from both the Western District and International. In this edition of the WesternITE, you will read the candidate statements for those running for District and International officer positions. I encourage all of you to take the time to read each of the candidate statements and please remember to vote. If you are a voting member of ITE, and have a valid email address on file with International Headquarters as of July 1st, you will receive an e-mail message from ElectionsOnLine with instructions on how to vote electronically.
Online voting will be accessible beginning on July 16, 2008 and close on August 11, 2008 at midnight. 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, I want to encourage all of you to get to know the candidates and please vote!
The ITE Annual meeting in Anaheim is quickly approaching, and the Western District is having a joint meeting with International this year. The 2008 District Annual Meeting (joint with International) is in Anaheim from August 17-20, 2008. You should have received the preliminary program from ITE International in the mail.
A few highlights
that I would like to share:
• The Western District registration is a package and
includes the full registration plus the Western District
sit-down lunch programs (Western District Annual Business
Meeting and Western States Luncheon) and Traffic Bowl with
appetizers and live entertainment.
• Students competing in the Kell Competition will
receive complimentary passes to the Traffic Bowl event and
ESPN Zone student night event. If you are a student attending
the Annual meeting, then I want to encourage you to compete
in the District’s Kell Competition.
• “What’s New in the West” technical
sessions will be advertised and signed for a couple of sessions
on Wednesday during the meeting.
The District
Endowment Fund committee, chaired by Cathy Leong, has been
busy fundraising and preparing for the Annual Meeting. The
Endowment Fund committee will be selling ITE logo shirts,
ITE logo bears, and ITE tattoos at the Annual Meeting front
booth to raise funds for the Endowment Fund. An Endowment
Fund website with online donation abilities will be launched
soon. Again, I want to thank the membership, individuals,
Sections and Chapters, and corporate sponsors for your generous
donations to the District Endowment Fund which is growing.
As I
mentioned in my last couple of messages, its one of my top
priorities to reach out to young professionals and potential
new members. I have set up an ITE Group on Facebook to reach
out to young professionals and students and encourage any
interested member to join. Also, you will see an email soon
describing a new Employer Recognition Award which 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).
I want
to thank Craig Grandstrom for serving the District as the
Career Guidance Chair. As Career Guidance Chair, Craig grew
the mentorship program which doubled in size. He continued
leading the young professional award selection process and
developing new recognition programs. Craig’s term for
the Career Guidance chair will be ending soon, so please let
me know if you are interested in the opportunity to participate
in District leadership activities as the Career Guidance chair.
As President,
I have been traveling to several Section and Chapter meetings.
Many thanks to the Arizona Section for hosting me in Phoenix
in April. The Arizona Section has pledged to donate annually
to the District’s Student Endowment – thank you.
During the meeting, I had the opportunity to give a brief
presentation on District activities and present a technical
presentation on road diets.
In April,
I had the opportunity to attend the ITE Quad meeting in Victoria,
Canada. The “Quad” consists of the Washington
Section, Oregon Section, and two Canadian Sections (Vancouver
and Vancouver Island). The theme of the conference was “Bridging
the Gap” and was a joint meeting with the Canadian ITE
Annual meeting. The meeting included a comprehensive technical
program and tours and great networking opportunities between
ITE members of the sections.
I am
looking forward to seeing everyone in Anaheim in August!
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