ALSITE NEWS

A Publication of the Alabama Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers

Volume XLII - Issue 1

Spring 2012

IN THIS ISSUE
Upcoming Events
ALSITE Officers
2012 ALSITE Spring Meeting
"Upcoming Events" for $500
2012 Joint Annual Meeting of SDITE/GLDITE
New ALSITE Awards Proposed
News & Announcements
ITE Student Chapter Updates
2011 ALSITE NEWS Sponsors
ALSITE Quick Links
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Upcoming Events

 

55th Annual Transportation Conference

Thursday-Friday,

February 23-24

Renaissance Hotel

Montgomery, AL

Meeting Website

 

ALSITE Spring Meeting 

Thursday, March 1

Barber Motorsports

Birmingham, AL

Meeting Website

 

40th ALSITE Annual Meeting

Wednesday-Friday,

June 6-8

The Beach Club

Gulf Shores, AL

 

ITE Annual Meeting & Exhibit

Sunday-Wednesday,

August 12-15

Atlanta, GA

Meeting Website

 

ALSITE Fall Meeting

Date TBD

Montgomery Zoo

Montgomery, Alabama

ALSITE Officers

 

President

Scott Holladay

 

Vice-President

Becky Malenke

 

Secretary/Treasurer

Greg Dawkins

 

Southern District Representative

Chris Sellers

 

Affiliate Director

Larry Jones

 

Assistant Affiliate Director

Wayne Curry

 

Immediate Past President

Scott Rumble

2012 SDITE President

Becky White, PTP

 

 

Becky White, PTP, is the 2012 SDITE President!

 

Congratulations on being elected to such a prestigious position!

Scott Holladay
 
President's Message
Scott Holladay, P.E.
ALSITE President

  

 

I first want to say that it is a privilege to serve as the 2012 President of the Alabama Section of ITE. Nearly 40 years ago, on June 29, 1972, eight of the founding members of ALSITE met in Montgomery, and along with three proxy votes, these eleven individuals voted to request a charter as a Division of the Southern Section of ITE.

 

As current members of ALSITE we should do all we can to strengthen our organization and build on the vision of those who founded our section. I urge everyone to become more involved by participating on one of our committees or utilizing your talents in any other way to serve and promote ALSITE.

 

I would like to thank Scott Rumble and Becky Malenke for making my term as Vice President last year a true pleasure. I have always suspected that I am not the most organized person in the world and working with them definitely confirmed this. Their leadership on the ALSITE board is invaluable and I am sure I will continue to heavily rely on them in the upcoming year.

Please go ahead and pencil in the dates of our spring and summer meetings and make plans to attend. Our spring meeting will be held at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham on March 1st. I know many of you have had a chance to see the museum before but if you haven't it is well worth the visit. We will be having our first head to head Traffic Bowl competition between the Student Chapters to see who will represent AL


Our annual meeting will be June 6-8 at The Beach Club in Gulf Shores. This year will be our joint meeting with the Deep South Section which always adds an extra dose of fun to the week. Under the leadership of Tommy Lee and Jim Stewart, the people at Vulcan always do a great job of hosting this meeting. 
SITE at the Southern District meeting in Lexington, Kentucky.   


Again, I look forward to the coming year at ALSITE and all that 2012 has in store for us. 

2012 ALSITE Spring Meeting

 
 
Did you know the LARGEST collection of vintage and modern motorcycles in the WORLD is in Alabama?
 
We look forward to seeing each of you at Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum for the 2012 ALSITE Spring Meeting on Thursday, March 1, 2012.  The meeting will include two technical sessions, lunch, the first annual Alabama Student Traffic Bowl, the business meeting, and a self-guided museum tour.

 

For additional information - including links to online registration for the meeting - see the Upcoming Events section of the newsletter.

"Upcoming Events" for $500




What is.....the First Annual Alabama Student Traffic Bowl?   Correct!

The First Annual Alabama Student Traffic Bowl is set to take place at the Spring Section Meeting right before the Business Meeting.
 
If you haven't seen a traffic bowl competition before, or even if you have seen a hundred of them, you will not want to miss this.  Please plan to attend!
 
I can hear the harmonies of the Final Jeopardy song already!

2012 Joint Annual Meeting 

SDITEGreat Lakes District ITE

 

The Southern District/Great Lakes District Joint Annual Meeting will be held Sunday, April 15 - Wednesday, April 18, 2012 in Lexington, Kentucky.  Early registration is open, and the hotel rooms are filling up.  Check out www.sdite2012.org for additional meeting details.

New ALSITE Awards Proposed 

Submitted by Scott Holladay

 

Since our annual meeting in the summer of 2011, the ALSITE board has been looking at the possibility of adding new awards that can be adopted as a way of further recognizing our members and affiliates. The awards committee has recommended that we adopt two (2) new awards: 

This newsletter contains a draft of these proposed awards, and pending approval of the membership, this draft is how it will appear in the Standard Operating Procedures of our Section Manual.

 

Please take a look at the draft of these proposed awards (scroll down or click on the award name above).  If you have any comments or recommendations, please contact Scott Rumble at [email protected] or 205.969.3776 or Scott Holladay at [email protected] or 205.669.3880.

 

We will take comments and suggestions up through and during the business meeting at our March 1st Spring Meeting at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham. We will then vote on their adoption as part of the business meeting agenda.

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

ALSITE 2011 Transportation Safety Award Nominations

 

The ALSITE Awards Committee is soliciting nominations for the 2012 Transportation Safety Award. 

 

The purpose of this award is to recognize individuals who have made distinctive and substantial contributions to Transportation Safety in Alabama.

 

The nomination form can be found here.

 

Nominations are due by March 30, 2012 to:

 

Scott Rumble, P.E.

Immediate Past President

[email protected]

2011 Teen Crash Course III

Submitted by Livia Ryan

 

On October 26, 2011, 130 Students from 13 Jefferson County Schools participated in the 3rd Teen Crash Summit in Gardendale Civic Center.  Seven members of the ALSITE Service Projects Committee handed out 130 SALTEENS Students Brochures and 50 Teachers and Parents Brochures.  Copies of the SALTEENS Video were offered to the teachers and parents.  Our assigned duties were:  registration, collection, posting, and judging posters, and guiding the group of Students from the activities.

ITE STUDENT CHAPTER UPDATES

Auburn University ITE Student Chapter

Submitted by Dr. Rod Turochy

AUITE logo 

The Auburn University Student Chapter was very active during the fall semester. We have had several speakers give presentations during chapter meetings, including Doc Dorsey from Opelika, Jeff Ramsey from Auburn, Chris Hilyer from ALDOT, and ALSITE's past president, Scott Rumble from Atkins. Our chapter hosted the fall ALSITE meeting in Auburn on October 20th. Five chapter members visited the Georgia Navigator Transportation Management Center in Atlanta in October. Three chapter members attended the Gulf Region ITS Annual Meeting in November.

The chapter will have an equally busy spring semester. Five chapter members attended the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. in January. We plan to send a group of members to the spring ALSITE meeting in Birmingham and participate in the Traffic Bowl with hopes of advancing to the Southern District ITE meeting.

The chapter plans to continue our outreach efforts during the spring semester. We plan to continue educating elementary school children about civil engineering and traffic safety by visiting an elementary school and speaking with the 4th and 5th grade children. The chapter plans to continue its tradition of helping with E-Day, the annual open house event for the College of Engineering. Students will serve as greeters for the prospective students and their parents and ride shuttle buses collecting ridership data.

The chapter is currently scheduling speakers for the chapter meetings and looks forward to a productive and exciting semester. 

UAB ITE Student Chapter

Submitted by Dr. Virginia Sisiopiku

  

On December 2nd, 2011 the UAB ITE student chapter organized and hosted the 6th Annual Student Awards luncheon at the UAB campus in Birmingham. The event was a great success and was attended by a nice mix of participants from the academia and the transportation industry. The program included technical presentations from students showcasing their research activities. During the event the University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA) presented awards to twelve transportation students to cover travel expenses to the 91st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board. 

 

Several UAB transportation students and faculty attended the 91st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board that was held in Washington DC in January 2012. During the event, UAB ITE student representatives attended the student reception at the ITE headquarter office in Washington, DC and met with national and international officers of ITE.

In January 2012, members of the UAB Student Chapter and the faculty advisor Dr. Sisiopiku attended a webinar entitled, "ITE - What's in it for me?" The webinar was delivered by Mr. John J. Funny, SDITE Education and Student Committee Chair, and provided useful information about careers in transportation and what ITE has to offer to student members.

Chapter activities planned for Spring 2012 include hosting a member recruiting event at UAB and attending the 2012 Spring Meeting of Alabama Section ITE at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama. 

In the photo are attendees of the 6th Annual Student Awards Luncheon at UAB.

UAITEUniversity of Alabama ITE Student Chapter

Submitted by Dr. Steven Jones

 

The ITE Student Chapter at the University of Alabama is looking forward to an active spring semester.  The chapter is sending three students (one graduate and two undergraduate) to compete in the Traffic Bowl at the ALSITE Spring Meeting in March.

 

The chapter has had one meeting during the spring semester at which the Faculty Advisor, Dr. Steven Jones, delivered a talk entitled, "So You Want to Be a Transportation Professional."  The talk addressed choices students might face in selecting to pursue transportation as a profession including public sector vs. private sector careers, whether or not to pursue a graduate degree and a bit of insight into what it is actually like to work as a transportation engineer or planner on day-to-day basis.

 

The chapter is looking forward to hosting the Gulf Region Intelligent Transportation Society workshop on Event Management on April 3, 2012 on campus in Tuscaloosa.  In addition the chapter is planning to have two more meetings during spring to really focus on attracting new undergraduate members.  

 

Finally, the chapter is hoping to have a social outing later in the spring to go bike riding on the Chief Ladiga Trail in eastern Alabama.

 PROPOSED ALSITE AWARDS

 

Award1Outstanding Young Member Award (Proposed)

Name

Outstanding Young Member Award

 

Objective

To recognize an Alabama Section MEMBER or AFFILIATE (I or II), under the age of thirty-five (35) before January 1st of the year given, who has contributed significantly to the advancement of transportation engineering and the Alabama Section, and is suitably employed in the transportation profession within Alabama.

 

Award Date and Location

The award will be presented at the Section Annual Meeting (June each year) Banquet by the Section President.

 

Nomination Process

All nominations will be solicited via a standard form distributed to Section membership (Spring Newsletter or a direct mailing). All nominations shall be received by the Immediate Past President not later than seventy-five (75) day prior to the Annual Meeting.

 

Selection Process

The Awards Committee will screen the nomination forms and select a nominee if appropriate.

 

The Awards Committee shall consist of five (5) MEMBERS as follows:

  • Immediate Past President - Chairperson
  • Four (4) MEMBERS appointed by the Section President, two (2) of which must be Past Presidents.

Confirmation

The Awards Committee shall present the nominee for confirmation by a vote of the Section Board no later than forty-five (45) days prior to the Annual Meeting. If the Awards Committee fails to present a nominee or if the Section Board fails to confirm the Committee's nominee, then an award will not be presented that year.

 

Award

The award shall consist of a plaque and accompanying citation to reflect the accomplishments of the winner.(Note: Generally a minimum of thirty (30) days is required to obtain the award plaques.)

 

If the individual is a member of the Southern District of ITE, the Awards Committee should also consider submitting the recipient's name and supporting documentation to the Southern District of ITE Awards Committee as a candidate for The Joseph M. Thomas Young Member Award.

 

Award Period

The award shall be granted only to recognize significant contributions, and will not be granted in any year in which the Section Board does not recognize noteworthy and distinctive accomplishments.

Award2Transportation Professional of the Year Award (Proposed)

Name

Transportation Professional of the Year Award

 

Definition of Award

This award may be presented to an Alabama Section Member or Affiliate (I or II) who, over a period of years, has contributed significantly to the advancement of transportation engineering and the Alabama Section, and is suitably employed as a transportation professional within Alabama. The intent of the Transportation Professional of the Year Award is to recognize someone who would not otherwise qualify for the Transportation Engineer of the Year Award (i.e., a Planner or non-registered professional engineer).

 

Name of Award

The award shall be named the [Year] Transportation Professional of the Year. The [Year] designation shall be the calendar year immediately preceding the date the Award is conferred upon the recipient. For example, the Award that may be conferred at the 2012 Annual Meeting shall be named the... 2011 Transportation Professional of the Year Award.

 

Evaluation of Candidates

The evaluation shall include such personal traits as integrity, morality and leadership. This recognition should include individual accomplishments in the advancement of transportation engineering in Alabama, and significant organizational service to the Alabama Section of ITE for a minimum of five (5) years.

 

Nomination Process

Only individual members of the Alabama Section Awards Committee shall make nominations for the Award. Candidates shall not be solicited from the general membership or any other sources... it is not a popularity contest. Individual Award Committee members shall submit nominations to the Committee Chair not later than seventy-five (75) days prior to the next Alabama Section Annual Meeting.

 

The Awards Committee shall consist of five (5) MEMBERS as follows:

  • Immediate Past President - Chairperson
  • Four (4) MEMBERS appointed by the Section President, two (2) of which must be Past Presidents.

The Awards Committee, as far as practical, shall represent a cross section of employment fields within the Section.

 

The award shall be granted only to recognize significant contributions, and will not be granted in any year in which the Section Board does not recognize noteworthy and distinctive accomplishments.

 

Award Confirmation

The Awards Committee shall present the nominee and selection citation (statement of the Nominee's contributions and accomplishments) to the Section Board for confirmation no later than forty-five (45) days prior to the Section Annual Meeting. The Section Board must approve the nominee by a majority of the MEMBERS voting in the affirmative no later than thirty (30) days prior to the Section Annual Meeting. If the Section Awards Committee fails to present a nominee within the required time frame or if the Section Board fails to confirm the Committee's nominee, then an Award shall not be presented that year.

 

Each year, only one individual may be selected for this most prestigious award and it shall be granted only for recognized significant contributions, and will not be granted in any year in which the Section Executive Board does not concur that the nominee satisfies the established selection criteria.

 

Form of Award

The award shall consist of a plaque and a copy of the selection citation reflecting the individual's contributions. It shall be presented during the Annual Meeting Banquet. [Note: Generally, a minimum of thirty (30) days is required to obtain the Award plaque.]

 

If the individual is a member of the Southern District of ITE, the Awards Committee should also consider submitting the recipient's name and supporting documentation to the Southern District of ITE Awards Committee as a candidate for The Herman J. Hoose Distinguished Service Award or The Marble J. Hensley Outstanding Individual Activity Award.

2012 ALSITE NEWS Sponsors

Thanks to our current ALSITE NEWS Sponsors!

 

AECOM

 

Atkins

 

Inline

 

Neel-Schaffer

 

Safety Coatings

 

Sain Associates

 

Skipper

 

Traffic Products

 

Traffic Solutions

 

TransCore

 

Vulcan Signs

 

Become a sponsor today!

 

A big THANK YOU to our current ALSITE NEWS sponsors - we appreciate your commitment to ALSITE!

 

If you would like to become an ALSITE NEWS sponsor, please contact Jeff Stephenson by email, at jst[email protected], or by phone at 205.263.2172.

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