Don't Hold Off...
Join WTS in 2010!
Are
you a non-member who has been considering membership in WTS? There is
no better time than 2010 to take the plunge.
Through 2010, new (or renewed expired) members will be eligible for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card. The winner will be drawn at our annual WTS Minnesota Holiday Party in December.
For a membership application, click here or contact Molly Stewart. |
Calling all Members:
We want your news!
Have you recently...
earned a certification?
changed jobs?
grown your family?
run a marathon?
WTS Minnesota is on the lookout for all kinds of member news--professional or personal--to publish in our bimonthly newsletter.
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Has your email address changed?
Please email Molly Stewart with your new address and don't forget to update your email address with WTS International as well.
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2010 WTS Minnesota
Board of Directors
President
Amber Nord
Vice President
Kristin Thompson
Secretary
Joy Miciano
Treasurer
Christina Miller
Past President
n/a
Scholarships & Recognitions Director
Angie Christo
Programs Director
HunWen Westman
Membership Co-Director
Molly Stewart
Membership Co-Director
Karen Allen
Marketing Director
Katie Roth
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2010 WTS Minnesota
Advisory Board
Donna Allan
WTS Past President
Laura Amundson
Parsons Brinkerhoff
Gina Baas
Center for Transportation Studies
Biz Colburn
WTS Past President
Sandy Cullen
University of Minnesota
Judy Hollander
Hennepin County
Ann Johnson
University of Minnesota
Connie Kozlak
Metropolitan Council
Jessica Laabs
Kimley-Horn & Associates
Stephanie Malinoff
Center for Transportation Studies
Laurie McGinnis
Center for Transportation Studies
Dan Meyers
URS
Sam O'Connell
Dakota County
Kristin Asher-Osberg
City of Richfield
Lisa Raduenz
Iteris
Kate Sanderson
URS
Dawn Spanhake
Center for Transportation Studies
Amy Vennewitz
Metropolitan Council
Charleen Zimmer
Zan Associates
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 President's Column
Amber Nord
I hope all of you are enjoying your summer! I am
glad to have seen many of you at our summer programs. We have done some fun and interesting things,
as you will read later in this newsletter.
As we enter into fall, our Scholarships Director and
committee swing into high gear to put together our scholarships information for
distribution to students. Awarding
scholarships is a cornerstone of our chapter. As most of you know, our chapter is raising money to fund our
scholarships in perpetuity. We are in
the home stretch of our fundraising, and would like everyone to consider a
donation so that we may meet our goal. The 2010 Challenge gives you a lot of
ways to give--rise to the occasion and help us Fuel the Fund!
Also, I would like to introduce our new Regional Director,
Nadine Lee, to our membership. WTS
International Board elections took place in May at the Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. Nadine is a member of the Denver, Colorado
chapter and works for RTD-FasTracks. And
interestingly, Nadine was also the recipient of the WTS International Member of
the Year. More about Nadine in an
upcoming newsletter.
Amber Nord
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Upcoming Events...Mark your calendars! August 25: AGC Gubernatorial Candidates Forum
A Members-Only Opportunity!
Join WTS Minnesota and other sponsoring organizations for the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota (AGC) Gubernatorial Candidates Forum. We invite WTS members to come and learn where candidates stand on job creation, economic development, and infrastructure investment.
Wednesday, August 25th | 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Northland Inn & Conference Center | Brooklyn Park
Attending: Mark Dayton (DFL), Tom Horner (IP), Tom Emmer (GOP) (pending)
Moderated by Lori Sturdevant, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Pre-registration
is REQUIRED by TODAY, August 23.
Check your inbox for a registration form.
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August 26: Reception for Laurie McGinnis
Help us celebrate the accomplishments of WTS member Laurie McGinnis,
including her recent appointment as director of the Center for
Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota!
Thursday, August 26th | 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Ginger Hop | 201 E Hennepin Ave
Free for WTS members, $10.00 for non-members
Includes hors d'oeuvres - Cash bar available
RSVPs to HunWen Westman appreciated by August 24, but not required |
2010 Challenge Update
Kristin Thompson
As of August 15th, WTS Minnesota has raised
$1,664 as a part of the 2010 Challenge. Your help is essential to meeting our
goal of raising $7,000 for our
scholarship program in 2010! Remember, WTS Minnesota will match every
dollar donated, up to $3,000, in 2010.
Did you know you can donate to WTS Minnesota scholarships
online? It's just as easy as shopping at your favorite website--with a much more
rewarding outcome.
All you have to do is visit wtsinternational.org and click on DONATE NOW. Be sure to direct your donation to the Minnesota
Chapter Scholarship. The website will walk you through the payment process. |
June Program: Northstar Commuter Rail Tour
Kristin Thompson
On June 22nd, WTS members and friends were
treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the region's newest transit option,
Northstar Commuter Rail. Ed Byers, Director of Northstar Commuter Rail for
Metro Transit, led a walking tour of Target Field Station and a Northstar
train.
A beautiful day for an outdoor tour! |
Program attendees were full of questions about Northstar.
One member asked what the biggest surprise has been since operations began in
November. Byers responded that ridership on Twins game days has far exceeded
expectations, and that Northstar has had to rapidly expand capacity to
accommodate fans. Northstar trains serving Twins games now have eight passenger cars,
necessitating two stops at each platform.
The
tour concluded with a unique opportunity: to climb into the engineer
compartment of a Northstar locomotive. A number of intrepid WTS-ers made the
ascent. Lunch at Darby O'Ragen's, with a view of Target Field Station, followed
the tour.Ashley Ver Berg climbs up for a look around; Michael Corbett looks right at home behind the controls  |
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2010 Social: Gangster Bus Tour
HunWen Westman
On Thursday, August 5, twenty-five WTS members, friends, and
family boarded a vintage bus for a ride through St. Paul history. With "Dapper Dan" Hogan as our guide, the
group learned about a scandalous period of the city's past, when local police
officers betrayed other law enforcement agencies and made deals with criminals.
The group also learned a lot about non-gang-related local
history, extending from the pioneer days when West St. Paul and South St. Paul
received their geographically-puzzling names, to the more recent contributions
of local celebrities F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Schulz, and Jesse Ventura. After the tour, many attendees enjoyed a
legal drink with honorable colleagues and law-abiding friends, appreciative of
the respectable city St. Paul has become.  |
Who is WTS Minnesota?
As of August 2010, WTS Minnesota chapter membership is...
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Blogroll: Transportation Reading
Looking for some transportation-related end-of-summer reading?
Here are a few of WTS board members' favorite blogs:
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