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Save the Date!!! | |
March 30, 2014 - April 2, 2014: 2014 SDITE Annual Meeting
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| 2014 Executive Board | |
Kirsten Tynch
Bill Seymour
Secretary / Treasurer
Hollis Loveday
International Director
Rick Day
Past-President
Martin Bretherton
District Administrator
Craig Hanchey
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| Social Media | |
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Archive(s) |
Available Editions
October 2013
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December 2013 |
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SDITE Apparel | |
Don't forget to visit the Lands' End Store to get your SDITE Apparel.
Lands' End Website |
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Future Annual Meetings | |
2014 - Greensboro, GA
2015 - Biloxi, MS
2016 - Nashville, TN |
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Newsletter Staff | |
Scott Walker
Reviewers
Becky Malenke
Radha Swayampakala
Lindsay Walker
Social Media
Jeff Stephenson
Add Your Name Here Next Edition! |
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Hello all!
Happy New Year to you all!
Let's get started off with some random January trivia, courtesy of the website, Pop Culture Madness.
- According to Facebook users, January is "Change Your Profile Picture To A Muppet" Month
- January 1st, 1776, the first American flag, the "Grand Union" was presented. Betsy Ross later added the stars in place of the Union Jack.
- Leap years exempted, January always begins on the same day as October.
- In leap years, January always begins on the same day as April and July.
- The Chinese floral emblem of January is the plum blossom.
- January is National Soup Month in the United States.
- The first Super Bowl was held at the L.A. Coliseum in January.
And from general folklore, "A warm January, a cold May." I don't think most of us have much to worry about there.
Stay warm and we'll see you next month!
- SDITE Newsletter Committee |
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Presidential Message
President: Kirsten Tynch
It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the 2014 President of the Southern District of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. It has been a humbling experience to serve on the Board under both Becky White and Martin Bretherton. Under their leadership I have witnessed true dedication to the betterment of our profession and organization. I look forward to continuing their work in 2014.
When I ran for my first Southern District office 4 years ago, I was asked what I saw as the challenges facing our organization and profession. I talked then about the impact of tightening budgets, and today we continue to face this challenge. As government agencies and private industries work to do more with less, we as an organization need to find ways to provide more VALUE to our members. We face a time when membership dues and travel expenses are being denied by too many organizations. We need to continue to find non-traditional ways to communicate and engage our membership while ensuring our Annual Meeting provides the highest level of educational and training opportunities. I look forward to working with the Board, Sections and members to implement new strategies to make Southern District work better for our members.
One of my main initiatives will be working with the Board to better engage young members in the Southern District. What can we do as an organization to get engineers involved early in their careers so they feel a part of the future success of SDITE? I'll be challenging the young members to join committees, give presentations, and make their voices heard to help me guide SDITE in 2014. They are the future of our profession as well as this organization.
To support this initiative, a new incentive being offered this year is a sponsorship for young members to attend the Annual Meeting in Greensboro, Georgia, March 30th - April 2nd. The sponsorship covers full registration for 1 person from each Section. Persons eligible for the sponsorship must be:
- 1st time attendees to a SDITE Annual Meeting
- < 7 years working in the transportation industry
- Members of ITE or an affiliate member of a SDITE Section
Travel and other related expenses will be the responsibility of the attendee. I believe this sponsorship will allow our young members to experience the excitement and camaraderie that make SDITE the best professional organization in our industry. Look for the application for this sponsorship in the next couple of weeks.
I also want to encourage everyone to find a way to attend the Annual Meeting in Greensboro. The Local Arrangements Committee is putting together a comprehensive technical program that provides something for everyone. Most of us hold numerous professional registrations and certifications. There are many ways to get the Professional Development Hours required to maintain those licenses and certifications. I contend that the technical programs put on at SDITE's Annual Meetings are some of the best sources for gaining those PDHs and learning real life, applicable solutions that you can take home and apply on your projects. In addition, the network of people that you will interact with becomes a resource to reach out to, bounce ideas off of, and share lessons learned throughout your career. Most importantly, no where can you have more fun gaining those PDHs than at a SDITE Annual Meeting. The registration is open, and the hotel block is available until February 21st.
I want to take this time to thank you for your continued support of SDITE and me personally. I look forward to serving as your President and continuing the success of Southern District. See you in Georgia!
2014 SDITE President
Kirsten Tynch, PE, PTOE, LEED AP BD+C
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Official SDITE 2014 Meeting Announcement
By: SDITE 2014 LAC
We are excited to inform you that plans are well underway for the 2014 Southern District ITE Annual Meeting in Georgia. You can learn all the meeting details by going to the meeting website, www.sdite2014.org.
This meeting will be held from March 30th to April 2nd at the Ritz Carlton Lodge and Spa on beautiful Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA. This is a world-class resort that will provide you and your guest a memorable experience that you will not soon forget. The Georgia Local Arrangements Committee has negotiated a hotel rate ($179/night) at the Ritz Carlton that is almost half the regular nightly rate. Over half the rooms are already reserved by other SDITE members; therefore, if you plan to attend our meeting and don't want to stay at the local "Jameson Inn" or "Motel 6", then we strongly encourage you to make your hotel reservation as soon as possible. The last chance to get the group rate is February 21st if there are any rooms left by this time.
An interesting technical program is planned including the following topics:
- Driver Fatigue management
- Innovative Project Delivery Strategies
- Roundabouts and Innovative Intersections
- State of the Art in Traffic Signal Operations
- Active Traffic Management
- Low Cost Safety and Operational Improvements
- Leadership and Professional Development Seminars
The Spouse Tour and ABD Monday Night Social will be held in Historic Madison, Georgia, which was voted by Budget Travel Magazine as one of the "World's Top 16 Most Picturesque Villages". The Spouses will also be dining for lunch on Tuesday at one of the most famous restaurants in the South, the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant in Social Circle, GA.
We would love to see you in Georgia in less than three months.
Georgia LAC Co-Chairs,
Todd Long
Deputy Commissioner, GDOT
Keith Strickland,
Dir. of Traffic Engineering, HNTB Corp
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SDITE Website Image Solicitation
By: Mike Reese (SDITE Webmaster)
Want to be a star within SDITE? Here's your chance for your contribution to be seen by professionals in 9 states!
The current SDITE website design has been in place for three years. As part of this design, it was agreed that the homepage of the website should showcase images of modern innovations from across the District. We have a menu bar on the top of all webpages that includes 4 images (currently a picture of Charlotte's Light Rail, Tidewater VA TMC, Charleston's bridge, and a New Orleans streetcar. The homepage also includes a rotating image animation that can include 4 to 8 images that scroll.
All of these images have served us well for the last 3 years, but the site is looking somewhat stale. We are asking members from respective sections to submit an image of what makes us the Southern District for the menubar, and an image of a local innovation for the homepage animation. We will need up to 4 images for the menubar, and up to 8 images for the homepage animation. All menubar images should be 109x138, and all animation images should be 245x200 with all images in medium resolution JPG format.
Please submit any images for current or future website consideration to Mike Reese (mikereese@ncdot.gov) and Craig Hanchey (craig.hanchey@neel-schaffer.com) by email with the subject line "SDITE Website Images" by January 31, 2014.
Thanks for your consideration and for helping spruce up the SDITE Website! |
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Strategic Plan Update
From: Scott Walker, IC&O Chair
Many of you have seen the acronym "IC&O" and perhaps wondered what it stands for and what it does for the District. IC&O stands for Information, Communication, & Outreach and is one of the five subcommittees under the SDITE Strategic Planning Committee.
The IC&O has several responsibilities including:
1. Publishing the SDITE Connector
2. Keeping information current on the website
3. Engaging others to participate in outreach activities
I have the pleasure of taking over as Chairperson of the committee after recent strong leadership from Radha Swayampakala and the original leader of John van Winkle. Our goal in 2014 is to build upon the great work accomplished by these two leaders and take it to yet another level.
If you wish to paticipate in this committee directly or indirectly, let me know!
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Reminder: SDITE Awards
From: Tim White
In my role as Past Past President of the Southern District, I am serving as Chair of the SDITE Awards. The Awards Committee looks forward to receiving your individual award nominations. We have MANY individuals in the Southern District who deserve to be recognized with one of these awards. Please use this link to submit your nominations by February 4. I want to express my thanks to Radha Swayampakala for creating this SurveyMonkey site to capture your nominations!
A member of the Awards Committee will be following up with each Section President over the next couple of weeks to check in on the nominations progress.
Please email me with any questions. |
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From the Sections...
South Carolina
Our summer meeting featured elected officials from the Charleston (Elliott Summey) and Greenville (our very own Gaye Sprague) areas and Howard Chapman who discussed best practices on working with elected officials on our everyday projects.Thanks to the Citadel for providing meeting space on your beautiful campus.
A number of us also attended Engineers Day at the Ball Park at Joseph P. Riley Stadium where the Charleston Riverdogs hosted the Augusta Green Jackets. Engineers Day is a joint event with ASCE/SAME Charleston Post/Civil Engineers Club of Charleston. It was a hot Charleston evening but the baseball was great! We plan to continue to participate in the years to come so mark your summer calendars for next year's event.
Most recently we had our scholarship golf tournament at Northwoods Golf Club and it was a blast. Before the golf began, we learned about the new superstreet planned at US 17 and Main Roadin Charleston. Thanks again to everyone who participated and made this a successful event.Thanks to Mike Ridgeway for organizing!
For more information about the South Carolina Section, check out their newsletters.
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Officer/Member Profile
Each month, we will feature an officer or member of SDITE. For this fourth profile, we'll meet Kirsten Tynch, 2014 President of SDITE.
- Name - Kirsten Tynch
- City / State - Portsmouth, Virginia
- Place of Work - Woolpert, Inc. (19+ years)
- Title - As of today, Transportation Practice Leader (Geospatial & Design Services)
- Degrees / Year - BSCE / MSCE emphasis in Transportation (1992 / 1994) from University of Virginia (Go Hoos!)
- Certification(s) - PE, PTOE, LEED AP BD+C and Best Mom in the World (Hey -- I have the certificate!)
- Place of Birth - Hagerstown, MD (yes, a yankee!)
- Family - Husband (Jack); Kids (Logan-5 and Callen-2)
- A Little More About Kirsten:
- What do you day-to-day? My sister always told everyone that I am ditch digger, but I am rarely in the field. My son thinks I drive trains. In reality, my days are usually filled with back to back phone calls, endless emails, and client meetings. I have projects and staff across the Country, so I am often on the road.
- What are your technical interests? Roadway Design, Traffic Engineering Operations and Bike/Ped Facility Planning & Design
- What are your hobbies? Cooking, cleaning and laundry. What can I say, I have 2 young boys!
- Favorite Color? Green
- Favorite Movie? Frequency
- Favorite Music? Anything by Jimmy Buffett, Lyle Lovett & AC/DC
- In what capacity have you served SDITE in the past?
- Current SDITE President,
- 2010 SDITE Annual Meeting LAC Tri-Chair
- Past VASITE District Rep
- Past VASITE President
- Five Quick Questions:
- Coke or Pepsi? Coke Zero
- Dogs or Cats? Dog
- Telephone or Email? Telephone
- Pen or Pencil? Pen
- Cavalier /Hokie?: Cavalier (again, did I mention Go Hoos!)
- Four Interesting Facts About You (How many of these are true?):
- Huge sports fan - Anything Pittsburgh related (Steelers, Penguins and Pirates), NASCAR, and UVA.
- If I wasn't an engineer, I'd be a wedding planner.
- I love to cook. When we (used to) travel, my husband and I would take cooking classes to learn more about the local cuisine.
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Training Opportunties
Submitted by: Martin Bretherton
The University of Tennessee Center for Transportation Research and the Tennessee Transportation Assistance Program are starting 2014 with several training opportunities across Tennessee. Registration is still open for the following January and February classes:
Highway Safety Analysis
The Traffic Signal Academy
Traffic Access Management
Flagger/Highway Safety
Work Zone Traffic Control/Flagging
Design of At-Grade Intersections
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The Truth About Bill
In the last edition of The Connector, Vice President Bill Seymour listed four items about himself and challenged the membership to determine which ones were true.
As a re-cap, Bill said he:
- Made my first hole-in-one this year after playing golf for 50 years.
- Going on my second mission trip to Guatemala late this year.
- Once played piano in a concert with Liberace.
- Holds record for most dropped/reconnected cell calls during an SDITE conference call.
In turns out that all were in fact true!
We thank each of you who responded, but there were no correct responses. Better luck next time!
Thanks Bill!
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Have You Seen This?
The Winter Olympics are just around the corner. And here's a montage from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver to get you ready!
 | | XXI Winter Olympics - Vancouver 2010 Montage |
USA! USA! USA!
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We hope you enjoyed this edition. Stay tuned for another edition in mid-February.
Sincerely,
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Scott Walker, Editor
Southern District ITE |
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