It is both an honor and a privilege to serve as your President in 2015. I hope your new year is off to a great start. I'm sure each of you has some goals you want to accomplish in 2015 - so does your SDITE Board. SDITE has been doing a very good job in recent years having a greater and more useful impact on people within the profession, especially through our Leadership Development Program. There is a lot more we can do and be as an organization. We can be more of a servant, more of a provider, more of an attractor. While this can be done by reaching within, it can also be done by reaching out - that is, providing for our external customers. We will focus on three Emphasis Areas during 2015. The first two involve being more of a servant/provider/attractor; the third will focus on organizational excellence.

1. The Ambassador Program - This effort will involve providing a Section host for first-time attendees at SDITE Annual Meetings. It originated from the Membership Committee, was approved at the Year-End Board Meeting and will begin at the 2015 Annual Meeting, in Biloxi. The idea is to make first-time attendees feel welcome, and to have someone who will show them around and introduce them to others at the various events.

2. Community Involvement (Study a High School Service Project) - One measure of an organization's effectiveness is its involvement within its community. I have asked Scott Walker and David Low to Co-Chair a President's Committee to study how SDITE can become more involved in communities, specifically in high schools, in an effort to improve driving habits of younger drivers. The goal would be to help them become more ROADWISE. This effort is logically shared by the IC&O and Workforce Development Teams of the Strategic Planning Committee, which Scott and David chair respectively. It is also aligned with goals in our Strategic Plan. Past progress by some Sections in this area will be reviewed first. The effort could involve presentations and partnering with other organizations. Could a Traffic Bowl even be possible in some high schools?

3. Performance Measures - Good organizations set goals, measure their progress in achieving those goals, and track organizational operations. SDITE has recognized the need to adopt organizational performance measures for some time; it is time to formally implement this. At a Board Meeting, we should be able to look briefly at a dashboard of performance measures and see how we are doing regarding organizational goals and operational performance. These could include such things as membership, finances, training, Annual Meetings, etc. It would be beneficial to see trends, both good and bad, in chart form. This will allow us to identify our weaknesses and then focus on improving them.

Finally, let me encourage you to mark your calendar now for the SDITE Annual Meeting April 19-22, at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Local Arrangements Committee from the Deep South Section and the ABD have been working hard to make this an informative, fun and memorable meeting. The Annual Meeting is a great place to learn (a wonderful way to get those PDH's), network and have fun. The ABD is even planning a Luau for Monday night. So, break out your island attire and begin making plans to attend. We hope to see you there, and again, best wishes for a great 2015.

Bill Seymour, P.E.

President

A few updates from the Local Arrangements Committee (LAC):

Sponsorships

The LAC for the 2015 SDITE Annual Meeting in Biloxi, MS would like to let you know that there will be opportunities for being an Annual Meeting sponsor in the very near future.  Payments will be accepted first come, first served via the website.  Notices will be sent out via email alerting the membership when the sponsorships will be available for purchase.

Registration

Information regarding regisration for the meeting will be available soon.  Stay tuned for more information in your inbox soon.

Hotel

As noted, our meeting hotel is the Beau Rivage in Biloxi.  Hotel reservation information will be coming soon as well. 

The Deep South Section of ITE, in cooperation with the SDITE Technical Knowledge Team, is now accepting abstracts for the 2015 Southern District ITE Annual Meeting, to be held April 19-22, 2015, at the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. Presenting at the 2015 SDITE Annual Meeting is a great opportunity to share your ideas, knowledge, expertise, and innovations with your peers.  Please see this link for suggested topics and abstract submittal information.

Please submit your abstract in PDF format via email by January 30, 2015 to sstrength@lsu.edu.  Should you have any questions, you may reach Steve Strength, Technical Committee Chair at steve.strength@la.gov  (this is different from the address for submitting abstracts) or at (225) 767-9118. 

For more information on the 2015 Southern District ITE Annual Meeting, please visit http://sdite2015.org