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Save the Date!!! | |
April 9 - 13, 2016
SDITE Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN
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2015 Executive Board | |
President
Bill Seymour
Vice-President
Hollis Loveday
Secretary / Treasurer
Jennifer Bihl
International Director
Bob Murphy
Past-President
Kirsten Tynch
District Administrator
Craig Hanchey
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Social Media | |
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Archive(s) |
Available Editions
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December2014
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May 2015 |
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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 | |
2016 - Nashville, TN
2017 - Columbia, SC |
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Newsletter Staff | |
Reviewers
Becky Malenke
Radha Swayampakala
Lindsay Walker
Anne Warnick
Social Media
Jeff Stephenson
Add Your Name Here Next Edition! |
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Happy July!
The Southern District (including the Southern Section) of ITE has been around for over 60 years. While the organization has evolved over that time, it has remained strong as a leader in the transportation / traffic engineering community.
Please take a few minutes to reflect on your involvement in the SDITE and what the District means to you.
What 3 words - or 3-word phrase - would you use to describe SDITE?
If you get a second, send those to Scott for inclusion in an upcoming edition of The Connector. We will not associate your name with your response unless you want us to.
Until next month, stay cool!
- Scott Walker, Editor
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Distracted Driving - July Notes
For the next few months, we want to provide updates on our efforts to increase awareness of the dangers of distracted driving.
What Can You Do?
As noted last month, we have a committee working on outreach initiatives for teen drivers with respect to distracted driving. Each Section is taking a different approach and there is always need for more volunteers. If interested, contact David Low or Scott Walker on how to get involved.
UNC's 'Trauma Day' gives students different look at distracted driving accident
Triangle high school students experienced a different spin on distracted driving simulations Tuesday at UNC Hospital's "Trauma Day." Local high schoolers were actually put to the test treating a patient that was involved in an accident caused by texting and driving. For more information, click this link for the WNCN news story.
Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators
The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has released a report that describes research on driver distraction among commercial motor vehicle operators when placed in scenarios such as congested traffic, highway driving, and work zones. Check out the summary here.
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Transportation + Art
In 2011, facing three years of heavy construction in the city's center, the City of St. Paul, Minn., looked for an alternative way to continue attracting people to what would be an area filled with noise and dust. As the city began building a light rail line, officials were concerned about the economic hardships that could develop if people stayed away from the downtown area in droves. So the city turned to its art community for help to keep residents visiting (and spending money in) this area, despite the construction inconveniences. Over the next three years, more than 600 local artists and community organizations were involved in the effort to attract visitors with concerts, exhibitions and festivals. Businesses in the area continued to thrive, and the project generated a lot of good media during a time when construction issues might have dominated the public's perception.
Full article and video can be found here:
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Member Profile
The Connector staff is happy to welcome Leslie Tracey to our team! 
1. Name - Leslie Tracey
2. City / State - Durham, NC
3. Place of Work - City of Durham DOT, 8 years
4. Title - Transportation Engineer
5. Degrees / Year - BS in Civil Engineering, NC A&T University (2007)
6. Certifications - PE, PTOE
7. What do you do day-to-day? I work for the Operations Division of the city's Department of Transportation. My main duty is to oversee the timing program of the city's signal system.
8. What are your technical interests? Signal design and programming
9. Favorite Movie? "Wonder Boys"
10. Favorite Music? Grunge Rock from the '90s
11. Five Quick Questions
a. Coke or Pepsi? Sweet Tea
b. Dogs or Cats? Cats
c. Telephone or Email? Email
d. Pen or Pencil? Pen
e. Apple or Android? Apple
12. Three Interesting Facts About You:
a. My first degree (1997) is in journalism, and I spent my 20s as a reporter for several newspapers in Texas and Virginia.
b. Every year, my husband and I take a week or two off work and follow our favorite band (Pearl Jam) around wherever they're touring. We've seen them all over the US, in Europe and are planning to see them in Mexico this year.
c. I grew up on the Gulf Coast of Texas, but I like the beaches of North Carolina much better.
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From the Sections...
Start making your plans to attend, but you better hurry!
Georgia Section
Summer Seminar is next week! For more information, click here.
Tennessee Section
You're invited to the 2015 TSITE Summer Meeting to be held at the Park Vista Hotel (705 Cherokee Orchard Road - Gatlinburg, TN 37738) from Wednesday, July 29th to Friday, July 31st.
There will be many highlights including a sponsored Social Event on Wednesday night, the annual Awards Banquet and Scholarship Auction on Thursday night and of course several informative Technical Sessions along with the Business Meeting where the 2016 Officer Election results will be announced (more details on voting still to come). We encourage you to bring your family along and have allowed some time in our agenda for the ability to spend some quality time with them in this beautiful setting.
Click here to register.
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Policy and Legislative Updates
The most recent extension of the federal transportation funding authorization, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), is set to expire on July 31, 2015. Congress is working to find a way to fund federal infrastructure projects before the deadline. The transportation funding debate has centered around the federal gas tax (18.4 cents per gallon), which has not been increased since 1993.
For more information and the latest update on this issue that affects all of us and our state Departments of Transportation, click here for an article from The Hill.
The funding cliff, www.transportation.gov/highway-trust-fund-ticker
Other resources:
Follow USDOT Anthony Foxx on Twitter
Fast Lane, USDOT's official blog
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In Memoriam
From the Georgia Section of ITE
We regret to inform you that our fellow life member of ITE and Founding Member of the Georgia Section, Archie C. Burnham, Jr., has passed away on July 12, 2015. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Mr Burnham is survived by his wife, Pat, his daughter Trisha Harville (Jeff), by his son Archie "Butch" Burnham (Gwen) and four grandchildren. Notes of condolences can be sent to: 1051 Crown River Parkway, McDonough, Georgia 30252.
A memorial service will be held Wednesday, July 15th at 3:00 PM with the family receiving friends beginning at 2:00 PM at the Macon Funeral Home, Franklin, North Carolina.
Below is a recent write up provided by John Edwards that highlights the career and life of Archie Burnham.
Pioneer Profiles
by John Edwards, P.E.
Archie C. Burnham, Jr. was the State Traffic Engineer from 1972 to 1988 and had a 30-year history with the GDOT. Archie hails from western Virginia and is a graduate from Virginia Military Institute with a degree in Civil Engineering. He graduated in 1956 and received a fellowship from the Automotive Safety Foundation to study at Yale University's Bureau of Highway Traffic under Fred Hurd, Bill McGraff and Wilbur Smith, so Archie was educated in the profession by several "world known" traffic engineering leaders.
Archie began work at the GDOT in 1958 as a Junior Engineer and worked in a variety of departments. After a stint in traffic safety investigating fatal accidents, he became interested in at-grade railroad crossing accidents. As a result of his interest and efforts the 1970 Highway Safety Act was passed to address national railroad-highway grade crossing problems. This was the introduction that Archie had into a subject area that he has pursued in his work as a consultant.
Archie is a registered professional engineer and has participated in many national engineering professional societies including NSPE, AASHTO, NCUTCD, NCUTLO, and the Georgia Highway Engineers Association. He has served in many positions of leadership including Chairman of the State Traffic Engineers for AASHTO, Vice Chairman of NCUTCD from 1985-1988, and Chairman of the
AASHTO delegation to NCUTCD.
In Georgia, Archie is a Founding Member of the Georgia Section and a Life Member of International ITE. He was the second president of the forerunner of the GaITE Section-the Atlanta Association of Traffic Engineers. He retired from GDOT in 1988 and wondered what he would do in retirement. Soon he was receiving calls from past acquaintances asking for help with safety issues and problems, and that is how Archie Burnham Engineers, Inc (now ABE, Inc) was founded. He works in many states and has a broad range of clients, both as Defendants and Plaintiffs.
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Final Reminder: International ITE Election
Voting for the International ITE elections ends on July 23, 2015.
The candidates are:
President
Paula Flores Benway, (F)
Associate, Transportation
Stantec Consulting Inc.
Tampa, FL, USA
Vice-President
Shawn J. Leight, P.E., PTP, PTOE (F)
Vice President
CBB Transportation Engineers + Planners
St. Louis, MO, USA
Jimmy H.C. Lin, P.E. (F)
President and CEO
KOA Corporation
Monterey Park, CA, USA
The balloting for the election of ITE International Vice President and President is underway. If you are a Member, Fellow, Honorary Member and have paid your 2015 annual dues by June 15th you should have received your e-ballot voting credentials on Friday June 19th. The ballot will close at noon EDT July 23rd. Every Friday a ballot reminder will be sent to those who have not as yet voted.
If you have not received your credentials, check your junk mail folder for an e-mail from announcement@associationvoting.com. Also unblock this e-mail address. If you believe that this e-mail address will be blocked if you can provide us with an e-mail address for this ballot that will help us to get you your ballot credentials.
Please visit the ITE homepage for more information.
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Student Chapter: Traffic Bowl Update
Eight of the nine teams for this year's International ITE Traffic Bowl Competition have been named. Here they are by District.
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Northeastern |
University of Massachusetts-Amherst | |
Mid-Colonial |
Penn State University | |
Great Lakes |
Purdue University | |
Southern |
Auburn University | | Midwestern | Iowa State University | | Western | TBA | |
Canadian |
University of Manitoba | |
Texas |
University of Texas at Austin | |
Florida |
University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez |
Good luck to Auburn University as they prepare for this competition.
And check out this promo video:
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Silly Sign
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| | Watch out for hula-hoopers in Downtown Birmingham |
Thanks to Becky Malenke (AL) for passing this along!
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Volunteer Opportunity of the Month
The SDITE Strategic Planning Committee's Information, Communication, & Outreach (IC&O) Team is currently seeking a representative from South Carolina and Virginia to serve on the committee. The committee has the following role / goals:
To provide valued information to and facilitate communications between SDITE members and publicize our purpose to the general public.
- Goal 1: Keep members informed
- Goal 2: Promote dialogue between members
- Goal 3: Develop outreach programs
If interested in serving, please let Scott know.
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Have You Seen This?
A pretty good promo for a home improvement store...
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We hope you enjoyed this edition. Feel free to let us know what we are missing or if you want to help us out some time!
Sincerely,
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Scott Walker, Editor
Southern District ITE |
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