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The Connector - December 15 - Year End Edition
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Hello all!
The December newsletter is typically one that is lighter in content and a bit more silly due to the more relaxed, happier time of year. This month, we realized that we have a great deal of information to share. As a result, we've limited the silliness to keep the length of the newsletter as short as possible.
Of course, we couldn't stay completely serious. So....before the more serious articles, check this out:
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| Happy Holidays from SDITE_ |
Merry Christmas / Happy Holiday and Happy New Year to you! See you in 2017.
Scott
-Editor
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Presidents Message
Highlights and Reflections on 2016
Hollis Loveday, PE
It has been an honor and privilege being your 2016 SDITE President. I reflect back with a range of emotions from joy and relief to sadness. These past 3 years have confirmed my belief that SDITE is comprised of great volunteers who have a passion for the transportation profession and are willing to give back to it through this great organization.
Tim White and I had the opportunity to interview several past presidents as a part of our Imagine SDITE process, and I was encouraged by their answers. Our discussions with them further solidified my belief that SDITE is very healthy and offers opportunities to grow professionally. We do not, however, need to rest on our laurels and live too much in the past. We need to respect our past, embrace many of our traditions, but be willing to change and adapt to an ever-changing world. They provided insightful comments and suggestions about young members being involved and about how we need to stay relevant. One past president observed that SDITE offers the opportunity to become a leader, through committees and/or board service, and noted that opportunity might not otherwise be available to them. When asked about SDITE's best attributes, their answers included: the people, very active members, being dynamic, the culture of southern hospitality, the ability to see what other states are doing, it being uplifting and empowering, and the family atmosphere. I think they nailed it; all of those things are what SDITE is all about.
I am looking forward to helping Jennifer Bhil and the other Board members transition to their new roles. I also want to thank those past presidents with whom I served who helped me grow including Bill Seymour, Kirsten Tynch, and Martin Bretherton.
[Editor's Note: This article contains excerpts from Hollis' message. Please take a few minutes and read the full article
here.]
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Reminder: SDITE Call for Abstracts - DUE FRIDAY!!
The South Carolina Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, in cooperation with the SDITE Technical Knowledge Team, is now accepting abstracts for the 2017 SDITE Annual Meeting. Please see this
link for the official Call for Abstracts.
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Call for 2016 Award Nominations
The SDITE Awards Committee is taking nominations for SDITE's annual awards. Any SDITE member can nominate another member from their section or other sections. We have six award categories for which we solicit nominations. The nomination form is included with this article. The categories are:
- Herman J. Hoose Distinguished Service Award
- Marble J. Hensley Outstanding Individual Activity Award
- Joseph M. Thomas Outstanding Young Member Award
- John F. Exnicios Government Employee Outstanding Service Award
- Excellence in Transportation Engineering Education Award (the Education winner will be the SDITE nominee for the Wilbur Smith ITE Award)
- Outstanding Private Sector Award
Section Presidents and Section Representatives should be preparing the section to complete the application for the Outstanding Section Award - Group 1 (4 largest) or Group 2 (4 smaller). Details will be sent to the section Presidents and Section Reps. The format will be the same as last year.
The deadline for all SDITE Awards is January 31, 2016.
2017 ITE AWARDS NOMINATIONS
ITE International has awards for ITE members that SDITE members are eligible to nominate. The categories are:
- Burton W Marsh Award (last SDITE winner - Hibbett Neel, 2011)
- Theodore Matson Award (last SDITE winner Herman Hoose, 1986)
- Wilbur Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award (last SDITE winner Wayne Sarasua, 2016)
- Section Activities Award (last SDITE winner was the Georgia Section, 2009)
- Rising Star Award (last SDITE winner Scott Walker, 2015, first year of award)
- District Section Newsletter Awards, by circulation size (last SDITE winner for less than 250, Georgia Section, 1998 and for between 250 & 500, SDITE, 2004)
- Honorary ITE Member (last SDITE member selected was John Exnicios, 2002)
Please follow the instructions on the ITE website for each award. The deadline for nomination are from Feb. 1 to May 1 for most awards; see the ITE website for details on dates.
If you have any questions about the SDITE or ITE Award nominations, please contact the 2016/2017 SDITE Awards Committee Chair, Kirsten Tynch at
ktynch@vhb.com.
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Reminder:
SDITE Technical Paper Competition
The Southern District ITE Technical Knowledge Team, Member Services Committee, announces the return of the Annual Technical Paper Awards!
These awards are to be given in two categories:
- Best Technical Paper submitted by an SDITE Member,
- Best Young Member Technical Paper submitted by an SDITE Member 35 years of age or younger.
Papers should be at least 1,500 words in length, no more than 2,500 words in length, and pertain to research or practical applications, not intended for academic submission, during the calendar year 2016. (Technical paper awards for students are being given through the Student Technical Paper competition, solicited separately through the Student Chapters).
A cash award roughly equivalent to one Annual Meeting registration will be presented to the author of the winning paper in each category (estimated at $350 for 2017), and a runner-up award roughly equal to one-half the Annual Meeting registration will be given to qualifying entries.
Winning authors will be invited to present their papers at the 2017 Annual Meeting in Columbia, South Carolina.
Deadline for submission of papers is January 27, 2017. For additional details, click
here. For further information contact Steve Strength, Technical knowledge Team Chair, at
sstrength@lsu.edu.
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SDITE Annual Meeting Young Member Scholarships
The Southern District ITE's Young Member Committee is sponsoring a scholarship to assist selected young members to attend SDITE's 65th Annual Meeting, being held March 26-29, 2017 at the Columbia Marriott, 1200 Hampton Street, Columbia, S.C.
Each Section will have the opportunity to select one of its young members (under the age of 35) to receive a complimentary registration for the 2017 Annual Meeting. Specific selection criteria and process is left up to the individual Section Boards.
More information can be found here. Nominations must be received no later than Friday, January 20, 2017.
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Deep South Flooding Impacts
[Editor's Note: Below is an email from Robert Canfield (Deep South Section) who had requested from Ingolf Partenheimer, Chief Traffic Engineer for Baton Rouge Louisiana. From Robert: "In August there was some serious flooding with many homes getting four feet of water in them. We often don't think about the impact of flooding on traffic control devices, particularly traffic signal cabinets. Besides the information below there are some photos attached including one showing signal personnel in a boat at one of the signal cabinets."]
As Traffic Engineers for the City of Baton Rouge-Parish of East Baton Rouge, few dates stand out beyond the normal hurricanes/ manmade disasters etc. These events and dates are: Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005), Hurricane Gustov (August 25, 2008), and the Great Flood of 2016 (August 14-15, 2016).
Although Traffic Engineers living and working in Louisiana are a hardy lot considering the normal hurricanes and natural/manmade disasters, these three dates stand out. Hurricanes follow the normal ebb and flow of they come in, they wreak havoc, and once they have left, the damage is accounted for and doesn't really change.
The Great Flood of 2016 was different than anything we were used to. For example, the City of Central received twenty-seven (27) inches of rain in a 24-hour period. In this event, cabinets became inaccessible often under 4'-5' of water (see picture) which overran the circuit breakers causing the signals to stay on while submerged.
Signal crews had to scramble to find boats to be
able to turn off signals. Many times having to use personal boats to do the job. (see picture).
Additionally, the water flow moved generally north to south, and traffic signals, which many hours after event were fine, suddenly became submerged and were damaged hours later. In East Baton Rouge, we had 21 traffic signal cabinets which were replaced. This doesn't include the surrounding Parishes.
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News from the Sections
The first activity of 2017 will be the DSITE Winter Meeting to be held in Baton Rouge on January 19 and 20 at the LaDOTD Headquarters Auditorium. Following the technical presentations on Thursday, we will be holding our annual Traffic Bowl where schools from both Louisiana and Mississippi will compete in an effort to advance to the Southern District ITE Meeting in Columbia, S.C., in March.
Remember, please feel free to submit anything from your Section that you would like to feature in this newsletter.
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Each month, ITE posts a new podcast featuring a thought leader within the transportation industry. The most recent episode features Karyn Warsow, Founder and Executive Director of Transportation-Public Health Link. She discusses the connection between transportation and health. Listen to the podcast and find previous episodes here.
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Nominee for US Secretary of Transportation Announced
With a new administration in Washington, new leadership will be installed at the U.S. Department of Transportation. President-Elect Donald Trump recently announced that Elaine Chao is his choice for the transportation slot. She served as Secretary of Labor during George W. Bush's tenure as president. Before that, she worked in various departments across the federal government, including as deputy transportation secretary under President George H.W. Bush. Read more about her background in this New York Times article.
Chao's nomination is supported by ITE International. In a post to the ITE Community, Jeffrey F. Paniati, ITE executive director and CEO, said, "(Chao) realizes the challenges facing the transportation system and how it effects individual businesses and communities and the nation as a whole. ITE looks forward to continuing our work with USDOT to help serve all users of the transportation system."
AASHTO also offered its support for the nomination. Bud Wright, AASHTO executive director, said in a press release, "Former Labor Secretary Chao is a respected leader who, based on her previous service at the U.S. Department of Transportation and in other roles, has a strong understanding of the transportation challenges facing the nation. We look forward to working closely with the USDOT to improve safety and mobility of the American people."
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San Francisco airport introduces first therapy pig
In aviation news, for nervous travelers in the San Francisco airport, some comfort will be available in the form of
LiLou, the airport's first therapy pig. She is the first pig to be certified in the Animal Assisted Therapy Program of the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She has a variety of costumes and performs several tricks, including greeting people with her snout or a wave, twirling and standing up on her back hooves, and playing a toy piano -- with a proper, post-performance bow. Watch for her if traveling through San Francisco.
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Have You Seen This?
Each month, we try to showcase a video or site that takes your mind temporarily off of the normal grind of the day. Since it's the holiday season, why not take a few minutes and reflect on videos considered the
top 10 trending videos of 2016.
And hopefully without ruining the surprise, here's the number one video on their list.
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