Earl Newman

Virginia Tech – Letters have been sent to the President and Dean of Engineering at Virginia Tech to express ITE condolences for the recent tragedy. ITE members that would like to contribute to the memorial fund can find information at www.vt.edu/tragedy/memorial_fund.php .

 Technical Conference – There were over 700 persons registered for the Technical Conference in San Diego. The conference foc used on Congestion and there will be several products on this subject that will summarize the proceedings and the excellent disc ussions on this issue.

 3R Committee Disc ussion - The Board disc ussed Next Steps for the Membership Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (3R) Task Force.

• Needs of academicians
• Attracting students to profession
• Better tracking of students as they enter the profession and transition to member
• Other strategies were disc ussed including need to use the Sections and Chapters for a grassroots membership recruitment that really cannot be accomplished from an International level
• Looking at creation of a new standing committee for membership/3R
• A New Recruitment Toolbox has been placed on the ITE Website (directed towards providing an introduction to the profession for K-12 students)

Compilation of Successful Practices for Districts/Sections – ITE is working to compile and share successful practices with Districts / Sections / Chapters. Districts / Sections / Chapters are encouraged to send a written summary of successful practices (practices that may be unique to your chapter) to Heather Talbert at ITE Headquarters.

Official Presentation of Charters – ITE Charters were presented to the Central Missouri Chapter of ITE in Columbia, Missouri, on March 30 and to the OTEA Chapter of ITE in Hulbert, Oklahoma, on April 12. Congratulations to these new Chapters as both are off to a great start.

ITE Staff to Lead - ITE will provide the leadership for striving to find consens us for two major issues:

Guidelines for Maintenance of LED’s

Vehicle Change & Clearance Interval Timing

Succession Plan and Headquarters Staff Organization - A succession plan for the Executive Director and Executive Staff was disc ussed along with reorganization of staff at Headquarters to better provide for leadership development and alignment with support of Councils and MEGA Issues. J ust prior to the San Diego Meeting, it was announced that Doug Noble, former Chief Traffic Engineer for the District of Columbia ( Washington, DC) has been hired as Senior Director for Operations and Management.

Peer Review Project - Board approved a Peer Review Project for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada Traffic Signal Arterial Management System. The Regional Transportation Commission approached ITE to provide this peer review and pay all costs to validate current practices and suggest ways that the system could be approved. This effort could lead to a new service provided by ITE, reflects the respect for ITE as a leader in the profession to provide such a service, and could result in informational reports that document the excellent practices in place for a multi-jurisdictional signal system. A proposal prepared by ITE staff has been delivered to the RTC and they have responded with approval to enter into an agreement to provide this service.

MEGA Issues – Board approved commissioning a white paper to include a “strawman program” for the institute regarding Public Information/Public Relations and Public Image. This MEGA issue will be disc ussed by the Board at the annual meeting in Pittsburgh with a facilitator.

Institute Finances – ITE is in a good financial position. The Board approved to amend the policy regarding the level of target reserves from 50% to 75% of total annual expenses. This change is in keeping with other organizations our size and reflects increasing liabilities for the organization. The good news is that we are now at this level with our cash reserves.

Budget Amendments were approved to support staff additions, professional development programs of the institute, support of the membership task force, professional improvement for staff, support of the Public Relations MEGA Issue, support of a workshop to evaluate the need for a new Certification for Safety Professionals, and for support of the Academic Community.

A pool of funds was also approved for certification site participation shortfall.

Nominating Committee Report – Rich Romer, Chair of the Nominating Committee, invited prospective V-P Candidates to a reception. Another reception will be held for prospective V-P Candidates in Pittsburgh. Those persons interested in running for ITE Vice-President, for 2008 campaign or sometime in the future, are directed to a packet of information for potential officers now available on the ITE website. You can simply express an interest in running and do not need to wait to be nominated. There is a questionnaire that m ust be submitted by September 1 if you are interested in being considered by the nominating committee this year for the 2008 campaign to elect the 2009 Vice-President.

National Traffic Signal Report Card – ITE is working with NTOC to provide the summary report of the assessment taken late last year. The results will be announced in News Conferences to be held in September.

Two New Honorary Members of ITE – The 74 th and 75 th Honorary Members of ITE are respectively Brian Bochner, of College Station Texas, and Andy O’Brien, of A ustralia.

Possible New Certification – A task force met a few weeks ago to disc uss the feasibility of beginning a Safety Certification program. Input from members through the District Directors will be sought to provide disc ussion of the proposed program.

Continued Improvements to the ITE Website – The IBOD strongly endorsed making additional improvements to the ITE Website, especially as it relates to navigation to the information.

Future Meeting Sites – ITE is negotiating with several major chains of hotels for future meetings (Technical Conference 2009-2011) and the Annual Meeting (2012-14). By entering into an agreement with a major chain, ITE will save a considerable amount of money which can be channeled back into greater value for the meeting itself.

Future Meeting Dates for Districts and Sections – ITE needs to receive information from Districts and Sections about future meetings (dates, location, venue) as soon as available. This helps with travel planning for officers and staff but also will be placed on the calendar for other Districts and Sections to see so as to avoid conflicts if possible.

Joint Midwestern District / MOVITE Meeting – I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the joint Midwester District / MOVITE meeting in St. Louis. The LAC in St. Louis is working hard to have a well rounded meeting both technically and socially.

Earl Newman ITE International President