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Final Thoughts as Outgoing Coordinating Council Chair

By Dr. Beverly Kuhn P.E., PTOE, PMP posted 12-15-2017 04:12 PM

  
To the ITE Family:

After nine years, I am finally wrapping up my service to ITE's Coordinating Council.  The time has flown!  I first joined CoCo when I took over as Chair of the Traffic Engineering Council and was introduced to the broader group that oversees the various Councils.  After that 3-year term, I took a brief break and then served as both Vice-Chair and Chair of CoCo over the past six years.  It has been quite a ride!

My journey to CoCo started out years ago when I was fresh out of graduate school.  I was at a long-ago ITE Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was visiting with a co-worker who was involved with the technical projects of the Traffic Engineering Council.  They had a project that had stalled and needed someone with energy and time to usher it through to the end.  She asked.  I accepted.  The rest is history!  That "simple" task turned into a 5-year activity that yielded a modified product that is still morphing today.  Proof that nothing is really ever finished in the world of transportation . . . but I digress!  That one question from a fellow ITE member started me down the 25+ year path of service to our great organization.  I suspect that many of our members have similar stories about a member asking them to help out or encouraging them to join, volunteer, or serve.  It is part of who we are as an organization and a profession.  If you are one of the rare individuals who have not had someone invite you to the ITE table, consider this an open invitation to pull up a chair and help out.  It doesn't have to take much time, but I promise you it will be rewarding!

It has been a wonderful experience serving the members of ITE over these many years.  I have gotten to know so many wonderful people (and their families) from across the country and around the world . . . all of whom I consider friends.  It will be a bit odd going back to being "just" a member, if there is such a thing.  I won't be going away completely, though.  I have been asked to continue to serve on a task force or two . . . and I am also serving as President of the Brazos Valley Section next year.  I figured after more than 2 decades of involvement at the national level, it was time to serve at the local level.  For a small section, we have some terrific presentations and have the pleasure of working with the TAMU student chapter and so many great professionals doing great work in our community.  If you have never served on a Chapter, Section, or District board, I encourage you do to so.  You will work with some great and energetic people who are all committed to making our organization relevant, recognized, connected, and value-added.  I also encourage you to check out a Council or two . . . they are always looking for energetic volunteers with new ideas.  

For now, I will sign off and wish you all the best.  Thanks for being such a wonderful group of people that I am proud to call family!

Beverly Kuhn
Chair, ITE Coordinating Council (for 16 more days!)
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