Inspiration. Connections. Knowledge. I belong to ITE for all three of these reasons. I believe many ITE members only focus on the knowledge part and stop there. Unfortunately, if knowledge, or simply acquiring information, is the sole focus of your ITE experience, then you risk missing out on the greatest value ITE offers—the relationships you can build with incredibly talented, inspiring people.
It’s through building and maintaining these relationships that ITE membership offers the important elements of inspiration and connection that help elevate our application of the knowledge we obtain. Sure, I value the important technical information I get through ITE—data, manuals, and design guides. And I collect professional development credits through workshops and webinars to keep my credentials current. These are all good, but for me the real value in ITE comes from the people I’ve met during my more than 20 years of active involvement in ITE as a community of transportation professionals. In my ITE experience, it’s ALL about the people.
Most of us begin our ITE journey at a local Section or Chapter meeting where we meet the people in our local transportation community. We learn things at these meetings that are mostly local in their focus—local projects and practices. These are valuable meetings and important relationships to build and maintain. After all, these are often the people that we need to know to do our jobs every day. But this is the tip of the professional iceberg. To really blow the roof off the value equation you must also reach outside of your local sphere and begin to learn from and share ideas with people of different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. It is only then that real innovation happens.
The best opportunity to do this and to begin to grow your professional network is by participating in ITE’s Annual Meeting and Exhibit, a coming-together of smart and creative transportation professionals from around the world. This year, we are increasing opportunities for people to connect at the Joint ITE International and Midwestern/Great Lakes Districts Annual Meeting and Exhibit in Minneapolis, MN, USA, August 20–23, where innovative planners and designers will be sharing their ideas and innovative practices from two Districts and across the globe. While the technical program can keep you busy morning through evening, I encourage you to take the time to participate in the
many networking breaks and social events between sessions. You will come away not only more knowledgeable, but more connected and inspired.
I am continually inspired by the incredible talents, skills, and ideas of the people I’ve met through ITE. I truly can’t wait to renew old friendships and make new ones this year in Minneapolis. I look forward to celebrating colleagues recognized at the Excellence in Transportation Awards Lunch and LeadershipITE graduation, and the induction of longtime ITE leaders Marsha Anderson Bomar, John J. Kennedy, and W. Hibbett Neel as ITE Honorary Members. I hope to see you there too. Come be inspired, make new connections, gain new knowledge, and share your insights with ITE colleagues from around the world. You won’t be disappointed!
This is taken from the President's Message in the
August issue of ITE Journal.