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ITE Annual Meeting: 10 Reasons to Attend

By Mr. Bruce Belmore P.Eng., PTOE posted 07-16-2019 01:33 PM

  
With the Austin, TX, USA meeting fast approaching, I have been putting a lot of thought into the reasons why ITE International has an Annual Meeting. There are some obvious procedural reasons to gather its elected leadership each year, but what are the compelling reasons for a member to attend?

Here are my top reasons you should consider attending the Annual Meeting:

1. Technical Content – The meeting attracts some of the most senior speakers from industry looking to showcase their work and the meeting delivers exceptional content.

2. Fun and Experiential – Each year, the Annual Meeting is paired with a District meeting, so you experience local content and traditions from other Districts such as the Texas Hold ‘Em Poker tournament, Southern District Role Call, or the Canadian Street Hockey game.

3. Meet Subject Matter Experts and Industry Leaders – Converse with industry leaders and technical experts all at one event. The amount of time it would take to meet these people outside of the Annual Meeting makes the conference worthwhile attending all on its own.

4. Institute Initiatives – The Annual Meeting focuses on topics of relevance to members including Transportation and Health, Vision Zero, Smart Communities, Connected and Automated Vehicles and, our most recent initiative, Mobility as a Service.

5. Technology Showcase – The exhibit hall is regularly sold out and it is a fantastic place to learn about the latest and greatest innovations in our industry. Whether learning if a piece of software can do what you want or investigating the latest data collection equipment, you save time learning when these interactions are done in person.

6. Council and Committee Activity – Meetings of ITE councils, as our technical engine, and ITE committees occur each year at the Annual Meeting. These sessions provide an opportunity to learn about emerging trends and for members to share information.

7. Mentorship – Within a short time, the Matson and Hammond Mentorship Program has quickly become a cornerstone of ITE. If you are looking to kick-start your career and receive some useful career coaching, the Annual Meeting is a great place to meet your mentor face-to-face.

8. Catch Up with Friends – The relationships that you build at the Annual Meeting last a lifetime. It is one of the best ways to quickly build a list of industry contacts.

9. Industry-Leading Guest Speakers – Lyft, 3M, and others provide insights into their company’s operation, and share their beliefs about our transportation future.

10. Culmination of a Year’s Work – Current leaders and the next generation of leaders in transportation are celebrated through a variety of touch points, including at the LeadershipITE graduation, Traffic Bowl Grand Championship, and ITE Awards Lunch.

Of course, there is always more to do and people often talk about trying new conference formats. We will need to take deliberate efforts to continuously change and improve, and to polish the product received by members.

Whether you are a long-time member or new attendee, you will find that the Annual Meeting has grown into a special event with exceptional content. I am looking forward to this year’s Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, which is being held jointly with the Texas District and the National Rural ITS Meeting. I hope to see you there.

This blog post is from the President's Message in the July 2019 issue of the ITE Journal
http://www.nxtbook.com/ygsreprints/ITE/G108250_ITE_July2019/ 
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