You know that feeling when you have put a lot of time into planning an event, have sent out the invitations, and are just waiting to see who will be coming? The party is all planned, now we just need the guests to RSVP and show up. That’s what this time of year is like for the ITE Headquarters staff and Western District members involved in putting together the ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Portland, OR, USA, August 13-16.
The planning has been underway since last October when we sent out our Call for Abstracts. We received an outstanding response and have the most presenters—podium and poster—for an Annual Meeting in my 8 years at ITE. And, once again, the National Rural ITS meeting will be held in conjunction with the conference.
Our Plenary Sessions will feature an excellent set of industry leaders—from the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration Shailen Bhatt bringing the latest from the U.S. Department of Transportation, to our Plenary panelists from the public and private sectors sharing their views on creating great communities, to Closing Plenary panelist Michael Yung, Executive Director of the ICF Climate Center, who will give a TEDtalk style presentation on how we can plan for and respond to the increasing number of climate-related events. Attendees can ask and up-vote questions through the Slido app.
And there are so many more learning opportunities. On Sunday, eight free or low-cost workshops will cover a wide range of topics, and the Local Arrangements Committee has set up seven informative technical tours showcasing some of the interesting transportation facilities in the Portland area. Our Technical Councils will host their first-ever Council “mega-meetings” with each Council and their Committees joining together for a single meeting on either Monday or Tuesday. And, of course, we will have more than 60 participating exhibitors in the Exhibit Hall, showcasing the latest innovations and solutions.
Much of the fun and value of being at the ITE Annual Meeting is the networking with old friends and making new ones. From the Opening Reception to the Traffic Bowl Grand Championship to the Western District’s Family Night event to the Tuesday night reception at Dr. Jacks, we have lots of great social events planned. Plus, we will have breakfast each morning and a networking lunch on Tuesday in the Exhibit Hall.
New this year are 2 full days of student programming. This includes a combination of traditional Western District events on Saturday, a new student poster session, a young
professional survival guide session on Monday, the student Sandbox Competition, the National Operations Center of Excellence Technology Tournament, and the ITE Collegiate Traffic Bowl Grand Championship.
Our conference hotel and the Oregon Convention Center are located just across the river from downtown Portland and are easily accessible from the airport via light rail.
Whether you choose to explore nearby neighborhoods on this side of the river or venture more widely in and around Portland, there will be plenty to see, do, eat, and drink.
If you have already made plans to be there, I encourage you to download the Whova meeting app and start planning your week. If you haven’t quite decided yet, check out the full program at www.iteannualmeeting.org. See you in Portland! As always, contact me on the ITE e-Community or at jpaniati@ite.org.