This issue of ITE Journal provides a recap from our incredibly successful Joint International and Mid-Colonial District Annual Meeting and Exhibit. If you weren’t able to attend, I hope you can get a sense of the highlights from the articles, pictures, and reports in this issue! If you were there, you undoubtedly walked away with a feeling of “wow, that was a lot to soak in” during the 3 plus days of activities!
During my State of ITE speech in the opening plenary, I highlighted that ITE delivers so many things capably because it’s in our culture. Why so many of us have joined, renewed, engaged, and continue to hang around for decades—it all boils down to the culture within ITE membership. I talked about our leadership in technical excellence; our local advantage with the Districts and Sections; our commitment to growing the next generation of leaders; and our goal of delivering positive outcomes. And I saw this culture on display throughout the event.
This was one of the strongest technical programs we’ve had in years. More than one member came up to me saying “there’s too many sessions that I want to attend, and don’t have enough time to hit them all!” The plenaries, posters, concurrent sessions, competitions, tours, showcases, conversation circles, and especially the hallway conversations, covered everything and more.
Our Mid-Colonial District was shining bright, offering not only the beauty of Philadelphia as a host but introducing us to their own local technical excellence and commitment to making sure this experience was top-notch for all attendees. Many of our sessions featured local speakers, and if you missed their Monday evening social, you missed a fantastic event!
The Traffic Bowl and Transportation Technology Tournament shined a spotlight on how solid our long-term future is. Both student competitions featured closer-than-ever scoring and exciting opportunities to demonstrate their ability to perform under pressure (or lack of sleep thanks to airline cancellations). And our student poster session and Dan Fambro paper winner showed us that we have a strong technical foundation shoring up the next generation.
But for me, the biggest “ah-ha” moment of the Annual Meeting was constant validation of my fourth component of our culture—delivering positive outcomes. When I presented my emphasis on making a difference, I truly believed that it was a core tenet of being part of ITE. And I saw that belief confirmed during the Annual Meeting. Our community of transportation professionals has a strong desire to improve safety, and when I talked about “fostering a cultural shift which prioritizes roadway safety,” it brought out the loudest applause. And technical sessions on safety had the highest average attendance.
Our plenary sessions on race and resilience brought huge crowds into the main ballroom, and hallway conversations after both sessions were a buzz of excitement focusing on how being neutral isn’t enough. And many of our sessions, showcases, and conversation circles were standing room only, with discussions emphasizing solutions and recommendations that can be applied to many different contexts and situations. That’s just a sample of what had the more than 1,400 attendees talking and strategizing, but it emphasizes what’s basic to ITE’s culture. At the end of the day, we want to make a difference.