Catching Up...
It's been nearly two weeks since I've had a chance to post anything on here. I feel somewhat derelict in my duties to those who may regularly check this blog. Nevertheless, there has been a lot going on...

Illinois Section Annual Banquet -- I was fortunate to attend the Illinois Section Annual Banquet last Friday, January 12. There were over 80 members and guests in attendance. The meeting was held at the Wellington Banquet Room in Arlington Heights, Ill. ITE President Earl Newman and 2007 V.P. Candidate Ken Voigt were also in attendance. After dinner, Earl and I addressed the section, and I had the pleasure to install the section officers into their new section offices. Also, Earl had the honor of presenting awards to members and student scholarship winners.

Outgoing Section President Dennis Dal Shanto, who was out of the country, had asked Earl to present special certificates of recognition to several section volunteers. What a great idea! There are so many people in our organization who are not the section boards, but who volunteer so much time and effort to ensure our activities run smoothly. It was great to see these people formally recognized. I was so impressed, I will work to promote the recognition of volunteers within other sections!

After the presentations, a game was played. The object was to name the obscure Recreational and Cultural Interest signs found in the MUTCD. The trick was not to identify the correct meaning of the sign, but rather to come up with the most creative meaning for each sign. Each table wrote down their sign names, and then each table's entry was judged. People at the winning table each received a gift card. The game was imaginative and sparked great interaction!

The evening concluded with a raffle, as well as silent and live auctions. Among the items auctioned were Chicago Cubs tickets, Section apparel, wine baskets, an autographed photo of Michael Jordan and a "Bob the Builder Traffic Trouble" childern's book. Money raised by these activities was applied directly to the Section's Scholarship Fund. In all , over $3000 was raised that night. Great job!

Thanks to Incoming Illinois Section President Peter Lemmon and the entire Board for a great evening! Thanks, too, to Mark Rinnan for the use of these photos for posting here. I look forward to next year's event!

District Representatives to ITE Committees -- I am pleased to announce District representatives to two ITE Committees. Peter Lemmon from the Illinois Section has been appointed to the 2007 Nominations Committee. Stephan Hoffman from the Wisconsin Section has been appointed to the 2007 Constitutional Amendments Committee. Thanks to each of these members for their service.

OTEA Meeting Rescheduled -- The Oklahoma Traffic Engineering Association (OTEA) has rescheduled their Spring Meeting for April 11-13, 2007. The formal banquet and Technical Session will be on Thursday, April 12, 2007. T he presentation of the new Chapter and the oath of office for the new board members are scheduled for that evening. For information on this event, please contact Angelo Lombardo at Angelo.Lombardo@NormanOK.gov.