Getting Caught Up... I know it's been ages since I've posted anything here, but business has kept me, well..., busy! Here are a few items that have fallen through the cracks until now:

New District Logo and Stationery -- To promote the name change from District 4 to the Midwestern District, the District Board has looked to update its logo. ITE President Earl Newman solicited the help of Kara Crisp, a graphic designer with the City of Springfield, MO, to work up some possible logo designs. Kara presented several to the Board, and a new logo was selected. Kara and District Secretary/Treasurer John Davis worked the selected logo into new district stationery. The new graphics work well to update our district's image and professionalism. Watch for them at the St. Louis meeting and in upcoming communications. Thanks to Kara, John, and all who worked on this effort! Job well done!

Kudos to NCITE -- Section President Marcus Culver reports, "At the Midwestern District Meeting this June, NCITE will be presented with two district awards. The first is for Section Activities and the other is for Section Website. Both awards are a reflection of the hard work and dedication of those members that volunteer their time and energy to NCITE on the technical committees and our publications. The entire membership deserves a pat on the back for the Activities award as this is a reflection of the big picture of technical committees, activities, and meetings our Section manages. For the website, a big thank you goes out to Nick Erpelding, our Webmaster, who has put in countless hours updating the website, creating new pages, and coming up with new ideas such as the new calendar feature. Good job, Nick.

"I also just received a letter from ITE International today that NCITE has been selected to receive the ITE Newsletter Award for circulation between 250 and 500. I am extremely proud of the newsletters editors and those who have contributed articles for the newsletter. The newsletter submitted for this award was the Winter 2007 newsletter and included an article by the Geometric Design Committee Chair Bill Klingbeil on Channelized Right Turn design. It also included some historical photos that proved very interesting. I wanted to give special recognition for the newsletter award to Lynn Kiesow who, over the past couple of years, has worked with Chad Ellos and Peter Langworthy to come up with some unique ideas and features for our newsletter. And of course, those two editors I just mentioned have put significant efforts in assembling, proof reading, and distributing this document.

"Finally, this year’s NCITE Student Paper winner was also selected for the District Paper Award. Xinkai Wu from the University of Minnesota won both awards for his paper titled “Improving Queue Size Estimation for Minnesota’s Stratified Zone Metering Strategy.” It is a very informative paper on the previous strategy used and how it was modified to improve freeway operation as well as wait times on the ramps. Congratulations to Xinkai and thank you for representing the Section so well."

Upcoming Elections -- As you know, we are coming up on our traditional election season. This year, there are two elections that will affect the Midwestern District -- that for 2008 International Vice President, and for 2008 District Searetary/Treasurer. Candidates for International Vice President include Rod Kelly from the Tesax District, and our own Ken Voigt.

Ken has been a staunch supporter and ally for, not only the Midwestern District, but the entire professional organization. I have had the pleasure to work with Ken at a previous employer, and he is passionate about traffic engineering and transportation. He cares! He would be a great ambassador for our organization. I encorage you to vote for Ken when the ballots are sent out in a few weeks! Remember, Ken's winning would allow him to follow Earl and keep our district involved in the upper leadership of ITE for several more years.

Also, later this summer, you will receive a ballot for 2008 Midwestern District Secretary/Treasurer. This year's rotation of candidates is from the North Central Section, and includes John Crawford from URS Corporation, and Mike Spack from Traffic Data, Incorporated. Both candidates are equally strong, and have devoted years of experience and dedication to NCITE, the District and to ITE in general. Watch for the ballots and candidate background information when it comes in the mail. Be sure to vote!

See you in St. Louis! -- Next week is the Midwestern District Meeting in St. Louis. It promises to be a great time! I have not been down by the Arch in nearly twenty years, so I look forward to my return. Kudos to the Shawn Leight and the Local Arrangements Committee, who appear to be ready for our descent onto the city. Be sure to contact Lee Cannon (lcannon@CBBTraffic.com) if you have items to donate to their auction to benefit the student scholarship funds of the various sections. What a great idea! See you there!