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Spring is a busy time for the NC Triangle Chapter, and we have several big events coming up. May 14 will be our annual Go Gala which raises funds for college scholarships and outreach programs for middle and high school students, with 100% of the money going towards our Foundation Fund. This is our chapter's main fundraiser for the year, and it allows us to host our Transportation YOU mentor program and award annual scholarships locally. And, on May 19, we will be hosting a special members-only breakfast featuring State Sen. Kathy Harrington.
Additionally, the chapter received some great news earlier this month: we received the WTS International Circle of Excellence Gold Level status - the highest ranking there is! This program recognizes outstanding WTS chapters for their annual effort to achieve chapter operations benchmarks and shares those chapters' successful performances. Thank you for everything that you have done to make this happen. Our chapter is extremely proud!
As always, please check our website for our upcoming events, and we hope to see you at the next event!
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April 2015
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Patron Partners
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WTS International Partners
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This year, new
WTS members who fill out a membership form and pay the membership fee at a NC Triangle chapter event, such as a luncheon, breakfast or Transportation YOU event, will receive 15 percent off of their membership cost, as well as a WTS fleece. There are many benefits to being a member of WTS, so if you're thinking about joining, this is a great year to do it. Click here for more information on membership fees.
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WTS International Conference
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May 20 -22, 2015
Swissotel
Chicago, Illinois
Registration is open for the 2015 WTS Annual Conference - Converge Chicago. The Annual Conference is WTS' networking event of the year. Private corporations, public agencies and government officials invested in every transportation mode will exhibit, present and learn. Activities will include technical tours, professional development programs and educational tracks. Erin Brockovich will give the keynote address.
Click here for more information and to register.
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Join WTS-NC Triangle Chapter for its biggest event of the year. The Go Gala raises funds for the chapter's scholarship and mentoring programs, and recognizes local professionals and projects. The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. on May 14 at City Club Raleigh. Registration is open at the link below. A silent auction will be featured, and more information and a list of items can be found
here.
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NC Triangle Chapter will be holding a members-only breakfast, featuring State Sen. Kathy Harrington on May 19. Details are still being worked out, but an invitation will be sent out to all members soon on how to register. Sen. Harrington is a Republican who represents State Senate District 43 (Gaston). She is the vice-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. Those who attend the breakfast will have the opportunity to directly discuss issues or ideas with the senator. This event will be open only to members, so if you want to attend, join today by clicking the link below. Or join at the next chapter event and save 15 percent off the membership fee.
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Circle of Excellence Gold
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WTS International awarded the NC Triangle Chapter Gold Status in the Circle of Excellence Program this year. This is a new program implemented by WTS International to recognize the work that chapters do in membership and management activities. Gold Status is the highest possible recognition in this program and was achieved by 20 out of 56 chapters. Click the link below to read more.
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Jane Nelson of HDR was the guest speaker at April's Transportation YOU event. Transportation YOU is WTS' mentoring program for middle-school-aged girls. Ms. Nelson spoke about right of way in transportation, and the type of jobs available in this specialty.
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WTS-NC Triangle Chapter Vice President Jenny Fleming (left) and luncheon guest speaker Susan Pullium, NCDOT's Director of Strategic Planning Scholarship (right) present the scholarship award to this year's Helene M. Overly Memorial Scholarship winner Shannon Warchol.
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Fleming and Pullium present the scholarship award to this year's Molitoris Leadership Undergraduate Scholarship winner Katherine Cassidy. For more photos from the scholarship luncheon, click the link below.
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The WTS community was saddened by the passing of one of the original members of WTS-North Carolina, Michelle Brame. She was one of 15 women who formed the local WTS chapter and served as its first treasurer. Her local friends and former colleagues will be gathering at the North Hills Firebirds from 4 to 7 p.m. April 28 to honor her. This event is open to all. Click the link below to read her obituary.
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In March, NCDOT celebrated its 100th anniversary. The department released this video about its history and the history of transportation in North Carolina. The department also created a
webpage with photos, videos and a timeline.
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For members looking for networking opportunities within the Chapter, consider joining the Professional Connections program. Each quarter, the members of the program are split into groups of four or five, and each group plans a lunch meeting. This is a good way to meet others in WTS. For more information, or to sign up, contact
Karen Reynolds
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| VHB continues to grow their Raleigh office to better serve their clients in the region. They recently welcomed several new team members that come to VHB with a depth of knowledge and experience that will help them continue to solve complex transportation challenges and move projects forward. Katie Arbogast, EI, is a Transportation Analyst working with the Raleigh  Transportation Engineering team. Thanh Q. Le has joined the Raleigh Highway Safety team as a Highway Safety Analyst. Kara Peach has joined the Raleigh Highway Safety team as a Transportation Planner. Megan Valentine, EI, is part of the Raleigh Roadway Design team working as a Transportation Designer. Tony Tagliaferri, PE, has joined the Transportation Engineering team as a Senior Transportation Engineer working out of the Charlotte area. Matt Thigpen, PE, is part of the Raleigh Roadway Design team working as a Transportation Design Engineer. Jeffrey Hext recently joined the Raleigh Roadway Design team as a Senior Roadway Designer. Diane Ditzel is the new Marketing Specialist for the Raleigh office.
The VHB Raleigh office has been awarded several innovative projects. One such project includes the "Traffic Data Collection Process Efficiencies" project for the NCDOT's Transportation Mobility Safety and Systems Division. VHB will develop an electronic online system for efficient work flow of the data collection effort undertaken by the division. This effort will use existing technologies such as SharePoint and ArcGIS Online. Another project award is the Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Traffic Record Program contract with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This contract require
s expertise in traffic records data collection, management, use, and system support and aims to improve traffic safety, save lives, and reduce injuries through data-driven decision-making. To date VHB has received two large task orders under this contract.
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Newsletter Editors:
Leslie Tracey
, PE, City of Durham DOT;
Paddy Jordan
, Hatch Mott McDonald; Yuying Zhou, VHB; Kara Peach, VHB
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