October 2024 News from WTS Greater D/FW Chapter 🍫

President's Message

It’s officially spooky season! Hopefully you have had fun planning holiday events and costumes.

The WTS D/FW Chapter has had some exciting events in the month of October. Earlier this month, we hosted another successful Lagers and Leadership featuring guest speaker Rosa Navejar. During these forums, we have a female leader in the local transportation industry share her keys to success and answer questions in a small group setting. Rosa has an incredible story, and we were excited to have her share it with attendees. Thank you, Rosa, for your impactful contributions to our industry and for taking the time to speak to our chapter for this event.

Last week, we held our 22nd Annual Golf Tournament at Hackberry Country Club. We were lucky to have incredible weather for a sold-out event. Thank you to our corporate sponsors and everyone who participated, whether on the green or behind the scenes to make this event possible. A special thanks to our event co-chairs, Sherry Williams and Christy Gotti and their planning committee. They work hard all year to plan this critical fundraiser that helps fund our annual scholarships.

Our last event this month was our Annual Corporate Partner Reception. This event is held as a special “thank you” to our corporate partners for their support throughout the year. The event featured Dallas Deputy City Manager Dev Rastogi whose insights inspired us all to "communicate and collaborate." Thanks to the planning committee, Dev and our corporate sponsors for making this a successful event.

Looking ahead, I am excited to announce the WTSI Leadership Training taking place on November 14-15 in Chicago. This annual training equips our WTS Chapter leaders with invaluable skills and strategies to enhance our chapter’s performance. We'll also have 2024 Scholarship Applications coming out by the end of the month, so be on the lookout for more details coming soon!

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t remind everyone to use their voice this election season and GO VOTE on or before November 5!

Shannon McCord

President, Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter

WTS Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter

22nd Annual Golf Tournament

What a day! Our chapter hosted our 22nd Annual Golf Tournament on Monday, October 21 at Hackberry Creek Country Club in Irving. A special shoutout to our wonderful tournament sponsors—your support directly supports our student scholarships, making a meaningful impact on the next generation of leaders in our industry.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for this year's tournament. We can’t wait to see you all next year!

WTS Connects - A Member Meetup

Join WTS Connects for a Member Meetup on Wednesday, November 6 at 12 p.m.

WTS Connects is a program designed specifically for WTS Members to connect, learn, and discuss with each other around specific leadership content. The WTS Connects has two program options: WTS Connects for Members and WTS Connects for Executives. The hour-long sessions will include a presentation from renowned speakers and facilitators on topics like leadership, communicating your value, and power of micro-habits, followed by breakout groups for reflection and discussion. Get to know your colleagues and fellow WTS members at WTS Connects.

Join the Conversation

WTS Annual Conference 2025

The WTS Mosaic: Mobility + Momentum

Do you have an amazing idea for WTS International's 2025 Annual Conference? Share your specialized knowledge, insights, research, and experience in a conference breakout session.

The 2025 WTS International Annual Conference will be held on May 7-9, 2025, in Toronto, Canada. Toronto is a vibrant metropolis that thrives on connections. As a mosaic, it embraces the rich diversity of its many communities. The focus of the conference (Mobility + Momentum) requires a fully inclusive conversation. We are looking for abstracts from all transportation modes, including roads, transit, bicycle and pedestrian, freight and logistics, aviation, maritime, supply chain, and ports. We are strongly encouraging diversity and inclusion across modes and speakers for panels and presentations and are looking for abstracts that highlight equity regardless of topic. Consider sharing your specialized transportation knowledge, insights, and experiences as part of a breakout session at the 2025 WTS Annual Conference!

This year, the WTSI Board of Directors is focused on four new pillars that will support strategic growth, organizational excellence, and overall stakeholder engagement for the organization. As such, we’d like to challenge all submittals to reflect on these pillars for all tracks. Please note that the Tracks are Technical, Leadership, Workforce, and Student/Emerging Professionals. We also have provided an Open Track that may allow some creativity of abstracts around these pillars as well. Please consider these four pillars as you frame your topics and presentations and if you have a new topic track that relates to these pillars, we encourage you to submit as well.

FOUR PILLARS

Expansion of modes of Transportation
Focus on Chapters and Members
Small Businesses
The Resiliency of WTS

SUBMISSIONS SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION

Track selection
Breakout session title
Primary point of contact information
A primary point of contact is required for each proposed session and will be used to communicate all vital conference details.
Geographic Interest of Panel Discussion
Indicate what cities, states, regions represent the session.
Breakout Session Description
Provide a clear description of the proposed session content while highlighting any compelling characteristics (maximum 250 words).
Breakout Session Format
Audio/Visual Needs
Proposed Speakers Information: Name, Title, Organization, City, 2 Email Addresses and Speaker Biographies – Provide a brief biography for each proposed speaker (maximum 100 words)

Click the button below to find out more information and submit your contributions by Friday, November 8, 2024.

Questions? Contact conference@wtsinternational.org.

I'm Interested!

A Premier Experience: Creating Leaders at All Levels

We look forward to hosting WTS Chapter Leaders in Rosemont, Illinois, November 14-15 to build critical skills on WTS processes and to participate in deep dives on topics like board governance, contract management, and other essential best practices for your chapter.

Information on registration pricing and booking hotel stays for the program is outlined below. We will soon launch the call for abstracts for leaders interested in presenting a unique best practice or lessons learned in your chapter with fellow leaders.

The Preliminary Agenda for the program can be found here.

There's still time to register and book your stay for the WTS 2024 Chapter Leadership Summit!

The deadline to reserve a hotel stay at the special discounted group rate has been extended to October 29. We look forward to seeing WTS Chapter Leaders in Rosemont, Illinois, November 14-15 to build critical skills on WTS processes and to participate in deep dives on topics like board governance, contract management, and other essential best practices for your chapter.

Questions about the 2024 Chapter Leadership Development Program?

Visit the WTS Website for more information on registration, event policies, and important updates. Contact programs@wtsinternational.org for additional questions.

Learn More and Register

TransportationYOU meets monthly at Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School, and their first event kicked off on September 18. Events include hands-on activities, panels, and field trips. With more volunteers, we can expand to additional schools and reach even more students!

If you’re interested in getting involved and making a difference, please contact Anna-Maria Clardy at amclardy@halff.com for more information.

As a benefit for our corporate partners, members, and local non-profit organizations, the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter will run job postings for 30 days for free on our chapter website.

To add your posting, contact Communications@WTSGreaterDFW.org

Learn More

LOCAL CORPORATE SPONSORS