Dear WTS Members, Friends, and Partners:
2007 has been very busy for WTS and a lot is being accomplished. The WTS reception at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting was attended by roughly 300 people in spite of the inclement weather. Thanks to the TRB Women’s Issues Committee and PB for making this event the place to be and be seen at TRB and to Christie Dawson and her committee for taking care of all the details.
On January 31st, the seventh WTS Leadership class graduated at Rutgers University. These 14 WTS members are: Deborah Dagang, Oakland; Beth Easterday, Columbus; Crissy Fanganello, Denver; Loretta Girard Doughty, Boston; Julie Hunt, Raleigh; Angelica Malta, Atlanta; Beverly Mason, Sacramento; Margaret Middleton, Portland; Kate Miller, Oakland; Tara Olsen, Seattle; Darlene Rivera, New York; Erika Witzke, Columbus; Christine Wolf, Seattle; and Maria Zimmerman, Washington, DC. This WTS program is geared toward women with promise for higher leadership levels. Janette Sadik-Khan and Maxine Finkelstein founded the program and continue to recruit speakers and facilitators for professional and personal development programs and sessions that provide participants with valuable tools to use throughout their careers.
The February chapter management training hosted by the Houston Chapter was a huge success. Seventy chapter leaders attended, representing 30 chapters. Those present participated in the strategic planning process on Friday. It is important that the chapter leaders’ perspective and input is reflected in the strategic plan that will be implemented over the next several years. It is anticipated that the final strategic plan will be presented at the annual conference in San Diego, May 2nd – 4th. On Saturday, chapter leaders learned about membership retention and recruiting strategies, governance, budgeting, communication tools, scholarships and a host of other aspects of chapter management. Thanks to Karen Schilling, the WTS staff, session presenters, and chapter leaders for their tireless efforts which resulted in one of the best training meetings ever.
During the Houston meeting, WTS Scholarship launched a new international scholarship, the President’s Legacy Scholarship. Each year, the President’s Legacy Scholarship will provide a $3,000 scholarship to a young woman pursuing a career in transportation, starting in 2008. This “rotating” scholarship will take the name of the currently serving WTS International president, and will change names as the presidents fulfill their terms. I am honored that the founding scholarship is the Ann Koby Legacy Scholarship. I want to personally thank Chuck Fuhs, Karen Block, Pippa Woods, the WTS Scholarship Board of Directors, and our corporate partner and my employer, PB, for this tremendous honor and for their continued efforts to advance women in the transportation industry.
Please join me in welcoming the members of our newest chapter in Idaho. This is our 41st chapter and we look forward to working with them as they grow and work toward furthering our mission of advancing women in transportation. Cynthia Hughes Adler, our Chapter Development Chair, continues to work with potential chapters and bring them to fruition.
Since January, I have attended several chapter events including the Colorado Chapter’s annual gala. This chapter has grown to be our fourth largest, with over 200 members. The Heart of Texas chapter hosted a reception for Janis Brown, the new FHWA Administrator. This reception was well attended by federal and state officials. I was honored to attend the Washington DC chapter’s luncheon and have the privilege of introducing Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters. Secretary Peters continues to support WTS and its chapters throughout the country by her presence and participation at their events. Thank you Secretary Peters!
In the past year, WTS International has transitioned from a volunteer organization using a management company to an organization with full-time staff. Our bylaws needed to be revised to reflect this change in management. For the past four months, the Bylaws task force, led by Barbi Stiles, has worked on revising our bylaws to match our present management structure. WTS members have received the proposed revised bylaws in the mail. Please take the time to review the bylaws and return your votes on the revisions.
Our annual conference is fast approaching and Linda Culp and David Schumacher, Conference Co-Chairs along with the San Diego chapter have planned superb sessions, speakers, tours, and other events. Please make plans to attend the WTS Annual Conference May 2nd – 4th. You can register on-line at www.wtsinternational.org.
Sincerely,
Ann L. Koby
WTS International President
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