Section News

Contents:

* Rhode Island Chapter Created *

* Awards Committee Announces 2006 Recipients *

* Desjardins Memorial Golf Tournament *

* Scholarship Recipients Announced * 2007 Annual Meeting *

* Connecticut Chapter News * New Hampshire Chapter News *

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Rhode Island Chapter Created

The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) is pleased to announce the creation of the Rhode Island Chapter of ITE (RIITE) as the newest Chapter in the country.

The Chapter Bylaws and Charter were signed in December of 2005 by the New England Section of ITE, and the following officers were elected for 2006:

• President - Kevin Johnson, P.E. (CDM)
• Vice President - Phil Fusco, P.E. (BETA Group)
• Secretary - Ronald Hartman, P.E. (VHB)
• Treasurer - Russell Holt, E.I.T. (RIDOT)

ITE International, District 1, and the New England Section ask for your support and consideration in joining this Chapter. There will be no additional dues for current members of ITE. Any non-members of ITE will be able to join the RIITE Chapter for a nominal yearly fee. We especially urge those involved with the transportation engineering profession in the southeastern New England area to join.

The Chapter Officers are currently working on scheduling an initial Chapter 'meet-and-greet' event to be held in the Providence area, as well as future luncheons and an inaugural annual meeting. Please feel free to pass this announcement along to other colleagues that may be interested in joining RIITE. If you would like to join the Chapter, are interested in serving on one of our committees, or have any questions, please contact President Kevin Johnson at (401) 751-5360 or send your contact information to the Chapter secretary.

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Awards Committee Announces 2006 Recipients

At the 2006 Annual Section meeting, the following award recipients were announced:

• Maria R. Fuentes, Executive Director of Maine Better Transportation Association: Transportation Leadership Award for her vision, leadership, and tireless effort advocating Maine's Transportation Systems
   
• Garo Garabedian, City Traffic Enginner, Greenwich, Connecticut: Transportation Engineer of the Year Award, for spearheading and coordinating the Planning and Public Information process for the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut regarding the King Street-Route 15 Interchange Study
   
• Kevin G. Hooper, P.E - Kevin Hooper Associates and Kenneth Petraglia, P.E - BETA Inc. : Distinguished Service Award for many years of outstanding service to the transportation and traffic engineering profession resulting in a lasting contribution to the section and the profession
   
• Michelle M. Langone, Howard/Stein - Hudson, Inc.: Young Professional Group Award for outstanding contributions to the New England Section of ITE as recent Chapter President at UMass and as a Chronicle Staffer while emerging as a Transportation Professional.

The NEITE Awards Committee is comprised of a member from each New England state. The guidelines for the committee set a term of three years for committee service. Thanks are due to outgoing members Paul Nauyokas, Massachusetts; Frank Romeo, Rhode Island; and David Scott, Vermont.

In 2005, the six nominating and voting members and their associated state are: Tom Gorrill, Maine; Kim Hazarvartian, New Hampshire; Bruce Hillson, Connecticut; Douglas Prentiss, Massachusetts; Robert Blasi, Rhode Island; and David DeBaie (Chairperson), Vermont. All of these committee members have been previously recognized with an Section award.

For more information about the specific awards, including a past recipients list and details on the 2006 awards, please visit the committee's website.

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2006 Desjardins Memorial Golf Tournament

On Thursday, June 1, 2006 the NEITE will be hosting the 7th Annual Thomas E. Desjardins Golf Tournament to benefit scholarships for college students in the field of transportation engineering. Last year's tournament took place at Sandy Burr Country Club in Wayland, Massachusetts and resulted in our first encounter with less than perfect weather. In fact, the elements tested our resolve and commitment to this worthwhile activity, but overall gave testament to our strong support for this scholarship fund and Tom's memory. The wet weather resulted in a few no shows and, for others, a chance to catch up on the neglected card game after making the turn at the warm and dry clubhouse.

Last year we awarded two scholarships for the first time, thanks to your support and dedication to involving raising money for our students. We are already looking forward to this year's tournament at Sandy Burr. Our start time this year will be at 10 AM, so plan to arrive by 9 AM to give us a chance to register and be ready to go on time.

For more information please contact Rodney Emery at (617) 242-9222, fax (617) 242-9824 or Paul Nauyokas at (617) 924-1770.

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Scholarship Recipients Announced

The Thomas Desjardines Scholarship committee received five applications for the 2006 awards. The Board of Directors were to award two $1,500 scholarships; one for a graduate student and one for an undergraduate student. Since all the applications were from graduate students, the Board voted to continue making two awards. This year's winners are Maaza Mekuria and Eric Jackson.

Maaza Mekuria is working towards his Doctorate in the Department of  Civil and Environmental Engineering, and is expected to finich his dissertation during thr 2006-2007 academic year. Currently the president of the Northeastern ITE Student Chapter, Maaza is very active in ITE activities and is also the founding member of the Massachusetts Transportation Student Research Symposium.

Eric Jackson is a Doctorate candidate at the University of Connecticut. He is currently the Secretary for the ITE student chapter and was involved in recharging the Chapter. At UCONN, he is currently a research and teaching assistant and has co-authoring seven papers to his credit.

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2007 District 1 Meeting - Award Receipients

Additionally, NEITE was presented with a resolution by ITE President Earl Newman in celebration of the section's 60th Anniversary, which is the result of the effort of the entire section, both now and over the past 60 years. 

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Connecticut Chapter News

The Connecticut Chapter of ITE held a joint winter meeting with the CT Chapter of ITS on Thursday, January 20, 2005 at Blake Street in New Haven. The meeting included a presentation on Transit Applications of ITS associated with the Regional ITS Architecture and Advanced Communications System project for the greater Bridgeport region by Mr. Doug Holcomb (Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority) and Mark Nielsen (Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency).

In February, the Chapter participated in Engineers Week and jointly sponsored a meeting with CSPE, CSCE, AFE, IEEE, WTS and ACEC/CT. The meeting was held at the Hawthorne Inn in Berlin on February 22. The program consisted of a technical session addressing how to conduct an effective meeting followed by a presentation on Long Island Sound titled - A History of Changes and a Plan for the Future).

A joint meeting with the New England Section of ITE was held Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at the Sheraton Hartford Hotel in East Hartford. There were two technical sessions (Highway Tolls and Value Engineering) followed by a dinner presentation on Multi-modal Transportation in Conjunction with Legislation.

The Chapter held its fall meeting on October 24 at the new Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. The program included a tour of the new facility followed by a dinner program. The dinner presentation on commercial vehicle/truck safety was provided by representatives from the CT Department of Public Safety and CT Department of Motor Vehicles.

The Connecticut Chapter's leadership includes:

• Carla Tillery, President
• Roger Krahn, P.E., Vice President
• Mark Vertucci, P.E., Secretary-Treasurer
• Jennifer Carrier, P.E., Past President

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New Hampshire Chapter News

The New Hampshire Chapter elected a new slate of board members at its annual meeting on December 12, 2005 in Concord. Robert Bollinger was elected president; Nicholas Sanders, vice president; and Andre Betit, secretary/treasurer. Kevin Dandrade is the immediate past president.

The Chapter is also looking for a volunteer webmaster and newsletter editor. Please contact any member of the Chapter's board if you are interested.

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