ITE Journal - August 2020 - 21

Getting to Know
ITE's Southern District
U.S. States Covered
Alabama
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi

North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia

Members
Approximately 1,900 members

The 2020 SDITE Traffic Bowl winners pose
at the Student Leadersip Summit hosted at
Georgia Tech.

believes that ITE's facilitation of professional
networking and connecting transportation
professionals with colleagues that have similar interests is unlike any other organization.
"ITE has also provided opportunities
to improve my public speaking skills by
making presentations at meetings and to
develop leadership skills through service on
committees and as an officer," Hancey says.
"Most important to me-I believe because
of the culture of ITE-is that the people
I have known at the Section and District
levels have become some of my longest
lasting friends."
As a transportation professional, he still
thrives on the impact of his work. "I am
passionate about traffic engineering as a
career because it is something that impacts
daily life in a real way, like the benefits of
retiming a signal system or implementing a
safety project. And for the up-and-coming
transportation professionals, I say be patient,
and enjoy the early roles in your career. As
your career progresses, you will miss the
days of doing the hands-on engineering
work as you move into leadership roles that
focus your attention elsewhere." itej

Sections
Alabama
Deep South
Georgia
Kentucky
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia
Student Chapters: 25

Attendees at the Women's Leadership Lunch at the 2019 Joint
Southern District and Mid-Colonial District Annual Meeting.

District Board Leadership
President - Becky Rogers, P.E., PTP, RSP1 (M)
Vice President - Cindy Pionke, P.E. (M)
Secretary-Treasurer - Alison Catarella-Michel, P.E., PTP, PTOE, RSP1 (F)
Past President - Todd Long, P.E., PTOE (M)
International Director - Kirsten Tynch, P.E., PTOE, LEED AP BD+C, ENV SP (F)

Did You Know?
Annual Meetings and Roll Call - The Southern District is proud of its Annual Meeting and the
traditions that go along with it. Those include a roll call of Sections at the opening session: each Section
gives a short and often humorous introduction of their members in attendance. The Affiliated Business
Division (ABD) is also very active at the meeting, hosting open houses and a must-attend theme party.
Traffic Bowl - ITE started its Student Traffic Bowl competition in 2010, but the Southern District has
been holding a competition since 2005. The William H. Temple Scholarship Challenge Traffic Bowl is held
each year at the District's Annual Meeting. Prior to that, each Section holds their own competition to
select the nine teams for the District competition. The ABD awards the winning team $3,000 and District
provides the second and third places teams $750 each. Since 2005, a total of $72,000 has been awarded.
Scholarships - The eight Sections within the Southern District all have robust student scholarship
programs. Two Sections began awarding scholarships in the mid-1980s and the rest started when the
District provided seed money around 1990. Three Sections have provided more than $600,000 combined
in scholarships. Last year, the eight Sections in the Southern District awarded $72,000 to 35 students.

Historical Perspective
* The Southern District originated as the Southern Section in 1953, and included the states of
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, and all of Virginia that was not included in the Washington, D.C. Section. Arkansas and
Florida left in 1960.
* Virginia was a part of the Southern Section until 1975 when it was issued a charter as its own
Section. Virginia rejoined the Southern Section when the transition was made to the Southern
District in 1988.
w w w .i t e.or g

Augu st 2020

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ITE Journal - August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ITE Journal - August 2020