President's Message: August/September/October 2022
Dear WTS-DC Chapter Members and Friends,
It's hard to believe that fall is here, and we are closing in on the last two months of the year! I hope the season has started off well for you, and, for those of you with children, I hope the new school year is going well.
With the younger members of my family back at their school desks, I am reminded that the WTS-DC scholarship program is in full swing! The WTS-DC chapter offers graduate, undergraduate, and junior (community) college scholarships, typically ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 each. Select recipients of the WTS-DC scholarships will then be nominated for WTS International recognition—the Helene M. Overly Memorial Graduate Scholarship ($10,000), the Leadership Legacy Scholarship for Graduates ($5,000), the Sharon D. Banks Memorial Scholarship ($5,000), the Molitoris Leadership Scholarship for Undergraduates ($5,000), and the Junior College Scholarship ($2,500). If your organization is interested in sponsoring a scholarship, please reach out to our WTS-DC Scholarship Committee.
This is also the time of year when we start planning for the coming year, especially ensuring that we have a full board of volunteers. If you are interested in getting involved with the WTS-DC board, now is the perfect time to say so! Please email me and we can find a time to discuss your interest in any of our 12 board committees.
The (slightly) cooler weather hasn't slowed down our chapter's efforts to host programs that benefit our membership and our community. On August 10, we held our annual event with YPT-DC and TRF-DC. This year, the topic was “Supply Chain Turmoil and Congestion” and featured a lively discussion with local experts in the field: Dorothy Robyn, public policy consultant; Andrew Petrisin, Supply Chain Advisor at the U.S. Department of Transportation; and moderator Professor Thomas Corsi, Academic Director, MS Supply Chain Program and Michelle L. Smith Professor of Logistics at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. In September, we hosted WMATA GM/CEO Randy Clarke for conversation and cocktails at the La Vie Terrace Bar on The Wharf. Nearly one hundred WTS-DC members and friends came out to welcome the new WMATA GM and (re)establish professional connections. We then combined forces with WDCSITE to offer a panel event highlighting transportation policy and sustainability on September 27. In October, we invited WTS-DC members to attend a membership rooftop social hour. A week later, on October 18, we hosted our annual event with VDOT, the topic this year being “Tech Fluency-Adapt, Innovate, Evolve.” We rounded out the month with a virtual diversity, equity, and inclusion event featuring Dr. Katrina Hutchins, which we planned jointly with the WTS chapters in Hampton Roads, NC Triangle, South Carolina, and Central VA. We hope you were able to join us for these interesting events!
Next month, we hope you can join WTS-DC and YPT-DC for a virtual discussion titled "Moving the Needle on Electric Vehicles" on November 3. And pull out your biking clothes on November 5 for a panel discussion and bike tour of the ever-growing bicycle network in the Arlington Area with WTS-DC, WDCSITE, and COMTO-DC.
As fall snowballs into the holiday season, we at WTS-DC are preparing for our Annual Holiday Party. The festivities will be held on Tuesday, December 6 at the Hotel Monaco. During this party, we will be giving out our scholarship awards and our recognition awards. We have an impressive list of recognition awardees this year, so please be on the lookout for more information about the party. We hope you will be able to join us!
We hope to engage with you again soon!
Best,
Katie Kraft
President, WTS-DC Chapter
Contact Us!
If you or your organization are interested in contributing to WTS-DC and would like to know how you could do so, please contact us. You can reach us through any of our social media channels listed below, or you can email me at president.wts.dc@gmail.com.