Greetings to all ITE Central Coast Section members, and a Happy New Year! 

I am pleased to share with you that it looks like 2012 will shape up to be an amazing year for our Section.  The Executive Board is preparing several lunch meetings to keep you engaged with the local transportation environment, and the latest tools for our trade.

Please keep your calendars open for the ITE Golf Tournament, organized by Robert Sweeting, City of Thousand Oaks, to be scheduled for late March or early April.  Last year participants enjoyed a beautiful day at River Ridge Golf Course, and a chance to catch up with fellow peers, while raising over $700 for the ITE Student Chapter at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The Cal Poly Student Chapter has maintained excellent participation within the Section over the last couple of years.  Last year’s joint meeting with the Student Chapter, attended by over 20 students, provided us with several superb presentations on transportation systems across various international cities, followed by several local professionals describing their daily tasks for the students’ benefit.  The overall enthusiasm of the student body was outstanding!  Also, the Chapter meets Thursday nights to hear presentations from industry representatives and Central Coast ITE members about their latest projects. The Chapter also sponsors employer tours, so that student members may interact with prospective employers. If you are interested in presenting a project to the Student Chapter, or you would like to host the students at your place of employment, contact Steve Orosz (steve@oegsite.com), Student Liaison.

The 2012 ITE District 6 meeting, being held from June 24-27 in Santa Barbara, is fast approaching.  Volunteers are always welcome to assist the Local Arrangements Committee in making this a successful event.  If you are interested, please contact LAC Chair Tom Mericle (tmericle@ci.ventura.ca.us) or LAC Vice-Chair Robert Sweeting (rsweeting@toaks.org).  Thank you gentlemen for your dedication to this historic event.

Whether you are a Section member, a student, or simply a fellow professional, I believe we have excellent presentations and events lined up for you in 2012, and I look forward to seeing you all at our numerous meetings.  If there is a particular topic you would like to have presented or if you would like to volunteer to speak at one of our luncheons, please let me know.  Any and all suggestions are always welcomed.  See you at the meetings!

In closing, I would like to introduce you to this year’s 2012 Executive Board:

Vice President: Steve Orosz, Orosz Engineering Group;

Secretary: Robert Sweeting, City of Thousand Oaks;

Treasurer: Robert Eaton,  and

Past President: Larry Tay, City of Thousand Oaks

The Central Coast Section is in good hands thanks to these committed individuals.

I would also like to thank Rick Gallegos, our Webmaster, for updating and maintaining our website.  Keep an eye out for new and convenient improvements to be featured soon!

Anthony Gallo

2012 Central Coast Section President