ATSSA Signal September October 2019

The Signal | September/October 2019 37 Member Engagement Peek into the future Rohrer encourages Young Industry Professionals to get involved Passing the torch on to the next gener- ationof the roadway safety infrastructure industry is part of what inspires ATSSA member Jason Rohrer to be involved in the Association’s Young Industry Professionals (YIP) program. The initia- tive is seeking to get young profession- als involved in ATSSA and move them toward leadership roles for the future. “We have many seasoned leaders in our industry, and in another ten years we’re going to see a lot of really solid, commit- ted individuals in our industry retiring. There’s a major need to have young people get involved, become active in ATSSA, and carry that torch,” said Rohrer. Rohrer, vice president of J-Tech, has spent the last 15 years in the industry and has presided as the president of the Penn- sylvania ATSSA Chapter for the last two years. He previously served as chapter treasurer. That passion for roadway safety has led to not only his dedication within ATSSA’s chapter leadership, but as a member of the national Member Engagement Committee. In his career at J-Tech, Rohrer worked with his company on building attenu- ator trucks and pattern setting trucks for work zone projects, with the goal of keeping workers safe on our nation’s roadways. “We’re passionate about it because it’s a direct way to make the highway work- ers’ jobs safer. Our equipment and our inventions—all of our efforts—go to helping the men and women go home to their families,” said Rohrer. Rohrer considers one of his greatest career accomplishments to be the oppor- tunity he had earlier this year to speak alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Leslie Rich- ards during National Work Zone Aware- ness Week, to share the importance of work zone safety with the public. He shared that youngprofessionals in the industry should consider their involve- ment in ATSSA a long-term investment, and encourages them to pursue oppor- tunities that will serve themwell later in their careers. “You’vegot tokeep the long-termpicture in mind. Being involved in the industry and in ATSSA is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Anything of value takes work, takes time. I’ve seen it with J-Tech’s involvement with ATSSA,” said Rohrer.  For more information about the YIP initiative, contact ATSSA Associate Director of Member Engagement Courtney Neal at courtney.neal@ATSSA.com .