ATSSA Signal July/August 2020

The Signal | July/August 2020 33 The Foundation Planned Giving Choose today how you will impact the generations of tomorrow The ATSS Foundation invites you to establish a charitable endowment to give back to the roadway safety infrastructure industry. A planned gift will help to strengthen the long-term viability of our charitable organization and the industry. Consider becoming part of The Foundation Legacy Circle with your planned gift. With a little planning and a big heart, make an impact on the next generation and create a lasting legacy. What will your legacy be? Foundation.ATSSA.com/PlannedGiving engineering but was promoted in April 2019 to be the first field services super - visor with TDOT’s Occupational Health and Safety Division. He spent his first five months in that position assisting with attenuator usage and temporary traffic control improve - ments as well as reviewing policies and procedures. “As an engineer that is new to Occupa- tional Safety, I was seeking supplemen- tary exposure for safety-related topics to promote my growth in the safety industry and the 2020 ATSSA Conven- tion allowed me to fast track my learn- ing,” McDonald said. Alhajri serves as thework zone standards engineer at the Oregon DOT (ODOT). In that role, his duties includemaintaining temporary traffic control designpractices and standards and taking part in work zone research committees. He wanted to attend the Convention to learn the latest safety technology. His goal, according to his application, is to become the state work zone engineer and a national expert in temporary traf- fic control. “My favorite part of the Conventionwould have to be the Expo,” he said. “I was over- whelmed with joy when I saw the sheer number of devices all in one place!” McDonald is an ATSSA public agency member and shared that his long-term goal is to establish a new safety culture within TDOT. He wanted to attend the Convention for networking and learn- ing to “expedite my learning curve in the industry.” “I benefitted from the knowledge and expertise that was shared from industry professionals in theConcurrent andMicro Sessions,” he said. “Vendors enlightened me on technological advances for safer work zones. Most importantly, I built relationships with partners across the nation that will continue to be a resource for me and the state of Tennessee as we create a safer culture at the Department of Transportation.” Alhajri was eager to gain information that would directly assist ODOT in reducing work zone injuries and fatalities, which he said had experienced a spike the last five years, primarily due to distracted and careless driving. He said he attendedmultiple committee meetings, several educational sessions, and enjoyed networking with public agency officials and national temporary traffic control experts. “Overall, the ATSSA Convention is a great learning experience for anyone inter- ested in improving safety inwork zones,” he said. “I look forward to attending the upcoming Convention.”  Applications for theMartyWeed Engineering Schol- arship will be available online at Foundation.ATSSA. com/MartyWeedScholarship.