ATSSA Signal July/August 2020

American Traffic Safety Services Association 44 Bringing a crowd to Fargo Northland Chapter builds leadership with annual event Marc Rue, Northland ATSSA Chapter President Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland Chapter Northland C h a p t e r P r o i l e Member Engagement Youmay already know the Northland ATSSAChapter for its signature event, the Northland “How To” Conference, which provides education and training oppor- tunities for professionals in the roadway safety infrastructure industry. Northland’s How To conference dates to 1992, and brings 400 to 500 attendees to Fargo, N.D. each year. It also serves as one of two annual meeting oppor- tunities for ATSSA’s Northland Chapter, which includes North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Chapter President Marc Rue helped plan the first How To conference. He said that despite blizzards and floods over the years, it has always been held in mid-March. This year, however, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the planning committee to cancel the 2020 confer- ence, which had been scheduled for March 16–18. But with a 28-year history and a perma- nent spot on the calendars of many national vendors, Rue is confident the event will return once the crisis is over. Chapter members take responsibility for planning the event, a task that helps the Northland Chapter build its leader- ship base. “Inour region it’s sort of a can’t-miss event,” said Rue, owner of NorthStar Safety Inc., a Fargo-based traffic control and pave - ment marking contractor. “The amazing thing is that it has held up consistently for a long time, and chapter members have rotated through planning it.” In addition to the March How To confer- ence, the Northland Chapter also gath- ers in Minneapolis every summer for a chapter meeting and golf outing. With this year’s ATSSAMidyearMeeting sched- uled for late August. Northland Chapter members from theMinneapolis-St. Paul area had been working to plan a fund- raising event for The ATSS Foundation at Target Field, home stadium for Major League Baseball’sMinnesota Twins. Due to the pandemic, the Midyear Meeting shifted to a virtual format and all of their in-person events couldn’t be held. Rue says theNorthlandChapter looks for events in its areawhere chaptermembers can set up a booth and spread awareness of the benefits of joining ATSSA. “We are always on the lookout for func- tions around transportation safetywhere we can go and spread awareness of the chapter,” he said. Chaptermembership is a valuableway to meet and form friendships with others in the industry, including departments of transportation (DOTs), Rue said. It’s also an important resource for learning about traffic solutions other states are implementing and having success with. “If a DOT in a bordering state is trying something new,” he said, “we like to hear what is going on there and use some of that to our advantage to make roads safer for motorists.”

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