Dear Friends,
The 15th annual New York State Parking Association conference is now history and one has to ask…what do we do for an encore? Based on comments during and after the conference, it is not an overstatement to say it was a rousing success in attendance, program content, networking and social activities.
I would like to thank the Board of Directors (whose names appear at the footer of this letter) whom all contributed to the planning effort. A special thanks to Jeff Bernatovich and Dick Scheutzow, the 2007 co-chairs of the Conference Committee, who handled the negotiations and details.
Special thanks to Joan Consler, NYSPA’s “rookie” Facilitator. You may remember Joan as the smiling face of NYSPA at the registration table. I am sure Joan had no idea what she was getting into when she signed on mid-year as facilitator, but she was tested by fire and is looking forward to applying her first year’s “lessons learned” to next year’s conference!
Our conference theme was “Expanding Our Horizons”. We all recognize parking is not an isolated occurrence but part of the fabric of a coordinated transportation infrastructure. Accordingly, NYSPA made a concentrated effort this year to include those who are involved not only in parking but complementary functions as well. By reaching out to the entire transportation family we hope to broaden our appeal, increase our membership and ultimately strengthen our association.
Our conference kicked off with Major Brickman, from the US Army 10th Mountain Brigade at nearby Ft. Drum. The Major provided an excellent, candid and inspirational address that personally made me proud to be an American. We wish Major Brickman all the best as he prepares for a return re-deployment to Iraq in the near future. Please visit the NYSPA website to review his presentation.
Despite a very busy schedule crisscrossing the US, Julius Rhodes (MPR Group, Inc.) spent the entire conference with us. As you may recall, Julius spoke at our 2006 conference and was a tremendous success. He presented two dynamic sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. There was never a dull moment as everyone hung on his every word. The audience group participation components were excellent examples supporting his presentations!
Chief H. Lloyd Perkins (Skaneateles Police Department) provided an excellent and insightful case study “ripped from the headlines” as to the dos, don’ts and what to consider in the realm of revenue collection and controls.
The University at Buffalo’s Maria Wallace and Richard Linde captivated the audience with a special events presentation - The UB Dalai Lama Experience. The message was loud and clear that extensive pre-planning and coordination for an event of this magnitude pays off; especially relating to the safe, secure and efficient accommodation of large numbers of people gathering in one place over a short time period.
Katherine Decarreau (University of Vermont) returned this year with a fascinating presentation, Traffic, Transit & Parking: Why can’t We All get Along? This presentation followed our conference theme very closely as it demonstrated the undeniable linkage between parking, traffic engineering, transit and the infrastructure required to support the network.
Kim Jackson and Yvonne McCowin (International Parking Institute) provided valuable front line training to the parking “boots on the ground”. Team Building represented the latest of “value added” concurrent IPI training events that Kim and Yvonne have graciously presented over the past several years at our conference.
Many thanks to Tony Myhra (Cryotech Deicing Technologies, Inc.), Dave Aggleton (Aggleton & Associates Security Consultants, Inc.), Paul Walitsky (The Industrial Ecology Co., LLC) and Chuck Bilodeau (Desman Associates) for sharing their respective unique expertise and experience with our membership.
A special note of appreciation to Todd Helmer (Tim Haas & Associates) and Michael Klein (Albany Parking Authority) for their pinch hitting fill-ins for speakers that encountered personal and business emergencies.
Copies of conference presentations are being posted to the NYSPA website for review. Visit www.nyspa.net for these postings and more. Speaking of our website, we have made considerable strides in the past year in the development of our website thanks to Ana Manning, our Webmaster extraordinaire. Ana hosted an interactive navigation of the website on Thursday to demonstrate its functionality.
Many thanks to our sponsors and exhibitors. If the NYSPA heart is our membership, then our sponsors and exhibitors are the lifeblood. Without them we would be unable to provide a top shelf venue and conference of the caliber we do. It was gratifying to see the exhibit hall buzzing with activity. I noticed many new exhibitors this year, and learned that the networking had provided numerous leads. All sponsors and exhibitors are listed on our website including a “hot link” to their websites.
Annual elections for the Board of Directors were held during the conference. Mary Murphy (SUNY at Cortland) was elected to a two year term as a regular member. Jeff Bernatovich (Ber-National Controls, Inc.) was re-elected and Geoff Posluszny (RL Systems) was newly elected as affiliate members. Todd Helmer was elected as professional member. Many thanks for past work to Rick Serra (All-Pro Parking, LLC), Richard Scheutzow (City of Syracuse) and Chuck Bilodeau (Desman Associates) who are leaving the Board.
After the sessions were over and the exhibit hall closed, our members participated in wholesome activities to encourage camaraderie and fun. Through the inspiration of Chuck Bilodeau and Jeff Bernatovich, NYSPA offered a fantastic combination of sports including softball, bocce, putting and virtual golf; along with an excellent bar-b-que dinner and refreshments courtesy of Desman Associates and Ber-National Controls, Inc. The event was held in the Turning Stone’s enormous air supported golf dome. Many thanks to Brian Austin, Ber-National Controls, for the incredible selection of tunes that played throughout the evening.
If you attended this year’s conference I am sure you have many other highlights that made it a fantastic experience. If you didn’t attend, then you need to plan to attend our 2008 conference to get in on this parking and transportation happening. We will once again be into full conference planning mode, and will be issuing e-mail blasts and announcements posted on our website as time progresses.
Thanks for your support. On behalf of the Board of Directors let me say that we look forward to serving you in 2008!
Sincerely,
Bob
Robert G. Hoffmann, P.E.
President
