NEWS
A n U p d a t e From t he Hear t o f Texas Ch ap t er o f W TS
2 013 Vo l.4
IN THIS ISSUE
3
Message from the President
4
Chapter Announcements
5
Member Update
5
Happy Hour
6
Transportation YOU Kick Off
8
2013 WTS International Leadership Conference
9
Professional Development
10
Meetings at Maggiano’s
11
Walk Austin
12
Corporate Partners
15
WTS Board Contact Information
16
Upcoming Events
May the joys of the
Holiday Season
be with you now
and throughout
the New Year!
Heart of Texas
Board of Directors
Lisa Loftus-Otway, UT Austin,
President
Odette Tan, Travis County
Vice President
Lindsay Wood, HNTB, Secretary
April Sandoval, HDR,
Co-Treasurer
Sarah Janak, UT Austin,
Co-Treasurer
Heart of Texas
Committee Chairs
Ashley Williams, UT Austin
Community Outreach
Yvonne Garcia, Raba Kistner
Consultants
Corporate Partnership
Renee Hurtado, DKS Associates
Membership
Jackie Sartor, CP&Y
Gala
Nicola Gheno, Bury
STEM Initiative
Jennifer Bennett-Reumuth, City of
Austin and Tonia Norman, TxDOT
Professional Development
Vicki McEvoy, K. Friese &
Associates,
Programs
Lin Zhou, CDM Smith
Recognitions
Kelsey Ahern, Cambridge Systematics
Blanca Juarez, UT Austin
Scholarship & Student Liaison
Comments? Questions?
Want to Contribute?
Tell our Editor!
[email protected]
512-232-3085
A Message from the President...
It’s December 2013, time has flown in the first year of my presidency, and
the WTS HOT Chapter has had another stellar year of successes.
These successes could not have been achieved without the support of our
fabulous members, our Corporate Partners, non-members who attend our
events, and the HOT board of directors and their committees who are some of
the hardest working women and men in transportation.
To give you some metrics on the chapter, over the past year we have grown
by 10% in membership, we broke records for the HOT chapter for number of
guests at both our Gala and PDS Day, and as of September 30th we had the
second largest scholarship balance out of the 50 chapters in the U.S. Canada
and UK, standing at $92,899.29. A huge Thank-You to everyone who has donated time and money to
help keep our Scholarship and Transportation You balance in such good health! Speaking of which our
10th Annual Scholarship and Transportation You Fund Raising Gala is on April 4th 2014—the theme is
James Bond—so mark your calendars!
Looking to the past quarter we wrapped up with our Happy Hour which we hosted on December 3rd with
the Young Professionals in Transportation Austin Chapter. The VP of the Alaska Chapter joined us, as she
was in town, and she emailed me to thank us for our HOT southern hospitality and that if any HOT members are in Alaska she hopes to return the favor! We also had our kick off meeting with our new mentees
at the Ann Richards School, mentors and mentees have already had some of their first meetings. Fall also
saw a golfing day, a trip to the Chapter Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Phil Wilson as our October
lunch speaker, and the fabulous Commissioner Cynthia Long—one of our 2013 honorary members—as
our November lunch speaker.
Hopefully you also saw the email that came out on our recognitions voting—please do take time to
vote—it’s quick I promise. Our slate of nominees this year are worthy candidates for your votes. We’ve
had some fabulous winners in the past, and we’ve now had 3 of our nominees win at the international level
which speaks to the great things going on in Austin in transportation.
Finally, if you haven’t joined a committee, I can absolutely speak to how much fun it is to be on a committee and the satisfaction that you will feel once you’ve put on an event, written a newsletter article, and
collaborated with lots of different people to get a job done. If you want to join a committee, but aren’t sure,
you can email any of our board members to get more information.
Looking to 2014, our Annual Business Meeting in which we give out two honorary memberships and our
member of the year award is on January 15—we hope you will join us to celebrate with our member of the
year. I feel confident in saying 2014 will continue to be filled with informative and fun chapter programs
and initiatives.
I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.
Lisa Loftus-Otway
President, WTS Heart of Texas Chapter
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ANNOUNCEMENTS...
SAVE THE DATE for THE 10th ANNUAL WTS HEART OF TEXAS
TRANSPORTATION GALA
FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2014
The Heart of Texas Chapter is hosting our 10th Annual Transportation Gala a
nd Scholarship
Fundraiser with a Casino Night! Enjoy time at the Slot Machines or the Blackjack, Craps,
Roulette, and Texas Hold ‘Em tables. Bid on a variety of auction items and take a chance at
winning great raffle prizes! More information to come!
WTS International Annual Winter Reception
Sunday, January 12, 2014
WTS, in conjunction with the TRB’s Committee on Women’s Issues in Transportation, is hosting its annual
winter reception during the TRB Annual meeting. Come join us!
The reception will be held in the Ambassador Ballroom at the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC.
There will be light hors d’oeuvres and cash bar.
To RSVP or for more information:
https://www.wtsinternational.org/events/wts-annual-winter-reception/
2014 WTS International Annual Conference... Join us in Portland, OR!
The Annual Conference is the WTS annual networking event of the year. It attracts more than 500 corporate and
governmental industry leaders worldwide. Private corporations, public agencies and government officials invested in
every transportation mode will exhibit, present, learn, and network. Eight distinct events, including an opening night
reception and a banquet dinner, will showcase the tremendous leaders represented. You don’t want to miss attending the
one and only multi-modal conference of the year!
More info to come!
Coming up in January - WTS Heart of Texas
Annual Business Meeting 2014...
We will be having our Annual Business Meeting on January 15, 2014.
Keep an eye out for more information on how to register for this event.
Our 2014 Board of Directors will be announced and our
Member of the Year Award will be presented.
Watch for email updates and check our website:
http://www.wtsinternational.org/heartoftexas/
Like us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! @WTSHOTChapter.
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Member Update
We’re still growing! We currently have a total of 107 members!
Please join us in welcoming our new and renewing members!
David Atkin, Parsons Brinckerhoff
Nadia Barrera, City of Austin
Nair Barrios Perez, Jacobs Engineering
Melanie Bartlett Norrell, Nomadesk
Jennifer Bennett-Reumuth, City of Austin
Keri Burchard-Juarez, City of Austin
Christen Eschberger, HNTB Corporation
Lucy Galbraith, CapMetro
Meredith Highsmith, Texas Transportation Institute
Melissa Hurst, Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
Blanca Juarez, University of Texas at Austin
Ann Koby, Parsons Brinckerhoff
Jennifer Li, Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
Karen Lorenzini, TxDOT - Austin District
Stephanie Messerli, Jacobs Engineering
Ipek Sener, Texas Transportation Institute
Karen Stagner, Hatch Mott MacDonald
Lin Smith, CDM Smith
For information on how to join, visit: http://www.wtsinternational.org/heartoftexas//membership/
or contact Renee Hurtado ([email protected], 512-329-2723).
Race to Recruit and Member-Get-a-Member Contest Results
Thank you to the Membership Committee and WTS Heart of Texas members-at-large for your successful recruitment
efforts during September and October as part of WTS International’s Race to Recruit and Member-Get-a-Member contests! We recruited 11 new members, which is a 10 percent increase in our chapter membership. Internationally, the
Heart of Texas Chapter came in third place after London and Los Angeles in the large chapter category based on membership percentage increase.
The Heart of Texas Chapter offered a $50 Visa gift card to the local member who recruited the most members as
part of the international contest. Congratulations to Megan McNeese for recruiting the most new members! Megan
graciously declined the gift card since she organized the local membership recruitment drive. We had a six-way tie for
second: Kelsey Ahern, Heather Ashley-Nguyen, Lindsay Liggett, Adrian Lipscombe, Lisa Loftus-Otway, and Jackie Sartor. Congratulations to Kelsey and Lindsay who each won a $25 Visa gift card as part of the runners-up raffle tie-breaker!
Winter Networking Happy Hour!
Thanks to everyone who helped make our December Happy Hour with YPT a success! We raised a few glasses at
our final scheduled event for 2013 at The Goodnight on December 3. We had a great turnout and even a special
guest, Van Le, the Vice President of the Alaska WTS Chapter.
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Transportation YOU
Kick-Off
by Nicola Gheno
On November 25th, the WTS - Heart of Texas Chapter’s Transportation YOU
program celebrated its third year Kick-Off event at The Ann Richards School for
Young Women Leaders. Mentors and mentees were in attendance to hear about this
year’s schedule of activities and what lies ahead for their future in transportation.
The WTS – Heart of Texas Chapter President Lisa Loftus-Otway offered a warm
welcome to the program participants on behalf of the chapter and voiced that
“there are many pathways to a promising career in transportation other than just
the obvious engineering route,” sharing a brief history of her past law and public
policy background prior to her current position at the Center for Transportation
Research. Our chapter’s diverse membership is a great asset to the Transportation
YOU program, as recognized by our current year’s amazing selection of mentors
one of which includes an archeologist.
After mentor introductions, the mentees had an opportunity to win a few prizes
for answering some transportation related trivia questions, including identifying
President Dwight D. Eisenhower as the president who enacted the bill that created
funding for construction of the Interstate Highway System, which stumped several
of the students.
Afterwards, the mentees warmed up to the mentors during the ice-breaker game
with some Thanksgiving holiday themed questions before mentors broke up to
meet on-on-one with their mentees. During the one-on-one, mentors were able
to exchange contact information with the students, schedule their next meeting,
and learn about the mentees’ interests over some tasty snacks.
Both the Heart of Texas Chapter and the Ann Richards School are excited about
continuing this program again this year and looking forward to the fun activities
and lasting professional relationships to come.
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Transportation YOU Kick-Off
About Transportation YOU
Encouraged by the WTS-USDOT partnership and the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities of other
chapters, the Heart of Texas Chapter (HOT) began implementing its own STEM initiative under Transportation YOU. Starting in
January 2012, the HOT Chapter’s program includes a partnership with GirlStart, a community-based education program that
empowers girls in the areas of STEM, and the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, a public, all-girls school that emphasizes achievement and opportunity for young women.
The Transportation YOU program out of the HOT Chapter has selected the Ann Richards’ School Engineering Pathway as its
primary focus. In it’s initial year, six students comprised the HOT’s first mentee class of Transportation YOU. Their mentors, professional women and HOT members, volunteered their time to engage the students in discussions of STEM, opportunities in
transportation and their own experiences, professional and academic, as women in a predominantly male-dominated field. The
mentors, offer a varied look at the industry as they represent different functions, specialties, and experience. This diversity of
mentor experience introduces the girls to a spectrum of career opportunities in transportation. As one mentee points out, it’s
not just driving a bus!
Please contact Nicola Gheno, WTS Transportation YOU Committee Chair, at [email protected] for more information or if
you would like to make a donation.
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2013 WTS International Chapter Leadership
Conference by Lisa Loftus-Otway
Lisa Loftus-Otway, Odette Tan, Ashley Williams, Jennifer Bennett-Reumuth, Nicola Gheno and our Transportation You Mentee
from 2013 Rose Villescaz attended the Chapter Leadership Training conference that is held each year by WTS International. This
year’s conference was held in San Antonio in early November.
Over 1 ½ days we covered a lot of ground... We started with a get to know you session
in which we changed tables every 20 minutes to chat about challenges, concerns
and issues we face as chapter board members. This speed networking session was
surprisingly useful, and our team came back with lots of ideas and thoughts on how
we can improve all the events, lunches, professional development training that we host
every year. It was also great to see that the HOT chapter is a leader on many areas, and
our team was able to provide other chapters with advice and ideas.
We then headed out to breakout sessions on issues for treasurers, presidents, chapter
website, the new event registration system that is being rolled-out during early 2014,
and the chapter region strategy.
The Heart of Texas Delegation!!
Day 1 ended with an IGNITE session where 10 WTS members spoke for 5 minutes
each on their WTS journey, finding a mentor, being a protégé, the male perspective, out of the
box thinking, young leaders, a 20 year journey as a minority woman engineer, being a chapter
president, diversity and finally about Portland WTS chapter’s role in the Streetcar Musicfest. If
you haven’t seen an ignite session expect to see something in 2014 from your HOT chapter as we
were hooked, enthralled, laughed, cried and amazed.
Day 2 was definitely a HOT ‘Moment’ as one of our mentees from last year Rose Villescaz spoke
about her experience on the Transportation YOU D.C. Summit in May this year. Whilst, you could
see that Rose was very nervous, her presentation was excellent, and slowly her confidence grew.
By the end of her 10 minutes she was in her groove and we could not have been more proud of
our fabulous protégée. Nicola Gheno our Transportation you STEM Chair was her mentor last
year, and I know that she took great pride in what she and Rose achieved through their mentorprotégé partnership. It’s these kinds of moments that remind us all why WTS matters to us, and
why volunteering on any committee in any way you can pays DIVIDENDS.
We ended the second day with the announcement of the new WTS Circle of Excellence Program
which will be starting up on January 1, 2014.
This was my second leadership conference and I learned a lot, met some old friends, and I can
wholeheartedly recommend that board members continue to attend this in the future.
CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE
WTS International will be introducing the Circle of Excellence Program in 2014. The goal of this
is to celebrate the successes of chapters and their ability to meet benchmarks in chapter performance.
Chapters will earns points in each calendar year by completing in membership and other chapter management activities, and
can earn points to reach bronze, silver and gold levels. Tracking of the new program begins in January 2014, and 2015 will be
the first recognitions year.
Chapters that achieve this status will be awarded a recognition banner posted at the annual conference and at chapter leadership training, and also given a logo to put on the website, newsletters and other materials. The areas where chapters can earn
points are Membership and Operations – with annual and quarterly opportunities
The major awards that will be given out include:
• WTS Chapter Membership award – chapter that has had a successful recruitment and retention activities leading to increased
membership numbers.
• WTS Communication Award – given to chapter that has achieved success in member and non-member communication regarding membership and outreach efforts on the WTS mission and helped to grow the chapter.
• WTS Chapter Diversity Award – given to chapter that embodies and demonstrates key values in diverse chapter leadership
and membership.
• WTS Chapter Innovations Award - given to chapter that is an innovation for the operations and management of a chapter.
• Transportation YOU Award – given to chapter that has developed a successful program that introduces young women to a
career in transportation.
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Professional Development
October Golf Clinic
Back by popular demand, the Professional Development Committee held another golf clinic on October 29th. Approximately ten WTS members of all skill levels came out to Barton Creek Golf Academy for a lesson with Barbara
Puett. Barbara is not only an accomplished professional golf instructor, but also a published author with two golf
etiquette books available on Amazon. The ladies learned proper etiquette on the green and learned how to putt,
chip, pitch, and drive. The clinic was so much fun that several members have scheduled follow-up private lessons with
Barbara!
Professional Development Committee Update
The WTS - Heart of Texas Chapter, Professional Development Committee celebrated a very successful 2013, with two
golf clinics, the Lattes & Leadership series in the summer, and the 6th annual Professional Development Seminar in
September. A big thank you goes out to the committee members that contributed their valuable time and talents to
making this year another success.
Tonia Norman from TxDOT and Jennifer Bennett-Reumuth from the City of Austin will be co-chairing this committee
moving forward. They are both very excited to work with the PD committee to ensure the continued success of the
professional development programs. The PD committee would like your input on events and activities for 2014.
Please email Tonia ([email protected]) and Jennifer ([email protected]) if you re you interested in joining the committee and/or if you have any thoughts or ideas on the following topics:
•
Do you have any ideas for themes for our 2013 Professional Development Seminar?
Previous years’ themes have been the following:
- Connected and Reliable: A Vision for an Integrated Transportation System in Central Texas (2013)
- Sustainable Transportation: Moving Forward (2012)
- The Texas Triangle Megaregion: Planning for our Future (2011)
- New Tools and Technologies for a New Decade (2010)
- Rail Opportunities, Perspectives, and Trends (2009)
- Alternative Transportation Solutions (2008)
•
Do you have any other ideas for events or things you would like to see this committee doing?
For instance, here are some suggestions for next year:
- Planning for a mentorship program among our members. Currently, other WTS chapters across the country
have very successful mentorship programs that we can glean from and help in launching our own.
- Some sort of “Professional Icebreaker” event, where WTS members can meet each other to learn more about
our professional backgrounds and interests. This could include something like “speed networking” or a series
of 5-minute presentations from members in an “Ignite” session or even something as simple as going around
the room and each person giving a one-minute spiel on their professional backgrounds.
9
Meetings@
Maggianos
and acting as the governor’s chief liaison County Commissioner for Precinct Two in
November 2006. Before being elected as
on border and Mexico affairs.
County Commissioner, she worked in IT
His public service includes more than management for the State of Texas for ten
10 years as a key aide to U.S. Sen. Phil years.
Gramm. Phil also served Governor Perry
Commissioner Long has been active in
in several senior roles finishing as his
the community since moving to Williamson
deputy chief of staff.
County in 1988. She was elected twice
to the Cedar Park City Council. She has
Phil WIlson
also served on the Cedar Park Planning
Director
and Zoning Commission, the Round Rock
TxDOT
Medical Center Board of Directors, the
October Lunch Program 2013
Williamson County Metro YMCA Board as
well as the Williamson County Republican
Mr. Phil Wilson, Executive Director of the
Party. Currently, Commissioner Long serves
Texas Department of Transportation was
on the Board of Trustees of the Cedar Park
the featured speaker for our October
Regional Medical Center.
2013 luncheon program.
Phil, under the direction of the Texas
Transportation Commission, manages,
directs, and implements TxDOT policies,
programs and operating strategies.
He is a native of Brownwood, and
he graduated from Hardin-Simmons
Cynthia Long
University in Abilene with a bachelor’s
Commissioner
degree in political science and history.
Williamson County
Phil also earned a master’s degree in November Lunch Program 2013
business administration from the Cox
School of Business at Southern Methodist
Ms. Cynthia Long, Williamson County
University in Dallas.
Commissioner for Precinct Two, was
our featured speaker at our November
Before joining TxDOT in October 2011, 2013 luncheon program. Commissioner
Phil served as senior vice president Long discussed how Williamson County
of public affairs and as a corporate and Williamson County Cities are using
officer for Luminant, Texas’ largest economic development as a tool in
electric generation company. In 2007, dealing with transportation challenges.
Gov. Rick Perry appointed Wilson as
Secretary of State. In that position, he
Commissioner Long is a native
was the chief elections officer and the Texan, born and raised in Houston.
chief international protocol officer for She attended Texas A & M University
Texas. His responsibilities also included and graduated with a BBA in Business
maintaining business and public filings Analysis. She was elected as Williamson
10
Since taking office in January 2007,
Commissioner Long has twice been elected
Vice-chair of the Capital Area Metropolitan
Planning
Organization
(CAMPO)
Transportation Policy Board; appointed
to Chair the CAMPO Transportation
Finance Committee; and currently serves
on the Capital Area Planning Council
of Government (CAPCOG) Executive
Committee. Commissioner Long is the
executive sponsor of the Williamson County
Public Safety Technology Project and serves
as Vice-President of the Williamson County
Conservation Foundation.
by Lauren Bennett
Want to help ensure that your children and your grandchildren have a safe, active, and healthy
future ahead in Austin? Want to leave your fingerprints on the city you love? Why not put that
engineering expertise, business acumen, marketing prowess, and more to work helping Austin’s
pedestrians? Two new opportunities to dive in and leave your mark are here.
WalkAustin
The first opportunity to get involved is with Austin’s first ever pedestrian advocacy organization, WalkAustin! WalkAustin is the product of a community conversation that began in May 2013.
The organization aims to transform Austin into a nationally recognized leader as a pedestrianfriendly city; a city with a safe and pleasant walking environment that encourages all people to
walk as an integral part of their daily lives. WalkAustin will engage in educational campaigns, public outreach, and social activities to encourage walking and much more. Share your great ideas
with WalkAustin! Get involved by following them on Facebook and emailing Lauren Bennett at
[email protected].
WalkAustin was instrumental in forming the City of Austin’s first ever Pedestrian Advisory Council
that was approved by City Council earlier this fall.
Pedestrian Advisory Council (PAC)
The PAC was formed to address problems and opportunities for walkers throughout Austin. The
first meeting, held on October 22, was attended by over 45 people. Members of the PAC will provide
guidance to City Council, City Staff, and the Urban Transportation Commission on all matters relating to walking in Austin. The group has held two meetings so far; the next meeting will be January
6, 2014. There is still plenty of time and opportunity to get involved. Whether you are interested in
becoming part of the PAC leadership or learn more about walking conditions in Austin, the PAC is
the place to be! You can find more information on past meetings as well as the upcoming meeting
by vising the website or contacting Robert Anderson at [email protected].
Both PAC meetings were well attended.
11
2013 Corporate Partners
12
Engineering
Construction
Environmental
Architecture
www.atkinsglobal.com/northamerica
800.477.7275
THINKING
DESIGNING
MANAGING
PARTNERING
www.aecom.com
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Your Future is our Focus.
Full-service consulting
Transportation
Aviation, Transit, Construction Management
Water, Energy, Environmental
Partners For a Better QualitY oF liFe
www.cpyi.com
texas locations:
Austin • Corpus Christi • Dallas • Fort Worth • Houston • McKinney • San Antonio
The success of our WTS Heart of Texas chapter
could not be attained without the support of
our corporate partners. From the Board, our
members and our scholarship winners, we greatly
appreciate all the contributions from our
2013 corporate partners.
If you are interested in learning more
about the Corporate Partners program,
please contact
Yvonne Garcia at [email protected].
Get Involved!
Want to know more about WTS? Have suggestions for our membership, or
just want to help out?
Contact
Email
Phone
[email protected]
512.232.3072
[email protected]
512.854.7587
[email protected]
512.691.2213
[email protected]
[email protected]
512.479.1628
512.232.3113
[email protected]
512.419.5822
[email protected]
512.232.3085
Yvonne Garcia, Corporate Partner Program
Raba Kistner Consultants, Inc.
[email protected]
512.339.1745
Jackie Sartor, Fundraising/ Gala,
CP&Y
[email protected]
512.492.6846
[email protected]
512.329.2723
[email protected]
512.328.0011
[email protected]
[email protected]
512.656.7578
Vicki McEvoy, Program Chair, K. Friese &
Associates,
[email protected]
512.338.1704
Lin Zhou, Recognitions Chair
CDM Smith
[email protected]
512-592-3874
[email protected]
[email protected]
512.691.8506
512.471.6214
Lisa Loftus-Otway, President
Center for Transportation Research, UT Austin
Odette Tan, Vice President
Travis County Transportation & Natural
Resources
Lindsay Wood, Secretary
HNTB
April Sandoval, HDR, and
Sarah Janak, Center for Transportation
Research, UT Austin, Co-Treasurers
Melinda Clary, Immediate Past President
URS
Ashley Williams, Community Outreach Chair
Center for Transportation Research, UT Austin
Renee Hurtado, Membership Chair
DKS Associates
Nicola Gheno, STEM Initiative
Bury
Jennifer Bennett-Reumuth, City of Austin,
and Tonia Norman, TxDOT, Professional
Development Co-Chairs
Kelsey Ahern, Cambridge Systematics, and
Blanca Juarez, UT Austin, Scholarship &
Student Liaison Co-Chairs
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Sunday
January 2014
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
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Board Meeting
Conference
Call
Friday
Saturday
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Annual
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Business Meeting
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Sunday
Executive Board
Meeting
February 2014
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Sunday
Executive Board
Meeting
February Program
Lunch: Maureen
McCoy, CAMPO
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Happy
Hour
Board Meeting
Conference
Call
March 2014
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Executive Board
Meeting
March Program
Lunch: Joe
Black, LSRD
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Board Meeting
Conference Call
http://www.wtsinternational.org/heartoftexas//events/