by Andrew Ausel | January 15, 2016
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting is in one word: massive. The conference annually draws in around 12,000 attendees to Washington D.C. to discuss the latest and greatest in transportation policy, including project delivery. But it is also massive in its importance. It is among DBIA’s most important platforms to exhibit and represent design-build to departments of transportation, practitioners and industry thought leaders. We were once again in attendance this year and were able to capitalize on a number of great networking opportunities.
Richard Thomas, our Director of State and Local Legislative Affairs, ran the booth with assistance from DBIA staff throughout the week. Richard had the pleasure of speaking to a broad base of influential professionals at the conference and a laid a firm foundation for another year of strong legislative outreach. His business card was undoubtedly the most popular at our table.
However, not far behind Richard’s card was that of Mihisha Henderson, our Director of Education. She will certainly receive a large number of calls and emails soon, as so many people who came to the booth were interested in learning about DBIA’s educational opportunities. Personally, I had the privilege of speaking with a member of the New York DOT who was very interested in design-build in light of all the design-build that is being proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo (D).
Another key group of attendees at TRB was undoubtedly the students and academics. During my time at the booth, one out of every three people who approached was a student or academic faculty member. And while our Regional Development Manager Katie Colten didn’t add any exhibitor stress balls or pens to her collection, I think I can confidently say she should anticipate adding some potential new student chapters.
If we were able to speak to you during TRB, thank you for taking the time to come to our booth and learn more about Design-Build Done RightTM. We have many great things going on at DBIA right now that we are excited to share with you, whether you are a member or just interested in learning more. 2016 will be a big year for us and we were glad to kick it off with yet another great TRB Conference.