Latest Driver Ed & ADTSEA News

Past-President's Notes

I would like to take time to share some of my thoughts on the last year. As I look back, I immediately think of what a great conference we had in Wichita! For those who did attend, thank you. For those who could not make it, we missed you, and hope we will see you next year in Albany. As I look further back, I remember the many meetings of the Presidents, Executive Committee and the Board of Directors all had through out the year. They did a lot of work! There were so many other committees meetings that I regret not having the chance to join. They all did some heavy lifting through out the year. We, as an association, have grown tremendously. Our growth has been through facing adversity and thriving through Covid. Now that Covid appears to be waning, we should look at where we are.

Currently we are financially stable. That in of itself is a major accomplishment coming out of Covid. We were able to adapt to providing conferences and professional development in a virtual world, which led to to an increase in our ability to serve our profession and increase membership. Our management team has found new and creative ideas to better serve our individual members; corporate members and state and regional associations. We have moved from a division structure to a committee structure and that has brought a brought a higher level of quality to the work that we do. An example of this is our Constitution and Bylaws Committee that has done a fantastic job modernizing our Constitution, Bylaws and policies and procedures. They will continue to fine tune a truly modern document for you to ratify. We are working on finding an answer to the teacher shortage by developing a hybrid training program based on the model used in North Carolina. We, as an association, are poised to become a true leader in traffic safety.

As much as we have persevered through Covid, I do not want Covid to define us. Rather I would have our response to Covid be a highlight as to what we can do together as an association. It is time to look to a new future, one where people look to ADTSEA as a leader in traffic safety. We can not rest on the work we have done, rather we need to continue to create, innovate and initiate solutions to future challenges. We can look at future challenges such as developing effective teacher training and mentoring programs and initiate new relationships with research organizations; government agencies; advocacy groups and corporations so that we can share cutting edge resources to our profession. These relationships can br built not only nationally, but globally as well. We should become a leading source of information in Advanced Driver-Assist System technology; hybrid and electric technologies and other future technologies. We as a teaching profession tend to hide our light under a basket; but as a professional organization we need let our good work shine so as to be recognized as a leader in Traffic Safety.

Lastly, I want to give some recognition to Bill Warner, Tim Beckham and Gary Scott and their respective committees. I got to hear the accolades about how great the conference was, but they are the people that put on an outstanding conference. As I transition to being the next Conference Chair, I will aspire to meet the bar they established this year. I also want to thank all of the Committee Chairs and the committee members for their service to our association, they certainly worked hard. The management team at Highway Safety Services truly works to watch over the key interests of ADTSEA. They have helped us to become the professional organization we are today and maintains the high professional standards that we enjoy today. In closing, it has been my privilege to have served you as President in the last year. Thank you!

Joseph M. Barch Past-President