Would RAC 4 please stand. WE ARE The GANG of 18 United States of RAC Region IV.

Region IV Report A great big “Thank you!” to everyone involved with making this meeting possible here in Salt Lake City. To the UTAH DOT, AASHTO, TRB & the Little America Hotel.

New Members Cameron Kergaye, Utah Canadian Affiliate: Dave Stearns, Saskatchewan, Canada. We have one new member, Mr. Cameron Kergaye from here in Utah. We also have a new Canadian affiliate, Mr. Dave Stearns from the province of Saskatchewan.

Accomplishments Mr. Rick Collins,P.E. Incoming Chair Incoming Vice Chair Preparations for this meeting Submittals of High value research Task force leadership and participation Clint >>>>>>>>Mr. Rick Collins,P.E., Texas DOT, served very well as vice chair of RAC and initiated a centralized reporting template for use by the RAC task force chairs. introduce Incoming RAC 4 Chair: Ron F. Curb Ron is a licensed Professional engineer and Certified Public Manager in the State of Oklahoma. He has worked at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for 28 years. He spent 14 years in Bridge Design, 3 years in Traffic Engineering, and 11 years in Planning & Research. Ron manages the Research and Traffic Data Analysis sections called Engineering Services. He holds a B.S. in Math & Computer Science. Ron>>>>>>>>>Introduce incoming Vice Chair: Anne Ellis, Ph.D. Director Dr. Ellis holds a bachelor’s degree in organic chemistry and an MBA in strategic marketing and communications from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration, specializing in Environmental Policy, from Arizona State University. Preparations for this meeting: Thanks to Ned Parrish, Meghan Wozniak-Adams, Natassja Linzaau, Clint Adler and Cameron Kergaye for coordinating the majority of the meeting preparations. And thanks also to those who responded quickly to their requests for input which helped to make this meeting possible. Submittals of High value research: 2011 top 4 High Value research projects from RAC Region 4: 1. “Development of a Maintenance Decision Support System” – South Dakota 2. “Precast Systems for Rapid Construction of Bridges” - Washington 3. “Highways for Life Culvert Rehabilitation Project” – Montana 4. “Construction Machine Control Guidance Implementation Strategy” – Utah   There were 29 region 4 projects submitting for voting. Task force leadership and participation: Leni Oman, Washington DOT, chaired the Transportation Knowledge Networks Task Force. Nancy Chinlund, CALTRANS, and Sue Sillick, Montana DOT co-Chaired the Research Coordination and Collaboration Task Force Dave Huft worked on the National Research Agenda. And many others serving on task forces, panels, TRB committees.

Goals And Activities Conduct a meeting feedback survey and share the results Carry on Conduct a survey before Labor Day to poll this year’s attendees. Prepare the results from feedback from this meeting to forward to RAC REG 1 to facilitate the coordination and preparation activities for the 2012 Summer Meeting in Burlington, Vermont. RAC 4 is ready to accept new challenges.

Thanks to Sandra Larson RAC Chair & Rick “HOWDY Y’ALL” Collins, RAC Vice Chair A special thanks go to Sandra Larson RAC Chair and Rick “HOWDY Y’ALL” Collins, RAC Vice Chair for their collaborative guidance and service.  

Thanks to Alaska A sincere Thank you! to Mr. Clint Adler for his excellent leadership over the past 2 years. He introduced us to using more online tools for information sharing during the time between our regional conference calls. Mr. Adler led RAC 4 with professionalism. Clint used prudence and foresight in the distribution of research materials and frequency of our webinars and teleconferences. Thanks, Clint!

Thanks from Oklahoma A few years back I received a call from my cousin Tom who lives near Pauls Valley, OK. He said he was vacationing down on the Washita River. HE IS A TRUE MULTITASKER. In one hand was his cell phone while the other hand was underwater………….noodling for a 40 lb catfish. The votes were in……the chads were checked…….and Park City, Utah won by a landslide over OKC and so here we are… in Salt Lake City……a wonderful location…..beautiful mountains, clean air. I was last here and in Ogden at the age of six….mining for Fool’s Gold and had great success then……..much has changed here…. my distant cousin is still noodling for 40 pound catfish and……….that’s a good thing! O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A Oklahoma Yeeaaaaaaaaah! BOOMER SOONER!  

Thanks from Oklahoma