ATSSA The Signal January February 2020

The Signal | January/February 2020 43 Member Engagement Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coas ter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter  Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Cha ter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf Coast Chapter Gulf C h a p t e r P r o i l e Making an impact Gulf Coast Chapter reflects while hosting 50th Anniversary Traffic Expo As ATSSA celebrates its golden anni- versary at the 50th Annual Convention & Expo in NewOrleans, Gulf Coast Chap- termembers reflect fondly on becoming the Association’s 25th chapter. The Gulf Coast Chapter was added in 2015 and Paul Barber remembers the warm welcome it received via email on November 13 from Bob Felt, who was then director of member engagement. “ATSSAmembers in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi have something else to cheer about,” hewrote. “Anewmilestone was reached today in Fredericksburg, Va. The ‘Gulf Coast Chapter of ATSSA’ was approved this morning … meaning the chapter can now conduct business repre- senting the roadway safety industry! Your chapter is now the 25th ATSSA chapter in the United States. Congratulations.” Today, ATSSA has 28 chapters repre- senting 46 states. Seven of the chapters encompass two or more states. Barber, who currently serves as treasurer, had been working since April 2014 with others in the industry to get the chap- ter started. “Our goal right now is tomake everyone aware who is involved in this industry about our chapter,” Barber said. He welcomed other members to visit the chapter and learn more about it. Barber has been a product specialist at Trinity Highway since 2011 and applauds the company’s involvement with ATSSA “My appreciation for ATSSA came from Trinity,” Barber said. “ATSSA’s passion is our passion.” He said both customer service and indus- try advocacy begin at the local level but need to go beyond that. “We sell guardrails across the world, but it starts at the local level,” Barber said. “That starts at the local chapter level.” Ron Sims, current chapter president, understands the importanceof both local and national level engagements in the roadway safety infrastructure industry. Sims has served as a Ward 2 Alderman in Hazlehurst, Miss., for three terms and worked with the city’s transportation department to ensure that correct road- way devices were being utilized. “Anything that deals with road safety in my community, I ask, ‘What devices can we use?’” Sims said.