Warm greetings, and Happy 2024! Thank you for being part of the DSTA as
we venture into another year together.
It is a blessing and an honor to be president this year and am excited to lead this great association! Hopefully most of our DSTA members already know me for my role in organizing the Food Drive, but for those that don’t know me yet, I’ve been a member of the DSTA for 6 years and served on the board for the past 4 years. I look forward to getting to know you all better. We have had some great leadership over the years, so I am thankful that I have the support of past presidents and am also very thankful to have an
experienced and active board of directors.
I must thank our outgoing board members and congratulate our new
members. Outgoing board members Joe Neubauer (1st VP), Ian Schoenike
(Secretary) and Debbie Landry (Advisor) have rotated off the DSTA Board
this year – thank you all for your service! Please also join me in
congratulating our three new board members, Mason Vinje, Chris
Anderson, and Michelle Watkins! I look forward to this new dynamic and
what lies ahead for 2024.
We already have some exciting plans in the works for 2024. I had
previously sent out a “save the date” for March 13th for our opening DSTA
event, which is now booked for Blacklist Brewing in Duluth for all DSTA
members to attend. Details are below and I hope all our members can make it to Blacklist on March 13th. This is a great opportunity to get to network with our members and welcome those that are new to the DSTA.
Next on the horizon is something even more exciting! On April 17th the
DSTA is introducing the Twin Ports Intermodal Conference (TPIC). This is
the DSTA’s Introductory Series that will focus on infrastructure readiness.
The TCIP supports a competitive, reliable, and secure intermodal system in
the Twin Ports. The first session on April 17th is only 1.5 hours but features
three great presentations relevant to all modes of transportation. Mark
your calendars for this new event and see the link below for more details
and to get registered.
At our annual Holiday meeting in December, Scott and I mentioned that we
would continue to focus on meaningful events such as the annual holiday
party, the Food Drive, and the Golf Outing as the DSTA’s three big events.
Additionally, we always enjoy hearing from our membership about how we
can make things better. If you know of a speaker that would like to make a
presentation, have a connection for a tour, or any other meeting ideas, don’t hesitate to reach out.
I look forward to seeing you at the next event!
Duluth-Superior Transportation Association News February 2024
Richie Rochel, DSTA President