Recapping the IBTTA Tech Summit
Thanks for a great conference!
We had a wonderful time sharing our hometown with the 1100 other IBTTA Technology Summit attendees last week. We want to extend an enormous thank you to the incredible IBTTA staff and our hosts, the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). In addition to the thought-provoking presentations, engaging conversations, and lively karaoke performances, we were very excited to show off our updated look and give out new branded Milligan swag.
Most of our team was in attendance, which isn’t something that happens often when we’re scattered all over the world. While we’re good at finding creative ways to regularly connect with one another, it’s always nice to see each other in person.
Saturday saw two of the IBTTA committees that our folks are involved in hosting two fireside chats. The first was with current IBTTA Board President and NTTA Executive Director and CEO James Hofmann and organized by the Young Professionals Committee. The other was with IBTTA’s new Executive Director and CEO Dr. Kathryn Clay and organized by Women in Tolling. We appreciate the work of these two member committees in offering these smaller, more intimate conversations with IBTTA leadership.
On Sunday, Technical Director Dave DiAngelo led the Adventure Club on an exploration of Dallas—an extra special event as Dallas is where Milligan was formed all the way back in 2012 and where we maintain our headquarters. Dave took the group through the infamous Dealy Plaza, lunch at Cindi’s NY Deli and Restaurant, and on the iconic Ronald Kirk Pedestrian bridge. We appreciate Dave going the extra mile (literally and figuratively) to get attendees out and about in conference host cities through his Adventure Club.
While Dave was out adventuring, Tyler, Matt and Pedro were busy engaged in the Council of Platinum Sponsors (CoPS) and Member Agency Strategic Planning sessions, moderated by CoPS chair Rob Horr of AtkinsRéalis. Being a member of CoPS gives us a unique opportunity to provide important input to the leaders of our industry. At the Tech Summit, we helped to shape IBTTA’s upcoming 5-year strategic plan by providing feedback to the IBTTA board and staff in the following areas: advocacy, customer experience, community/membership, pursuit of knowledge & innovation, and workforce development. To learn more about the plan and to provide your own feedback via a member survey, click here.
On Sunday evening, we invited everyone to our booth to pick up some brand new Milligan gear. The bottles of spice rub from local BBQ company Meat Church were a huge hit. We ran out within a few hours and had to restock on Monday! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and helped us celebrate our sleek new look.
We’re so proud of Dave DiAngelo for presenting his first Tech Talk on Monday afternoon. Dave discussed why artificial intelligence is a great tool to monitor key performance indicators and gave tips on how to get started. It seemed to be a popular idea that led to some great conversations afterwards. If you’d like to learn more about how you might utilize AI in your KPI monitoring, contact Dave today. He’d love to talk to you about it. Well done, Dave!
And it wouldn’t be an IBTTA Tech Summit without an afterparty. We were happy to gather with our friends and sing our hearts out until the wee hours of Tuesday morning at the Dallas House of Blues. Thanks to our co-hosts Quarterhill, Mojo Creative, Linebarger, Global Agility Solutions, and Kimley Horn for collaborating on this year’s shindig.
Participating in IBTTA events are our favorite way to learn, share and create memories. We’ll see you at the next one!