The
Kansas Association for Uniform Traffic Control was conceived
from several meetings of individuals concerned about the 1971
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and how it should
be placed into operation. The first meeting was held on January
10, 1972, in the Urban Highways Department of the then Kansas
State Highway Commission, dealing with the school crossing
standards, and was attended by the following:
| Paul
Graves |
|
Bill
McKinley |
|
Ellisworth
Edwards |
| Ron
Johnson |
|
Gary
Metcalf |
|
Richard
Williams |
| A.J.
Basile |
|
Don
W.Bassett |
|
John
G. Rothrock |
| Paul
Taylor |
|
Fred
E. Terry |
|
|
The
next meeting was held on February 14, 1972, in Room 107
of the Municipal Auditorium, Topeka, Kansas, for the purpose
of reviewing and collecting questions to be forwarded to
the Federal Highway Administration for interpretation. This
meeting was attended by approximately 20 individuals from
various units and levels of government in Kansas.
It
was during these early meetings that the suggestion of formalizing
into an organization with a constitution and bylaws was
made. During the December 6, 1972 meeting, proposed by-laws
were handed out to those in attendance to review and suggest
modifications to be discussed at the February 7, 1973, meeting
in Overland Park, Kansas.
We
referred to ourselves as the "Urban Area Traffic Engineer"
organization in the early days. Our primary purpose was
to promote uniformity among traffic engineers in the State
of Kansas. We invited officials from smaller cities to attend
our meetings and become a part of the organization. On February
7, 1973, in Overland Park, Kansas, the proposed constitution
was reviewed and the final version was unanimously adopted.
The new constitution was sufficiently general and flexible
to allow wide latitude in interpretation.
A
formal name was chosen at the same meeting. All quickly
agreed that the words "Kansas", "traffic", and "association"
form the nucleus of the name. "Engineering" was avoided
so as not to shun non-engineers, many of which the group
was trying to attract. The name Kansas Association for Uniform
Traffic Control, (KAUTC), while not forming any convenient
acronym was thought to be most appropriate and was unanimously
approved.
John
Rothrock was elected to act as chairman of a five-man constitution
committee charged with distributing the constitution for
ratification. Other members on the committee were David
Wigglesworth, Bill Wilson, Fred Terry and Charles Green.
The constitution was ratified by KAUTC members attending
the 1973 Annual MOVITE (Missouri Valley Section - Institute
of Transportation Engineers) meeting in Topeka on March
29, 1973. The constitution committee was elected to serve
as an interim Board of Directors from April 1, 1973, until
June 30, 1973.
The
organization KAUTC became a reality on March 29, 1973. This
was the realization of a dream for many that had worked
along and hard for such an association for the State of
Kansas. The officers for the first year of the organization,
July 1, 1973 thru June 30, 1974, were elected in Salina
on August 1, 1973. The elected were John Rothrock, President;
Bill Wilson, Vice-President; Garry Metcalf Secretary-Treasurer;
Bill McKinley, Membership Chairman; and Charles Green, Program
Chairman. At the end of the meeting, KAUTC had seventeen
dues-paying members for the 1973-74 year.
From
the start of the dream in January 1972, until July 1, 1973,
an organization had developed into an association with its
objectives as detailed in Article H of the Constitution.
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