Houston Daugherty holds a BSCE from the University of Memphis and has 16 years experience.  He has developed a broad experience base during his career working as a consultant, a manufacture’s sales engineer and as City Engineer for Collierville, TN.  He returned to his native East TN and joined Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. in the Knoxville Office in 2005.

Houston became involved with ITE early in his career taking an active role on the Local Arrangements Committee for the SDITE Annual Meeting held in Memphis in 1998.  He has continued his involvement with ITE since returning to the East TN region serving once again on the Local Arrangements Committee for the 2007 SDITE Annual Conference in Knoxville.

During his tenure as City Engineer, Houston was responsible for many tasks; not the least of which was ensuring that the city street and traffic control network was maintained and expanded to best serve the needs of the motorist while meeting the goals of the elected officials.  He also was tasked with providing oversight of the new developments and associated traffic impact.  Houston sought to coordinate a particular development’s goals with the community’s interest by working to maintain acceptable levels of service at intersection locations and along heavily traveled corridors.  Through his efforts working with the MPO and other agencies, the City secured State and Federal funding for much needed road expansions, improvements and new facilities.

The course of Houston’s career has carried him across the great State of Tennessee and has awarded him the opportunity to meet many people in traffic and transportation capacities at various levels in both private and public arenas.  Houston considers it a privilege to call friend many of the contacts he has made over the years.  He is excited about the opportunity to serve TSITE and looks forward to the challenge and reward of promoting the traffic and transportation profession through the efforts of TSITE.

Houston has been married to his girlfriend Tanya for 21 years and has 4 children; a daughter, English and 3 sons, Cole, Gage and Deacon.  They range in age from 3 yrs – 13 yrs.  The older children are involved in track and baseball while the younger children are involved mostly in sabotage.  Houston enjoys motorcycling both in the dirt and on the street.  It has been rumored that there are traffic laws that he doesn’t fully grasp, but he says any infractions are simply misunderstandings revolving around research efforts dealing with 85^th percentile speed studies.   Houston also enjoys golf with friends when time permits.  As a family, everyone enjoys the outdoors and every opportunity to visit amusement parks.

Chris Rhodes is currently a senior project manager with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. (KHA) and manages their Metro Nashville area office located in Brentwood, Tennessee. At KHA, Mr. Rhodes has specialized in traffic engineering consisting of coordinated signal systems, ITS planning and design, traffic impact analyses, intersection design, and various traffic operations studies. His current projects include the Traffic Signal Optimization Program for the Metro Nashville Signal System and the design of the TDOT Region II SmartWay ITS for the Chattanooga Urban Area.

Prior to joining KHA, Mr. Rhodes served as technical assistance coordinator for the Tennessee Transportation Assistance Program (TTAP) at the University of Tennessee Center for Transportation Research. He is a licensed professional engineer in Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia and holds both a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Tennessee. Chris has been active in both the Virginia and Tennessee Sections of ITE and the Tennessee Chapter of ITS America.

Becky Bottoms is a Senior Traffic Engineer and Project Manager with Cannon & Cannon, Inc. in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Her primary responsibilities include traffic engineering and operations studies, traffic signal and street lighting design, signing, pavement markings, and traffic control plans.  Becky’s experience includes ten years with the City of Kingsport and seven years as an engineering consultant.  She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Civil Engineering.