An Entirely Different Parking Today; Burgers & Dogs; Yes, We Have a Website
May, 2014
JVH
A famous radio host calls letting his audience set the topics for his show “an extreme career risk.” Well, I am doing something similar with Parking Today in June. I am having nothing to do with the writing or editing of the issue.
That’s right, next month the entire issue will be filled with articles and opinion from Women in Parking Chairperson Colleen Niese and her team.
I was asked what possessed me to turn the reins over to others, and frankly, I admitted that I am lazy and if someone else will do the work, fantastic. In addition, I think readers can become slightly bored with my shtick and sometimes a different point of view is refreshing.
I have no concerns about the quality of the material; compared with some of the things that find their way into PT under my tutelage, it’s going to be super.
Colleen already has an editorial menu prepared and has lined up Tiffany Yu, Kirsten Dolan, Michelle Porter, Lisa Bahr, Barbara Chance, Laura Longsworth, Karen Pradhan, Sarah Blough, Nicolle Judge, Michelle Wendler, Kathryn Hebert and a host of others to fill the blank space between the ads for PT June 2014. There will not be a male byline in the issue.
When we got the idea for Women In Parking three years ago, I was told that all one needed to do to get it started was get some meeting space, invite a bunch of women, and shut up. It took Ruth Beaman to remind me of the last instruction, but her dedication, along with Colleen and a dozen others, got the organization off the ground, and the rest is history.
The organization completed its inaugural conference, in mid-March, with more than 100 members meeting in Chicago (after PIE 2014), for what I’m told was an extremely successful event. I expect that it will continue to grow and prosper.
The concept of the “Women In Parking Edition” of PT came to light, and I took a similar approach to the organization’s founding. I called Colleen, told her what I proposed, and then
shut up.
Well, OK, perhaps I gave just a little direction, so our graphics staff would know what to do, but all in all, this is their show.
PT June 2014 will be unique, and certainly “a keeper.”
UK-based Peter Guest is PT’s correspondent on all things British, European, Middle Eastern and Indian – as least as far as parking is concerned. He attended PIE 2014 and gave a rousing talk on the latest parking technology in Europe.
I also asked him to comment on PIE 2014, in Chicago, and give me a list of things he might fix for the show in 2015.
Peter noted that although the hotel seemed to be in the “middle of nowhere,” it was a less than 10-minute walk to the nearby metro station and then a quick 20 minutes to the heart of Chicago. The CTA has a great map, and it was easy for him to get around. Rapid transit and a map, and he felt in the center of everything.
Among other things, Peter noted that the food at lunch was good, but unlabeled. There were foil-wrapped hamburgers and hot dogs. While I agree that labels would be great, and will be there next year, I wondered at Peter’s inability to tell the difference from the shape.
The salads were too big, he added, the variety too great. And why not a pizza? (There were pizzas, Peter …) There is no pleasing everyone.
I get caught up in what we do here on a daily basis and forget that you might not know some of the features you can find on our website (www.parking today.com).
For instance, did you know that you can go there, and under “Resources,” click on “ePIP” and search more than 12,000 folks who are in the parking industry? You can put in an organization name and a list will pop up of everyone we know in that organization, and if you like, you can also get their phone numbers. Neat, huh?
More than 1,000 people a month use ePIP to find parking products and services. Same deal. Just click on what you are searching for and “voila.”
Also on the Parking Today home page, there is a little box in the upper right-hand corner with the word “Go” after it. You can put most any word and phrase in it, and if we have talked about it, the search engine will find the story from PT, the company, the organization or whatever you need.
Yes, we have all articles from PT, going back at least 10 years, all there ready for a look-see. I put in license plate recognition and got nearly 50 hits.
Our “Links” page, also under “Resources,” has grown by leaps and bounds. I hadn’t check recently, but when I did I found more than 100 links to parking organizations, both regional and international; to companies, both national and global; and to related businesses and suppliers. Check it out.
You get the idea – if it has to do with parking, it’s on PT’s website.
For those of you attending the 2014 IPI Conference & Expo on June 1-4 in Dallas, Parking Today will have a booth, so drop by and say hi. As usual, the IPI show promises to be really big and really parking.
That’s right, next month the entire issue will be filled with articles and opinion from Women in Parking Chairperson Colleen Niese and her team.
I was asked what possessed me to turn the reins over to others, and frankly, I admitted that I am lazy and if someone else will do the work, fantastic. In addition, I think readers can become slightly bored with my shtick and sometimes a different point of view is refreshing.
I have no concerns about the quality of the material; compared with some of the things that find their way into PT under my tutelage, it’s going to be super.
Colleen already has an editorial menu prepared and has lined up Tiffany Yu, Kirsten Dolan, Michelle Porter, Lisa Bahr, Barbara Chance, Laura Longsworth, Karen Pradhan, Sarah Blough, Nicolle Judge, Michelle Wendler, Kathryn Hebert and a host of others to fill the blank space between the ads for PT June 2014. There will not be a male byline in the issue.
When we got the idea for Women In Parking three years ago, I was told that all one needed to do to get it started was get some meeting space, invite a bunch of women, and shut up. It took Ruth Beaman to remind me of the last instruction, but her dedication, along with Colleen and a dozen others, got the organization off the ground, and the rest is history.
The organization completed its inaugural conference, in mid-March, with more than 100 members meeting in Chicago (after PIE 2014), for what I’m told was an extremely successful event. I expect that it will continue to grow and prosper.
The concept of the “Women In Parking Edition” of PT came to light, and I took a similar approach to the organization’s founding. I called Colleen, told her what I proposed, and then
shut up.
Well, OK, perhaps I gave just a little direction, so our graphics staff would know what to do, but all in all, this is their show.
PT June 2014 will be unique, and certainly “a keeper.”
UK-based Peter Guest is PT’s correspondent on all things British, European, Middle Eastern and Indian – as least as far as parking is concerned. He attended PIE 2014 and gave a rousing talk on the latest parking technology in Europe.
I also asked him to comment on PIE 2014, in Chicago, and give me a list of things he might fix for the show in 2015.
Peter noted that although the hotel seemed to be in the “middle of nowhere,” it was a less than 10-minute walk to the nearby metro station and then a quick 20 minutes to the heart of Chicago. The CTA has a great map, and it was easy for him to get around. Rapid transit and a map, and he felt in the center of everything.
Among other things, Peter noted that the food at lunch was good, but unlabeled. There were foil-wrapped hamburgers and hot dogs. While I agree that labels would be great, and will be there next year, I wondered at Peter’s inability to tell the difference from the shape.
The salads were too big, he added, the variety too great. And why not a pizza? (There were pizzas, Peter …) There is no pleasing everyone.
I get caught up in what we do here on a daily basis and forget that you might not know some of the features you can find on our website (www.parking today.com).
For instance, did you know that you can go there, and under “Resources,” click on “ePIP” and search more than 12,000 folks who are in the parking industry? You can put in an organization name and a list will pop up of everyone we know in that organization, and if you like, you can also get their phone numbers. Neat, huh?
More than 1,000 people a month use ePIP to find parking products and services. Same deal. Just click on what you are searching for and “voila.”
Also on the Parking Today home page, there is a little box in the upper right-hand corner with the word “Go” after it. You can put most any word and phrase in it, and if we have talked about it, the search engine will find the story from PT, the company, the organization or whatever you need.
Yes, we have all articles from PT, going back at least 10 years, all there ready for a look-see. I put in license plate recognition and got nearly 50 hits.
Our “Links” page, also under “Resources,” has grown by leaps and bounds. I hadn’t check recently, but when I did I found more than 100 links to parking organizations, both regional and international; to companies, both national and global; and to related businesses and suppliers. Check it out.
You get the idea – if it has to do with parking, it’s on PT’s website.
For those of you attending the 2014 IPI Conference & Expo on June 1-4 in Dallas, Parking Today will have a booth, so drop by and say hi. As usual, the IPI show promises to be really big and really parking.
