IPMI 2021: The Energy We Need By Patrick L. Wells
The Super Bowl of Parking Conferences just concluded, and like many organizations, we didn’t know ahead of time what to expect. We heard the rumors that clients who normally attend had scrapped travel plans from a fear of health concerns. However, upon arriving in Tampa, I immediately noticed a level of enthusiasm and excitement from individuals that I haven’t seen in a while, an eagerness to talk and, yes, HUG! My first Shoptalk was moderated by Chris Austin, CAPP, from the University of Buffalo. There were more than 150 individuals in the room, most from colleges and universities. Participation was lively and many were eager to share their thoughts–the session could have easily lasted longer. When the Expo hall opened, our anxiety reappeared as we wondered how much traffic we would see. It was fantastic! Individuals were engaged, eager to listen to what we had to say, and excited to be seen. The virtual world has definitely had its advantages the last 21
months, allowing us to maneuver in a business climate like we have never seen before and still be successful. However, at the end of the day, in-person contact is needed–we crave interaction, especially the serendipitous encounters that help establish and drive business. We also intuitively want to utilize our complete arsenal of senses by evaluating body language and, maybe most importantly, have fun! To this point, as 2021 Industry Professional of the Year, Brian Shaw, CAPP, with Stanford University mentioned during his acceptance speech, “This week brought me the energy I needed!” Thank you, Brian, I agree. It brought us all the energy we’ve been missing.
PATRICK L. WELLS is senior associate, regional director with DESMAN.
A Farewell to Arms (Gate Arms, That Is) By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP
My parking journey began as a long-term parking lot attendant at the new (at the time) Charlotte Douglas International Airport nearly 40 years ago. I spent the first 20 years in operations/management and the second 20 years as a consultant. I have found parking, as an industry and a career choice, to be challenging, exciting, and full of generous, caring and supportive professionals. The work we do to improve access and mobility options to support and enhance our communities is important and meaningful. Though often under-appreciated, our efforts contribute to more vibrant, active and well managed urban areas, campuses, and destinations. Over my career, I have worked on over 500 parking studies/ masterplans, logged over 2 million air miles, worked in hundreds of cities, in multiple countries, and on several continents. Parking has provided me with so many opportunities to experience many new places, work with great colleagues and community leaders and, hopefully, I have contributed a little something along the way. I love
how parking and mobility are connected to and influence so many other areas (such as community development, urban planning and management, transportation/logistics, retail support, etc.). These connections and intersections make parking a diverse, challenging and exciting specialty area with lots of potential to make positive contributions to the communities we serve. At the end of 2021, I will be retiring. As I reflect back on what I feel has been a deeply rewarding and satisfying career, it is the wonderful people that I will miss most. Along my journey I have been extremely fortunate to have developed great friendships with many of my clients and professional colleagues, many of whom Sharon and I plan to visit in retirement. For those I will not see again, thank you for the opportunities, friendship, and support you have provided these many years. It has been an honor and a privilege to be associated with such a great industry and such a wonderful group of passionate professionals.
L. DENNIS BURNS, CAPP, is regional vice president, senior practice builder with Kimley-Horn, a member of IPMI’s Board of Directors, and
a frequent contributor to IPMI committees and publications. We hope we make his “to-visit” list.
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