Page 31 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 1 - 2023

The Club’s Relevance Today
Though the WTTC has struggled, most recently during COVID, it is still here and still pursuing its mission: to provide education to members of the transportation industry, and to do good work in the community.
Those two pillars are united in the club’s scholarship program, which
is designed to promote careers in transportation. It was established
in 2000 by Weber and two other members, Joan Buedel and Nora Barker.
One of the beneficiaries was current President Karen Bush, who joined the club in 2010 and started receiving scholarship funds in 2014. “It enabled me to go back to college and get my degree,” she said. “The support of the club’s scholarship gave me the courage and the incentive to go through with it.”
The club’s scholarships target transportation and logistics programs, supporting students at schools
like Morgan State University, the Community College of Baltimore County and Anne Arundel Community College.
However, the club’s education focus isn’t limited to scholarships. Its meetings feature guest speakers from the industry, and attendees can receive
educational credits that they need to maintain professional certifications. At the same time, the club uses
its funds to do charitable work in local communities. “One year, we gave two new feeding chairs to an elderly day care center,” Bush said. “This year, we gave to Catherine’s Cottage, which is a Salvation Army shelter for women who have been trafficked. We give to local schools here in Baltimore City so they can do Christmas for their families.”
Looking to the Future
To keep the club going past its 90th birthday, Bush and other active members are currently engaged in a membership drive. Bush emphasizes that men are welcome to join as well.
“We’ve already got a lot of newer members joining up,” Bush said. “We want to get them involved in helping us carry on our traditions.”
One of those new members is Irene Scavone, Purchasing Manager
at Columbia-based B/A Products Co. Scavone, who has a deep interest in logistics and the supply chain, was attracted to the WTTC because it provided opportunities to network with others in the industry and learn from the guest speakers who address the club at its events. “All the guests work
Katrina Jones, WTTC Secretary and Program Manager for Education & Engagement at
the MPA.
in Maryland, so when they speak about market updates, I find that information very relevant to my business,” Scavone said. “I bring the updates back to my business partners, and it really helps us with forecasting.”
Scavone has already become involved with the club in other ways as well, work- ing with local marketing firms and video producers to revamp the WTTC’s online presence. The message Scavone really wants people to hear is that the WTTC is for everyone.
“Traffic and transportation can be so many things,” she said. “My company serves the towing industry. There are people who are in towing on the water, so tugboats. There’s maritime container freight. There’s inland trucking, there’s rail, and there’s customs clearance.
We have a seat at the table for every professional in the supply chain.”
Clearly, the club and its traditions are near and dear to the hearts of current members, no matter how long they’ve been a part of the club. “I am so proud and so emotional when I think about all those years,” Bush said. “It’s not just a club. It’s more than that.”