Global Lifesaver Brings Skills Home After Hurricane Helene
Convention & Traffic Expo keynote will share the path to his lifesaving passion
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (Dec. 18, 2024) – Doc Hendley travels the globe helping save lives through water purification efforts but since September has redirected his energies toward the tragedy that struck his home base in Boone, N.C.
The mountain region of western North Carolina where Boone is located was inundated with water from massive rainfall and severe flooding resulting from Hurricane Helene in September, straining the capabilities of government and private disaster relief resources.
That’s when his crisis experience and can-do attitude proved valuable as he rallied volunteers and collected supplies for distribution to families devastated by the storm that wiped out portions of Interstate 40 and small mountain communities. By mid-November, Hendley said they had distributed 1.2 million pounds of food, relief supplies, medical aid and water.
Hendley, now in his 40s, was tending bar to pay the bills when he stumbled upon his passion for saving lives across the globe and founded Wine to Water. He will share his story on March 3 as keynote speaker for ATSSA’s 55th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo in Orlando, Fla.
The Convention runs from Feb. 28-March 4 at the Orange County Convention Center and includes a day devoted to education where the industry’s expertise and innovative thinking for advancing roadway safety will be highlighted.
Nearly 40 education sessions will explore topics such as autonomous vehicles in work zones, speed management tactics, advances in tracking active work zones so motorists know when work is taking place, and uses of artificial intelligence in the transportation arena.
Education Day on March 2 runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will offer topics across seven tracks including: Business; Guardrail; Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAV)/Innovation; Roadway Worker Protection; Temporary Traffic Control; Signs and Signals; and Pavement, Markings and High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST).
ATSSA’s Innovation & Technical Services Team will lead a New Products Rollout (NPRO) Tour for department of transportation employees on the Traffic Expo floor at 1 p.m., Monday, March 3. They will see all 20 entries for the annual contest in which companies vie for the coveted Innovation Award. These entries showcase the latest tools, technology and ideas for advancing roadway safety.
On Tuesday, March 4, from noon to 2 p.m., the Traffic Expo floor will feature a Work Zone Safety Device Demonstrations area. This area, funded by a Federal Highway Administration grant, will showcase tools used to for work zone safety including Automated Flagging Assistance Devices (AFADs), Portable Traffic Signals (PTS) and Driveway Assistance Devices (DADs).
For full details on ATSSA’s 2025 Convention & Traffic Expo, expo.atssa.com.
