SAME Bricks & Clicks

Buddy Barnes Sworn in as 100th SAME President at #SAMEJETC19

Lt. Col. Wendell L. “Buddy” Barnes, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), was sworn in as the 100th National President of SAME on May 7, at the 2019 Joint Engineer Training Conference in Tampa, Fla.

As SAME President, Barnes will lead the SAME National Leadership Team and the Board of Direction in overseeing the strategic efforts of the Society, to include guiding the organization to its Centennial in 2020 and implementing SAME’s 2025 Strategic Plan, now under development.

Founded in 1920, SAME, through nearly 28,000 members worldwide, leads collaborative efforts to identify and resolve national security infrastructure-related challenges. With a National Office in Alexandria, Va., and over 100 local Posts and Field Chapters around the globe, the Society unites military, public, private and academic sector individuals and organizations from across the architecture, engineering, construction, environmental and facility management, cyber security, and contracting disciplines in support of national security.

“While we have accomplished much since implementing the 2020 Strategic Plan and shifting our mission to focus more broadly on national security, we now face a pivotal moment in our history,” Barnes says. “We must take our plans and preparation, capture the energy we have built, further excite our member base, and enter our second century with momentum unlike any other time. Now is our opportunity to truly reach our vision and enter our next 100 years as the recognized multi-disciplined integrator of military, public, private and academic national infrastructure-related capabilities to produce viable solutions for America’s national security.”

Currently, Barnes is a Senior Vice President with Arcadis, which he joined in 2016. Previously, since retiring from the military, he has been an executive with Jacobs, MWH Global, and Carter & Burgess, and also worked for a decade as an engineer and planner with the City of Houston (1988-1998).

A former U.S. Army engineer officer, Barnes served over 20 years in uniform, including as a platoon leader with the 26th Engineer Battalion, Americal Division, during the Vietnam War. Among other positions in the Army, he was the Deputy District Engineer for USACE Savannah District (1982-1985).

Within SAME, Barnes has served in leadership positions at all levels and has a total of 10 years on the National Board of Direction, including as President-Elect, National Vice President, Chair of the Academy of Fellows, and TEXOMA Regional Vice President. He also has served as President of the Tombigbee Post, Savannah Post, and Houston-Galveston Post, each of which was named a Distinguished Post during his tenure, and has been involved on many local, regional and national committees and groups. He is one of only two Society members who has been honored with both the SAME Walter O. Bachus Gold Medal for lifetime achievement (2003) and the Academy of Fellows’ Gerald C. Brown Mentoring Award for outstanding mentoring (2004). He also has received the SAME Wheeler Medal (1980), SAME Goethals Medal (1997), SAME Post Service Medal (2009), and SAME Presidents Medal (2016).

Barnes earned a bachelor’s degree from Missouri University of Science & Technology, and holds an MBA from Mississippi College. He first joined SAME in 1973 and was named a Fellow in 1985.

2019-2020 SAME Board of Direction

Members of the 2019-2020 SAME Board of Direction were sworn in during JETC in Tampa. Led by SAME President Lt. Col. Buddy Barnes, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), the Board of Direction oversees governance matters and the strategic direction of the Society.

National Officers

President: Lt. Col. Wendell “Buddy” Barnes, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), ARCADIS
President-Elect: Heather Wishart-Smith, P.E., PMP, F.SAME, F.ASCE, Jacobs
Vice President: Rear Adm. Mark Handley, P.E., F.SAME, USN (Ret.), AECOM
Vice President: Lt. Col. Neal Wright, P.E., PMP, F.SAME, F.ASCE, F.NSPE, USA (Ret.)
Past President: Col. Marvin Fisher, LEED AP, F.SAME, USAF (Ret.), Farnsworth Group
Executive Director: Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), SAME National Office (Non-voting)
Treasurer: Rich Khalil, CPA, A. Morton Thomas and Associates, (Non-voting)
Counsel: Harold Rosen, F.SAME, The Law Office of Harold Rosen (Non-voting)
President, SAME Foundation Board: Col. John Mogge Jr., Ph.D., RA, F.SAME, USAF (Ret.), Jacobs (Non-voting)

Regional Vice Presidents

California: Jeff Davis, F.SAME, Oneida ESC Group
Carolinas: Janette Tudor, P.E., F.SAME, KCI Technologies Inc.
Europe: Col. Anthony “Tony” Higdon, P.E., USAF, U.S. Air Forces in Europe/Air Forces Africa
Great Lakes: Tricia Muxlow, Muxlow Surveying
Lower Mississippi: Lt. Col. Steve Pranger, P.E., USA (Ret.), U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center
Middle Atlantic: Capt. Jay Manik, P.E., F.SAME. USCG (Ret.), CDM Smith
Missouri River: Jason Sweet, GISP, PMP
New England: Pete Delano, P.E., Nobis Group
North Atlantic: Sharon Krock, PWS, F.SAME, Schnabel Engineering
Northwest: Dave Newkirk, BCE Engineers Inc.
Ohio Valley: Norm Campbell, ENGIE Services
Pacific: Lt. Col. Eric Warner, P.E., F.SAME, USAF (Ret.), 374th Civil Engineer Squadron, Yokota AB, Japan
Rocky Mountain: Col. R. Scott Jarvis, F.SAME, USAF (Ret.), RS&H
South Atlantic: Cindy Miller, P.E., LEED AP, F.SAME, Jacobs
South Central: Col. Robert Keyser, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), AH Environmental Consultants
Southwest: Roberta Perry-Schlicher, P.E., Matrix Design Group
TEXOMA: Col. Miro Kurka, P.E., PMP, F.SAME, USA (Ret.), Mead & Hunt

Communities of Interest Chairs

Architectural Practice: David Packard, RA, F.SAME, USACE Northwestern Division
Awards & Recognition: Michelle Chambliss, Faith Group LLC
College Outreach: Maj. Seth Lorimer, USAF, Command & General Staff College
Credentialing: Chief Master Sgt. Tamara Olson, USAF (Ret.), S&B Christ Consulting
Energy & Sustainability: Brig. Gen. Dave Howe, USAF (Ret.), Powersmiths International
Camps: Cdr. Joseph Angell, P.E., CCM, F.SAME, USN (Ret.), Apogee Consulting Group, P.A.
Environmental: Rick Cox, BMT Designers & Planners
Facility Asset Management: Mark Tomassoni, KBRwyle
International: Col. Blair Schantz, USA (Ret.), Prime Associates LLC
Joint Engineer Contingency Operations: James Romasz, P.E., PMP, WSP
Resilience: Col. Joe Manous Jr., Ph.D., D.WRE, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), USACE Institute for Water Resources
Small Business: Mario Burgos, Burgos Group
K-12 STEM Outreach: Jeffrey Leonard, P.E., CFPS, F.SAME, Air Force Research Laboratory
Young Member: Victoria Mechtly, Tepa LLC

Elected Directors

2017–2020
Capt. Robert Bevins, P.E., F.SAME, USCG (Ret.)
John Accardi Jr., F.SAME, Weston Solutions
Anita Larson, PG, PMP, F.SAME, Suulutaaq Inc.
Yvonne Lee, AIA, NCARB, Commander, Navy Region Japan

2018–2021
Candis Hamilton
Col. Charles Perham, USAF (Ret.), Matrix Design Group
Marci Snyder, F.SAME, Dynatest
J.J. Tang, LEED AP, FAIA, F.SAME, HDR

2019–2022
Lt. Col. Michael Darrow, P.E., PMP, F.SAME, USA (Ret.), USACE Norfolk District
Col. Robert Ruch, F.SAME, USA (Ret.), AECOM
Christine Tsai, PMP, F.SAME, Institute for Building Technology & Safety
Matthew Turner, AIA, NCIDQ, PMP, LEED AP, Yaeger Architecture