Let me say another big thank you to Capt. Mike Blount, F.SAME, USN (Ret.), of AECOM, for a very productive year as SAME President and welcome Col. Sal Nodjomian, F.SAME, USAF (Ret.), of Matrix Design Group, as our new National President!
As we enter the second half of 2017, we are gaining momentum on the 2020 SAME Strategic Plan. After witnessing great engagement during JETC and from what I see as I travel to Posts, SAME members are really embracing our mission to “lead collaborative efforts to identify and resolve national security infrastructure-related challenges.” Posts continue to host joint meetings with other organizations, creating more value for members.
SAME is a Society of vibrant Posts that serve their local communities while contributing to our national direction. Let people know what separates SAME from all others is how we care for each other.
The second annual JETC Table Top Exercise brought together 20 government agencies (including participants from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, each Combatant Command, the Joint Staff, and six uniformed services to include the Coast Guard and Public Health Service), and 11 industry partners to discuss real capabilities and potential gaps for a Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Response scenario in the Pacific. Looking ahead, the now-annual Facilities Management Workshop, co-hosted with IFMA, is gaining steam with the planned addition of the Navy Base Operating Services seminar to next February’s event in San Antonio. And overseas, we have established a grant program through the SAME International Committee to assist Posts in Europe and Asia.
STRATEGIC PLAN PROGRESS
Annual Report. In addition to the 2016 Annual Report published this summer, a video chronicling the Society’s contributions during 2016 is available at www.same.org. Watch it and use it to tell the SAME story!
Board of Direction. The Board of Direction meeting in May was superb, with eight key actions considered to help SAME gain momentum toward 2020. One of the actions is enabling Posts to conduct Post Issues Workshops, which are a key way we can provide value to Sustaining Members. Learn more at www.same.org/governance.
SAME Perspectives. This spring, we published the first SAME Perspectives report, looking at Public-Private Partnerships, which were the main focus of the first SAME CEO Roundtable held last fall in Washington, D.C. The next CEO Roundtable will be at the 2017 SAME Federal Small Business Conference in Pittsburgh (Nov. 15-17).
SAME Value Brief. All Posts are being sent our new SAME Value Brief—a four-page “elevator speech” of who we are as an organization and what value we bring.
Military and Government Member Recruiting. We launched our member recruiting campaign at CECOS (Port Hueneme), USAES (Fort Leonard Wood), AFIT (Wright-Patterson AFB), CGSC (Fort Leavenworth) and the service academies. Posts play an important role in following up with the students. Those who have served in or been around the military understand the notion of “sponsorship.” Let people know what separates SAME from all others is how we care for each other.
SAME Foundation. The SAME Foundation is building around a purpose of “Fostering Engineering Leadership for the Nation.” As it readies to fundraise and share SAME’s impact outside the Society, we all can be advocates for the opportunities that exist through the Foundation to develop the next generation of STEM leaders. Learn more at www.same.org/foundation.
SAME is a Society of vibrant Posts that serve their local communities while contributing to our national direction. And we are always looking for better ways to serve you, our members. Give us your ideas; we are listening! §
-Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), SAME Executive Director
[Article first published in the September-October 2017 issue of The Military Engineer.]
