Post President's Message Archive - January 2006
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2006 - A Year for the SAME Washington DC Post to CAPITAL-IZE on Our Success

As we reflect on 2005, we recall a year of record accomplishments made by the SAME Washington DC Post, including training programs with record attendance, networking events that attracted new members, record fundraising for our Scholarship Program, support of our Deployed Engineer Team, Joint Meetings with other organizations, among many other successes.

Our thanks and appreciation go to Tony Maida (Col. USAF, Ret.), 2005 Washington DC Post President, for his inspirational and visionary leadership, and for focusing our tireless team of volunteers to make it happen! Special thanks also go to all the 2005 Washington DC Post officers, directors, committee chairs, and volunteers, without whose commitment and enthusiasm 2005 would not have been Washington DC Post's Best-Year-Ever! The Washington DC Post's outstanding success in 2005 stands a good chance of being recognized with the prestigious national SAME Top Post of the Year award. This accolade would realize the 2005 goal of last year's Washington DC Post President Col Maida and the Post's Board of Directors.

As the 2006 SAME Washington DC Post President, I am cognizant of the five (5) most significant reasons our members state they belong to SAME, and plan to make them the backbone of our strategic efforts for 2006. They are:

• Professional and personal relationships
• Networking
• Belief in the SAME mission
• Giving back to the profession
• Training and education

With these reasons in mind, I challenge our post to capitalize on the enthusiasm and momentum of this past year in 2006 in order to:

• Increase our post's membership by 10%, with significant emphasis on Young Members ( < 35 years).
  
• Increase member participation at our post programs, by leveraging technology and the resources of our Region. This includes broadcast Webinars of select programs, and holding meetings in the northeast and northwest sectors of the DC region to make program attendance more convenient to members located in those areas.
  
• Increase recognition of individual and corporate post members, and specifically our military and civilian engineers that have been deployed overseas by recognizing their special achievements.
  
• Expand corporate sponsorship by 20%. With the increased worldwide involvement of private industry supporting DoD and military operations, giving back to our profession through SAME sponsorship provides for continuous training opportunities, legacy information sharing, and education for our future engineering leaders.
  
• Substantially grow our post's scholarship fund with a new Gala event.
  
• Host joint-programs with the Baltimore and Northern Virginia posts in recognition of the significant DoD transformation that is about to affect our entire metropolitan Baltimore - DC Region.
  
• Increase our Post's MENTOR program for Young Members and expand our already robust education and mentoring programs for our local college and high schools to foster interest in engineering and military careers.

The goals for 2006 cannot be accomplished without the continued efforts of our faithful volunteers and members. I urge all of you to be involved, commit the resources of your organizations, and make the goals, achievements, and value of our organization known. Washington DC Post contributions made by training, education, and scholarship programs are becoming well-recognized throughout our region, and we are having an impact on our membership, particularly Young Members and local students.

I want to thank the SAME Washington DC Post membership for bestowing on me the honor of Post President of our prestigious Post. I am in awe of the significance of this position and the achievements of our recent past Post Presidents, Col. Maida and James Peck before him. They are tough acts to follow. I look forward to the challenges of our ambitious goals for the coming year and will strive to make it a rewarding and exciting time. I openly solicit your comments and suggestions on ways to make your post membership even more valuable to you.

Before closing, let me remind you that 2006 is packed with programs at the Washington DC Post, and is abundant with SAME National events. Please review the events calendars soon, register early for events as they will fill up fast, and use these events to involve and mentor young members.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to lead this model SAME Post. I am confident we will capitalize on our success in 2006, and exceed expectations once again!

Michael Pavlides
2006 SAME Washington Post President

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