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Post President's Message Archive - January 2007 Post President's Message Archive Solidifying Successes & Building Momentum Under the tremendous leadership of Michael Pavlides, the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Washington DC Post accomplished multiple objectives in 2006 that ultimately culminated in a very successful year. Just recently, at the Annual Installation of Officers and Directors program, Mike presented an impressive list of 2006 Post accomplishments. The two that stand out, and that are worth mentioning again, are the very successful inaugural fundraising Scholars and Honors Gala, with over $50,000 raised for student scholarships, and the Post's tireless effort, jointly with the Northern Virginia Post, to prepare and submit a proposal to host the 2011 National SAME conference in Washington DC. Although the Washington/Northern VA team was not selected to host the 2011 conference, a full acknowledgment of this tremendous effort is merited. Many thanks are extended to all the volunteers, who worked to plan the Gala and prepare the conference proposal, for their teamwork, time, and commitment to excellence. These and many other accomplishments throughout 2006 make up an impressive path of successful initiatives. Mike will continue to support me as the immediate Past Post President, and I will look forward to his guidance and wise counsel this year. I intend to solidify the successes achieved in 2006, and build momentum in 2007 to expand our initiatives in a number of areas that include:
Throughout 2007, I will work with your Board of Directors, Committee Chairs, and volunteers to accomplish the initiatives presented above. In addition, we will try different ideas for our monthly Post meetings, incorporating five-minute presentations that will allow us to learn about our member firms and better understand their services. Understanding the capabilities of our private sector member firms is important so that we remain engaged and can facilitate best practices in our industry. We will also plan to invite our public sector sustaining member representatives to give brief overviews of their agencies and upcoming programs. The private-public partnership is very important, and the Washington DC Post is an excellent venue to continue that valuable relationship. Another area where we will try a new approach is by giving members the opportunity to sponsor or host tables, so we can further leverage the Post's networking opportunities. We are developing first-rate monthly programs, annual events, and conferences for 2007. The Washington DC Post's 2007 programs will aim to meet annual Post requirements, further the networking opportunities for our members, and give occasion to provide more professional development opportunities for our members, young members and students. I welcome your recommendations and ideas on different program topics and speakers of interest to the membership. Please share your ideas with me or with Jeff Lamberson, Programs Chair. Our 2007 program line-up includes the DC Mega Projects program, scheduled for 22 March, the Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament, on 19 April, spring and summer programs, and the 2nd Annual Scholars and Honors Gala, scheduled for 15 September. Mark your calendars for these and other exciting programs, and visit our Programs page for additional information and to register. We will also encourage more Young Members to get involved with the Post. Along with hosting the quarterly Young Members networking sessions, we will encourage sponsoring organizations and sustaining members to bring Young Members with them to Post programs. Although results are not yet in for the 2006 Distinguished SAME Posts, I can assure you that your Washington DC Post Board of Directors worked hard in 2006, and had excellent participation from members. To earn the Distinguished Post recognition requires successful completion of all SAME Post Streamer requirements. We will continue to strive for and once again focus on competing for this award. We will be looking for more participation from our members on Washington DC Post Committees. As the Post continues to grow, with a current membership of over 155 sustaining fember Firms and over 1,400 individual members and sustaining member representatives, and with ever larger attendance at our monthly programs and annual events, we will continue to look for additional members to serve at the Post. We welcome your input and your participation. I look forward to serving you for the next 12 months and meeting as many of you as possible. I am always open to ideas that would make the Washington DC Post better. Capt. Ben Pina, P.E., CEC, USN President, Washington DC Post |
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