The days of the Commander rounding up a bus load of people to attend a SAME function are long gone. We must now provide programs of value to attract uniformed officers, NCOs and civil service employees to our meetings, conferences and other activities. In talking with many Posts in the past 18 months, I have found that the traditional model of monthly luncheon or dinner meetings still prevails in the majority of Posts. This model often does not meet the needs of many public sector employees. Why?

• Public sector attendees pay for their own meals as opposed to private sector attendees who normally are reimbursed by their companies. Having a substantially reduced price for public sector attendees may help ameliorate this issue.
• Mid-level public sector employees often do not see enough benefit in lunch and dinner meetings to warrant the three hours normally required for attendance; they often don’t see the value in networking with the private sector or are not interested in the program.
• Some public sector supervisors provide employees only one hour of administrative leave to attend a professional society event, requiring them to take annual leave for the remainder of the time required to attend a SAME function during duty hours.

So how do we attract the public sector? Posts should move from the traditional monthly luncheon and dinner meeting format to a more diverse program that accommodates the interests and availability of our busy members. Perhaps only four luncheon or dinner meetings in a calendar year are sufficient, complemented by other forms of professional development and networking opportunities. Here are a few ideas you might want to consider:

• Workshops. Conduct several two-to-three hour workshops on technical or management issues, at nominal or no cost for public sector employees. Have several Sustaining Member companies sponsor the snacks and fees for the meeting room. Mid-level public sector employees will be more likely to attend these workshops than lunch or dinner meetings.
• Webcasts. This is especially relevant to those Posts that seek to support military installations or communities more than one hour apart. Members will be able to dial into the Webcast from their computers without leaving their offices, or they can congregate in a small conference room and share the experience. Webcasts have been enormously successful in other societies and we need to adopt this strategy at the Post and National level.
• “Deployment Appreciation” or “Public Service Appreciation” Event. Host an annual event to recognize those who have been deployed in the past year (including military, civil service and contractor personnel) or simply honor those in public service.While most of our SAME members are engaged in national defense efforts, we should give special tribute to those who must leave their families, and for the Guard and Reserve, their jobs, to defend our freedom away from home. As reflected in our Strategic Plan,“Public Service” and “National Security” are among the core values of the Society. With sponsorships, the event could be a “no-cost” event for those being recognized, as well as their families. By showing how SAME cares for its deployed forces, we gain recognition among the public sector employees and encourage their participation in our Society.
• Include State, County and Local Public Agencies. Have the Post make a concerted effort to meet with state, county and local public agencies to explain the purposes of SAME and to invite their participation. Focus an annual program on the planning, design and construction programs of these agencies and get them involved by nominating public agency representatives to the Post Board of Directors and to chair appropriate committees. Public sector employees will get excited about SAME if they are asked to get involved; they won’t see much value in SAME if they are treated only as bystanders or occasional speakers.

Create a partnership between the Post and these agencies, just as we have done for years with the uniformed services. These are only a few ideas that have been discussed.

If you would like to share your ideas on how we can increase public sector participation in SAME, please send an e-mail to comments@same.org. I’d like to hear from you.