From Century House

AMS Update SAME HQ is working diligently to launch the Sustaining Membership portion of the Association Management System (AMS) this month in time for August renewals. The system will not “go live” until we are satisfied that it will perform correctly. Upon launch, Sustaining Members will be able to update their contact information online, just as Individual Members do.   There will be no online renewals, however, for Sustaining Memberships because we are transitioning to a new membership and dues structure. Instead, Sustaining Members will be required to submit revisions by physically “marking up” a print document. This mark-up will be used to help SAME transition data from the old membership system to the new one. This process will be used until all Sustaining Members have renewed under the new membership system and dues structure.

Should you have any questions regarding Sustaining Membership, please contact Jackie Porter at jporter@same.org, 703-549-3800, ext. 121. Companies that wish to consolidate their billings for Sustaining Membership should contact Database Manager Natasha Rocheleau at nroch@same.org, 703-549-3800, ext. 124.   The transition to a new AMS has been a long and arduous process and we appreciate your patience.

SAME/IFMA Facility Management Workshop

The SAME Facilities Management (FM) Committee and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), in cooperation with the Federal Facilities Council (FFC), have partnered to offer a Facilities Management Workshop for the military services, federal public agencies and industry. The workshop, Management of Federal Facilities: Achieving Efficiencies through Professional Facilities Management, will he held Sept. 5-6, 2007, at the Fairview Park Marriott, Falls Church, Va.
This one-of-a-kind event will bring the public and private sectors together to share FM best practices and discuss the latest issues facing senior facility managers in the public sector.
 
Keynote speakers include:

• Rear Adm. David Nash, CEC, F.SAME, USN (Ret.), President of BE&K’s Government Group, who will highlight findings of the recently completed FFC Core Competencies for Federal Facilities Asset Management; and
• Gary Broersma, IFMA First Vice Chair, Director, Global Facility Management Covance, who will present IFMA’s latest report, Facility Management Forecast 2007: Exploring the Current Trends and Future Outlook for Facility Management Professionals.

Panels led by federal, military and private sector authorities will focus on recent developments and trends in asset management, energy management, FM sustainability and best practices. Attendees also will have the opportunity to discuss FM issues with a number of panel experts.

This workshop is being conducted in conjunction with the Federal Facility Council Public/Private Partnerships Forum, which is slated for Sept. 7, so participants can attend both events.

Fellows Nominations Due Sept. 17, 2007

The deadline for Fellows Nominations is 5:00 p.m., Monday, Sept. 17, 2007. Nominations must include five endorsements from SAME members, including two from SAME Fellows, one from the Post President of which the nominee is a member and one from the respective Regional Vice President.

For complete nomination criteria, required endorsements and other application matters, please see the Fellows nominations Web site at www.same.org/fellows.

The 2008 Fellows Investiture will be held at the Joint Engineer Training Conference in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 20, 2008.

SAME Design–Build Workshops Slated for 2007

Two Design-Build Workshops are slated for the remainder of 2007: Aug. 20-22, in Baltimore, Md., and Dec. 10-12, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

SAME’s highly-acclaimed Design-Build Workshop for government and industry employees focuses on improving communications between design-build end users, construction agents, architects and engineers, and contractors to better facilitate the solicitation and execution of Department of Defense (DOD) design-build projects. Best practices applicable to DOD projects will be discussed, with examples provided of current design-build success stories and lessons learned.   

Previous workshops drew attendees from the U.S. Army, U.S.  Air Force, U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command and industry. This joint interaction proved to be the most valuable part of the course for nearly all attendees, with many commenting about how much they learned from each other.

For more information, go to www.same.org/designbuild. And be sure to check the SAME Calendar of Events at www.same.org/calendar for future Design-Build Workshops.

Sustaining Members: Corporate Profiles Due Sept. 28

The deadline to create or update your Corporate Profile is Sept. 28, 2007. Profiles may be updated online at www.same.org/directory.

Corporate Profiles appear in the print version of SAME’s Directory of Member Companies & Public Agencies, which is published annually in January. These profiles provide details about your company or agency's full capabilities, experience, key business information (i.e., NAICS codes, small business categories, etc.) and the names of key senior executives or officials.

Corporate Profiles are searchable by company name, business and engineering related categories, and capability to respond to disasters and emergencies.

To create or update your Corporate Profile, go to www.same.org/directory.

Join SAME's New Continuing Education Advisory Committee

A new Continuing Education Advisory Committee has been established to provide advice and assistance to SAME HQ on identifying and sponsoring continuing education programs that provide value to the military engineer community.Ê The committee will hold meetings via conference call beginning in early September 2007. If you are interested in joining the committee, please submit your name and area of interest to Kristin Duckworth, Continuing Education Manager, at
kduckworth@same.org, by Aug. 27, 2007.

Continuing Education Opportunities for Members

SAME is expanding professional development opportunities by capitalizing on our strategic alliances to provide the best member benefits possible. Whether you’re looking to obtain certification, or seeking a degree or a course to improve your knowledge and understanding of the A/E/C industry, SAME has something for you!

Strategic Alliances Offer Member Discounts. SAME’s strategic alliances provide great benefits to SAME members! The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), Construction Management Associ¬ation of America (CMAA) and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) all offer courses to SAME members at their discounted member rates. Offerings include Webinars, workshops and courses that can be used for professional development and are often eligible for professional development hours or continuing education units required for licensing boards or re-certification.

Certification Programs. SAME Members also can earn the Certified Construction Manager (CCM) credential from CMAA and the Certified Facility Manager (CFM) credential from IFMA. SAME has sponsored review courses and testing opportunities for both programs and the SAME member pass rate for both was close to 100 percent compared to the average pass rate of 60 percent. For dates of future courses, go to SAME Calendar of Events at www.same.org/calendar.         

These programs also offer an excellent opportunity for SAME Posts! We encourage Posts to partner with their local IFMA and CMAA chapters to schedule future review courses and certification exams. If your Post would like to co-sponsor a review course with a local IFMA or CMAA chapter, please contact SAME Continuing Education Manager Kristin Duckworth at kduckworth@same.org, or 703-549-3800, ext. 151.

Have You Visited the SAME Calendar of Events Lately?

The SAME Web site maintains a Calendar of Events (www.same.org/calendar) that lists events of importance to SAME members. The calendar includes SAME conferences and workshops for the present and upcoming year as well as non-SAME events that align with SAME’s mission.

The SAME Calendar of Events is a great resource for planning your professional development opportunities.