Following is a summary of my report to the Board of Direction on Nov. 10:

SAME HQ Organization. We now have all staff positions filled, totaling 17 full-time and two part-time employees. We have an energetic and talented staff. Staff members are listed under “Contact HQ staff” on the SAME Web site. Please feel free to call us when you need information, advice or assistance. Without you, our members, SAME HQ would have no reason to exist.

Balance on SAME Reserve and Special Accounts. The SAME Board adopted a policy that the Society’s reserves be at least 50 percent of the annual expense budget. Our 2004 expense budget is $2.8 million. We currently have a combined total of $1.4 million in our General Reserve, Operating Fund and our Life Member Fund.

Recently, the Finance Committee, chaired by John Chouinard, CFO, Arcadis, led an effort to develop an investment policy and the asset allocation of the general reserve and life membership fund. We now have $500,000 in various one- to five-year CD’s at the Pentagon Federal Credit Union and about $800,000 in two managed mutual fund accounts at Merrill Lynch. We hope this reallocation will help the Society grow its reserve assets and provide contributions to the operating fund.

The balance on the Education and Mentoring (E&M) Fund is $104,000, with $62,000 in a inviolate corpus and the remainder to be utilized in support of the Society’s education and mentoring programs.

The E&M Fund is under the control of a steering committee chaired by Lance Benham, Benham Group. Currently, the E&M Fund provides stipends for the Student Leadership Award winner, and the Sverdrup and Tudor Medal winners. It also provides books to the distinguished graduates at the Army, Navy and Air Force engineer basic courses and to the Coast Guard and Public Health Service. The National Committees have been invited to recommend additional opportunities for use of this fund.

The Century House Fund has a zero balance as a result of the renovation project started in 2003 that utilized all of the funds available (about $100,000) on new carpet, wall cover, electrical repairs, painting and modular furniture. At the Board’s direction, we will be launching a fund raising campaign so that the needed repairs to the windows and outside of the building can be accomplished in time for the Society to celebrate the 25th anniversary of owning the building in 2010. The estimate for these repairs is about $200,000. The Century House was recently appraised for $1.5 million–a great investment by those who made it possible to buy the building in 1985 for $750,000.

2004 Budget Execution. As of Nov. 1, the Society’s revenue was at $2.3 million, $70,000 under budget. Expenses were $200,000 over budget, at $2.4 million, due to several member initiatives and unforeseen IT expenses in the 4th Quarter. However, the plan is to achieve a balanced budget by year end.

Membership. Individual membership is down about 1,000 to 9,400 during the past year. The primary reasons appear to be the high level of troop deployments, continuing outsourcing and downsizing of DOD agencies, and problems with locating a very mobile membership. Sustaining memberships continue to be strong, with 3,050 sustaining memberships and almost 10,000 sustaining member representatives—the highest in recent years. HQ is taking action to support the growth of individual membership, as well as continued emphasis on Post recruitment and retention initiatives. One of Maj. Gen. Fox’s strategic objectives for his presidency is increasing public sector membership and participation in SAME. With the decline in individual membership, over 50 percent of which is in the public sector, making progress on this strategic objective is a high priority for the Society’s leadership. (See Membership Task Force article).

Member Benefits Program. The Board reviewed the three newest member benefits programs—life insurance with Uniformed Services Benefit Association, long distance phone service with AMG Communications and the SAME Job Center. These programs have not yet yielded revenue; however, they are expected to be successful once members take advantage of their services.

Alliances with other Professional Societies and Organizations. The Board reviewed the current plan for strategic alliances, which include alliances with the: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on leadership workshops; International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) on the Certified Facility Manager (CFM) program; Army Engineer Association (AEA) to co-sponsor activities in support of the Army Engineer Regiment; and K-12 Outreach Committee’s initiatives with MATHCOUNTS and Learning for Life. SAME HQ is discussing a possible alliance with NSPE regarding the P.E. review course and plans to develop other alliances in the areas of planning, environment and construction over the next two years.

All in all, SAME is in good shape—other than the concern about the decline in individual and public sector members. The SAME HQ staff and Board is committed to diligently work to achieve the Society’s strategic plan and turn around the decline in public sector membership. We need the help of all our Society members to make this happen.

The SAME HQ staff extends to the SAME family a wish for peace, health and happiness in the coming year. May you all have a wonderful holiday season and begin the New Year refreshed and recommitted to family, the engineering profession and SAME. God bless America and keep our deployed troops safe.

Sincerely,
Robert D. Wolff, Ph.D., P.E., F.SAME
SAME Executive Director