During the summer months, SAME HQ focused on developing new programs that will bring value to our members. It was a busy time and we are proud of our new offerings. Let me highlight the results of our efforts.

SAME Job Center.

I am pleased to announce that we recently signed a contract with a company to provide SAME with a first class Job Center, including position openings and a resume service that are both easily searchable. The new service will be available in October at www.same.org/jobs.

The SAME Job Center is an expansion of our previously offered “Classifieds” section for companies that wanted to advertise job openings. Our goal was to assist companies in finding high-quality people who are associated with SAME. We did not offer a resume service due to our in-house staffing limitations and the need for a high level of privacy. We hope our new Job Center service will better support your needs and provide some additional non-dues revenue to HQ.

Certified Facility Manager (CFM) Pilot.

We were gratified by the fantastic response from our members to participate in the CFM pilot program, a collaborative effort between the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) and SAME.

The SAME members selected for the pilot include representatives from the private sector (six), Army (four), Air Force (three), Coast Guard (five), Public Health Service (five), and NASA (three). SAME HQ, using a portion of the profits obtained from the San Antonio National Conference, is co-sponsoring this $30,000 pilot with IFMA. The participants are required to take a self-assessment, attend a two-day review course given by a qualified CFM instructor, and then take the CFM 6-hour examination within a 90-day period.

Col. Marvin Fisher, USAF, is chairing a Task Force that will evaluate the results of the pilot and make recommendations to the Board of Direction at its November meeting as to whether SAME should continue to promote and sponsor the IFMA CFM program. The advantage to SAME is that our members will be able to obtain the training and take the exam at IFMA member prices—a 30% savings. This effort is in support of our Society’s goal to create strategic alliances that will benefit our members.

SAME Merchandise.

To provide better service to our members, we terminated our contract with Advantage Marketing and purchased the remaining inventory of SAME memorabilia. Soon we will launch a Web page to support our Posts offering memorabilia, clothing and other SAME gift items. We will use in-house resources and tap well-known and responsive vendors who can quickly and cost-effectively fill orders for SAME merchandise. Part of this new effort is working with the Board of Direction to approve a new SAME logo that can be used on gift items in lieu of the SAME insignia, when appropriate. We will continue to use the traditional SAME insignia for certificates and SAME memorabilia, since the insignia represents our heritage and values.

National Mission Committees.

Working with the Society President, Maj. Gen. Dean Fox, USAF, and 1st Vice President, Rear Adm. Loose, CEC, USN, we have revamped the National Committees to be more focused on the interests of Society members. We eliminated the Industry Affairs Committee, since our goal in the Society is to meet the needs of industry in everything we do. Additionally, 30 of the 54 voting members of the Board of Direction are from industry, so it is well represented within our Society. We established a Design and Construction Committee, chaired by Rick Galloway, Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure, and a Facilities Management Committee, chaired by Cdr. Gene Hubbard, USN (Ret.), now the Director of Facilities Engineering and Real Property at NASA. Both Rick and Gene received a tremendous response when we announced the formation of these committees and they are in the process of developing a work plan that will support our members’ interests in these areas. The Design and Construction Committee is hosting a workshop on Bonding and Insurance in December and the Facilities Management Committee will provide oversight of the CFM program if it is approved by the Board of Direction.

SAME HQ is working hard to provide added value to our members. As always, my e-mail is open for comments and feedback from members. I very much enjoy hearing from members and I invite you to send me an e-mail about these programs and any others that you might have in mind to rwolff@same.org.