As we look back over the summer, we can be extremely proud of the volunteers who contributed to the success of the three Engineering and Construction Camps: the U.S. Air Force Academy Camp in Colorado Springs, Colo.; the U.S. Navy Seabees Camp at Port Hueneme, Calif.; and the Southeast Camp in Vicksburg, Miss. We had 140 high school students participate this year—a record high for the camps—and more than 50 mentors. The camps exceeded their challenging goals and motivated many high school students to go into the engineering profession. We received positive feedback from students, and especially their parents, who said that the one-week experience was “fantastic!”

In addition to inspiring students to pursue engineering careers, the camps provided significant
leadership and teamwork opportunities for the
students and their mentors. All the camps emphasized teamwork rather than individual accomplishments. Please see the special insert about the camp experience in the November-December issue of The Military Engineer.

As we look forward to 2006, the Board of Direction has set five priority areas for SAME:

• Evaluation of Association Management Systems (AMS). The SAME HQ staff, together with a field advisory team, will be briefing the Board on its evaluation of systems that will provide SAME with an improved management system. Implementing a new AMS will be a big step forward in our efforts to better serve our Posts and members. We hope to implement a new system in the fall of 2006.
• Comprehensive Review of Dues Structure. We have been told by many AMS vendors that SAME has one of the most complicated dues structures of any society. We will be reviewing our current structure prior to implementing a new AMS with the goal of improving membership growth and management of the Society at the national and Post levels.
• Century House Renovation. SAME has owned Century House for 25 years. While we have made some major improvements to the building’s interior over the past three years, we need to make a major investment in the building’s exterior to maintain its value and appearance. The Board approved a major fundraising effort that will be further refined in 2006.
• National Level Involvement in the Annual Joint Engineer Education and Training Conference & Expo. Armed with the results of the survey of members who attended the 2005 Joint Engineer Education and Training Conference & Expo in Louisville, Ky., the Board further refined the policy document governing national conferences. The technical program will now be developed by a National Programs Committee to better ensure the conference program’s relevance to the uniformed services. The Host Post also will be required to use a registration system adopted by SAME HQ for SAME national and regional conferences. The Academy of Fellows Investiture Ceremony will be held at the national conference beginning in 2007. These changes should greatly improve the consistency of our conferences and ensure their increased relevance to our members.
• Education and Training. We will begin offering Webinars to our members on subjects of high interest to supplement the programs offered by the Posts at local and regional meetings. Topics will focus on doing business with the uniformed services in such areas as the SF330, contractor performance evaluation, anti-terrorism/force protection and design-build. We also will continue our efforts to form strategic alliances with other associations to benefit our members.

These initiatives will help set the stage for SAME to grow and prosper in the coming years. The Academy of Fellows also will convene a Blue Ribbon Panel to assess the environment in which SAME will be operating in the next five to 10 years and will make recommendations as to how we can improve. I look forward to reporting to you the results of these initiatives and I strongly welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Again, thank you very much for your strong support and assistance to those affected by Hurricane Katrina and for what you do for SAME!

Rear Adm. M.K. Loose, P.E., F.SAME
U.S. Navy, Civil Engineer Corps
SAME President, 2005-2006