Bricks and Clicks

In the past year, SAME has transitioned its bimonthly member newsletter, SAME News, to a digital-only publication, repackaged the the online version of TME (The Military Engineer) as an interactive PDF, launched this blog and worked to develop further its presence on various social and professional networking Web sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. In an overall effort to continue to create and engage an online community of members and friends of the Society, SAME is currently considering options to evolve its communications strategy to utilize the most current and effective social media tools.

Many SAME members have been using these tools for some time. However, as a Society, with a membership as diverse as ours, our challenge is to determine which of the available technologies will best serve the greatest number of members. To now, the SAME communications strategy has been a one-way street, with newsletters, magazines and e-mail blasts being disseminated down from Posts and SAME HQ with little opportunity for response or dialogue. It is the hope of SAME that by taking advantage of new social media networks, the opportunities for interaction among SAME members worldwide will be realized. Members will soon have the ability to participate in a new, real-time marketplace of ideas not constrained by geographic location.

However, many challenges still await. For example, How will our military members, whose access to these social media tools is often restricted, participate in the new SAME online community? Will our “more experienced” members, who tend not to be as familiar with new social networking technology, be motivated to learn new tricks? How can the effectiveness of any new initiatives be measured?

To help address these and other questions, the SAME National Board of Direction has authorized SAME HQ to continue to investigate the use of social media within SAME, hiring a consultant if necessary, and to formulate a recommendation as part of the 2009 budget. In the meantime, all members are encouraged to contact SAME HQ with any comments or thoughts and to check out the Society of American Military Engineers groups on LinkedIn and Facebook.

SAME once again sponsored a panel at the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) World Workplace conference, held earlier this month in Dallas, Texas. The SAME Facilities Management (FM) Committee, chaired by Dan Gelderman, FEA, coordinated the panel with Gene Hubbard, HQ NAVFAC. Hubbard recruited representatives from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force to speak on the topic “Best Facilities Management Practices in the Military Services.” This is the fourth year that SAME and the FM Committee sponsored a military services panel at World Workplace. The panel session attracted approximately 80 attendees.

Panelists (shown left to right in the above photo) included Col. Greg Bean, USA (Ret.), Director of Public Works, Fort Bragg, N.C.; Cmdr. Todd Henricks, CEC, USN, Public Works Officer, Submarine Base New London, Conn.; Col. Dennis Yates, USAF, Base Civil Engineer, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.; and Gene Hubbard, SES, Director of Asset Management, NAVFAC. Dan Gelderman was the official session moderator.

In addition to the facilities management issues discussed by the military service representatives, Hubbard presented an overview of SAME, resulting in several audience members inquiring about SAME membership. Due to its continued success at World Workplace, the FM Committee plans to organize another panel for the next World Workplace conference, to be held in Orlando, Fla., in October 2009.  Hubbard will moderate the panel once more.