Membership Committee

Committee Mission

The SAME Membership Committee develops and communicates to all Posts the strategies, best practices, and tools that are most effective for them to grow their membership, to foster greater member engagement and leadership, and to enhance their members’ experience with SAME, further enabling each Post to support the current Strategic Plan of the Society.

Overview

As one of the “operational” Communities of Interest (vs. “technical” COIs), the Membership Committee serves as an extension of the national office staff to assist all Post leaders, especially Posts’ Membership Chairs/POCs, with the tools, resources and connections necessary to help enhance their members’ society experience through their locally relevant Posts. Between our COI members and the post membership chairs/POCs, invited to our calls and sponsored webinars, we are over 140 people strong across SAME.    

SAME’s Membership Committee is open to any SAME member to participate. Unlike many of our other COIs that focus in on special professional and technical interest areas important to SAME members, the Membership COI provides participants with a broad-ranging opportunity to become involved at the national level.  Our forum has the potential to positively impact the experience of every current and future member of the society as it pursues its strategic goals.

COI Objectives

• Provide opportunities to foster connections with other Post leaders across all sizes and post geographies  
• Engage with best practices employed at other Posts by their leaders and members 
• Share creative tools and resources aimed at improving post level retention and recruitment successes

Committee Chair

Lee Ann Zelesnikar, F.SAME

Upcoming National Webinars

• 
  August 26, 2026

  Webinar

  The Hidden Cost: Why Schedule is the Biggest MILCON Premium

  Military construction (MILCON) cost discussions often focus on dollars per square foot, but one of the most significant portion of the overall cost is time. Every month added to a project can increase costs through
• 
  September 23, 2026

  Webinar

  AI as Load Shock: Rethinking Energy Security and Mission Assurance

  The rapid expansion of AI computing, electrification, and mission-critical digital infrastructure is fundamentally altering the energy security landscape. While AI is often discussed as a software capability or data challenge, its most immediate national security impact is physical: unprecedented, concentrated, and inflexible electrical demand that stresses grid infrastructure and traditional resilience assumptions.

Related TME Articles – Membership

• 

  Meeting Mission Requirements Through Collaborative Delivery

  May 20, 2025

  If adopted by the government, collaborative delivery contract models could have significant benefits to federal agencies in managing risk and improving both cost and schedule certainty on military construction and civil works projects.
• 

  Delivering for Diverse Operational Needs at Hill AFB

  May 20, 2025

  A new U.S. Navy Reserve Center at Hill AFB required careful design and execution coordination to meet multifaceted mission needs, along with maintaining flexibility and innovation in its design to stay on schedule.
• 

  Grounded by Uncertainty: The Adverse Effects of Continuing Resolutions

  May 20, 2025

  Continuing resolutions create compounding delays in modernization, training, and procurement for the U.S. Air Force—hindering long-term planning, operational capabilities, and overall readiness, as well as posing significant threats to national security and the ability to maintain air superiority and respond to crises.
• 

  Physical Security Lessons Learned From State Department FLEX Missions

  May 20, 2025

  The Department of State’s experience in working from austere locations across the Pacific and its mature doctrine for executing physical security in such environments can offer lessons for the U.S. Marine Corps as the service carries out expeditionary advanced base operations in the region.