Finding, Being, and Sharing the Value All Year Long in 2024
2024 was a milestone year for the Society, marked by significant growth and progress. SAME continued to expand its impact in every facet of our critical national security mission. The year saw members deepening their commitment to our mission of fostering stronger connections between government and industry and finding, being, and sharing the value of their engagement with the Society. Together, we tackled national security and infrastructure challenges with renewed focus and innovation.
This year, our Posts, regions, and national programs elevated their efforts, expanding established initiatives and breaking new ground with dynamic workshops, engaging webinars, impactful networking events, and more. As we celebrate the achievements of the past year, we invite you to take a look back at the highlights that made 2024 a truly memorable year. A heartfelt thank you to all our members, contributors, and stakeholders for making 2024 an extraordinary year for SAME and paving the way for an even brighter success in 2025!
Career Transition Workshop
The 2024 SAME Career Transition Workshop brought together professionals of all levels seeking a career change. The event attracted top-level recruiters from the A/E/C industry eager to share the value of their experience with job seekers of all levels. Job seekers took advantage of professional training sessions, resume and LinkedIn reviews, professional headshots, and a whole host of extensive educational sessions.
Read More from the 2024 CTW
Europe Tri-Services Industry-Government Engagement Workshop
SAME joined forces with NAVFAC EURAFCENT, USACE Europe District, and U.S. Air Forces in Europe to co-host a unique and timely industry-government engagement event that focused on interactive workshops to address issues in the European theater. The successful event was a great opportunity to share the value in understanding the different operational perspectives of the three services, how they approach their work, and gain valuable feedback into processes and procedures for future collaborations.
Read More from the 2024 Tri-Services Workshop
Capital Week 2024
Every year, being the value is fully on display at Capital Week. This SAME Member-only event is where industry professionals and government representatives gather to participate in strategic discussions, identify industry-government engagement opportunities, and network with fellow SAME members. Over 700 participants came together to preview the coming fiscal year construction programs of the uniformed services and select federal agencies, and to support the work of the SAME Foundation.
To help support the Foundation, a silent auction was sponsored by the Academy of Fellows at the 2024 Capital Week. The excitement of the auction kicked off in early March with online bidding and then continued with the live auction held during the conference. Generous donors raised the bar of sharing the value by helping the Academy of Fellows raise $37,000 in support of the Foundation and its programs building the next generation of engineering leaders.
IGE Summit at Capital Week
Returning for the second year at the Capital Week was the SAME IGE Summit, which brought together industry and government leaders to discuss the nuts and bolts of key engineering topics. Government representatives and industry professionals gathered to find the value through collaboration by tackling three important IGE topics: Collaborative Delivery and Federal Projects; Installations of the Future: George Jetson Meets Nuts and Bolts; and Joint Engineering Challenges & Solutions.
Read More from the 2024 Cap Week
2024 Joint Engineer Training Conference
This year, the 2024 JETC welcomed more than 2,700 colleagues, friends, and future business partners who gathered in Orlando, Fla., for three days of finding the value by seeking opportunities to meet and network with fellow professionals, join education sessions, organize business engagements, and visit an exhibit floor filled with representatives presenting hands-on demonstrations and information from every facet of the A/E/C community.
The conference featured invaluable panel discussions from the Engineering Chiefs and their universal message of collaboration between government and industry which is essential in order to tackle their complex mission sets. Dara Torres, 12-time Olympic medalist, inspired the audience with stories of tenacity, longevity, and consistency that helped her become the most decorated female Olympian of all time. Day Two held a memorable ceremony where Col. Charlie Perham, F.SAME, USAF (Ret.), SAME National President, passed the baton along to the incoming 105th SAME National President, Sharon Krock, F.SAME. Her message focused on the importance of seeking out opportunities to grow and lead, the importance of mentorship for the advancement of SAME’s mission, and the value derived from sharing the value you get from participating in SAME programs and events.
Closing out a very successful JETC, the Society Reception followed by the Society Ball & Awards Gala capped the week in formal red-carpet style to celebrate the SAME National and Uniformed Services awards and medal winners.
Throughout the conference, there were general sessions, education sessions, technical seminars, demonstrations, side meetings, evening activities, and interactions on the exhibit floor. Attendees at the 2024 JETC were pivotal in fostering the industry-government engagement necessary to receive feedback, exchange ideas, and devise solutions for the significant challenges confronting the engineering sector and the nation.
Read More from the 2024 JETC
Member Appreciation Week
From July 15-19, SAME celebrated its second annual Member Appreciation Week. The week was all about sharing the value of SAME’s membership by spotlighting and honoring the Society’s members across Posts, Regions, and Communities who make SAME such a special place.
Members also enjoyed video messages from 105th National President Sharon Krock, SPWS, F.SAME; President-Elect Mike Huffstetler, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, F.SAME; and Membership COI Chair Bobbi Jo-Lang on the many benefits their membership offers. During the weeklong celebration, special anniversaries were given a shout-out, there were daily giveaways, and we kicked off our 2024 Member-Get-A-Member Campaign.
Read More from the 2024 Member Appreciation Week
2024 Camps Season
The 2024 camps season theme was Start YOUR Stem Journey, and what a journey it was! This summer, 265 students and 116 mentors joined five camp installations across the United States:
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Miss.
- U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, N.C.
- U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme, Calif.
- U.S. Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fla.
- U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
With a focus on the A/E/C industry, working professionals from industry and government shared the value and took the motivated high school students through a week of hands on projects, lectures and team building exercises to understand what it might be like to pursue a career in the A/E/C profession through the lens of the armed services. Each camp provided its own personal touches in providing the students unique challenges through STEM focused activities and competitions.
The camps provided a rigorous experience for students interested in exploring the value of STEM skills and careers. During the week, campers gained a sense of what it takes to become a STEM professional and learned what options exist to explore that interest from high school to college and beyond.
Read More from the 2024 Camps Season
2024 Post Leaders Workshop
A total of 142 attendees from 70 Posts representing all 18 regions around the world arrived in the city of Scottsdale, Ariz., to participate in the annual Post Leaders Workshop from August 4-6. Post representatives gathered network, develop and deepen leadership skills, and discuss progress on SAME’s 2030 Strategic Plan and why each Post is critical to its objectives.
Read More from the 2024 PLW
SAME Posts Focus on the Pacific
Ahead of SAME’s Indo-Pacific Regional Summit in September 2025, a series of Post events around the Pacific region will help set conditions for further engagement. The first in the series, the SAME Honolulu Post Pacific Industry Forum, was held September 17-19, 2024. This forum brought together more than 300 industry and government representatives in a unique opportunity for the A/E/C industry to find the value in collaboration with government agencies to support creative thinking and solutions to strategic challenges in the Indo-Pacific Theater.
In October, another Post event, the Japan Industry Forum, was held was held in Tokyo, Japan, in partnership with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Japan Engineer District. The forum brought together Japanese A/E/C industry partners and U.S. principals to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance and build relationships that will support America’s and Japan’s national security for years to come.
In November, SAME’s Guam Post held the Guam Industry Forum 2024. The forum brought together nearly 500 attendees from government and regional industry to network and discuss opportunities that could help make more than $11 billion in military expansion projects a reality in Guam and the Western Pacific.
2024 SAME Small Business Conference
2024 SBC was truly one for the books, surpassing all previous SBC conferences in attendance. This past November, more than 6,200 industry and government professionals gathered in New Orleans for three days of networking, business opportunity briefings, and educational sessions that clearly illustrated the value of strength in partnership between small businesses, large businesses, and federal agencies. The exhibit hall was also at capacity as industry put its best foot forward, showcasing solutions and innovations from A/E/C industry leaders.
SBC 2024, Strength in Partnership, was all about helping supercharge objectives. Attendees took full advantage of the unique opportunities to build and grow relationships through General Sessions; extensive workshops, forums, and demonstrations throughout the week; over 40 hours of educational and professional development sessions; and a sold-out exhibit hall with over 500 leading A/E/C companies.
SBC continued its historic tradition of bringing together industry and government with more than a dozen federal agencies and private companies gathering to share their expertise and engage with A/E/C industry professionals to tackle the most pressing national defense and security issues facing the country today and carry us into the future.
Read More from the 2024 SBC
SAME Foundation
In 2016, with a vision to strengthen and expand the philanthropic efforts of SAME and the lasting contributions of its members, partners, and stakeholders to the architecture, engineering, and construction fields in support of national security, the SAME Foundation was established.
Just eight years into its mission to foster engineering leadership for the nation, the SAME Foundation is sharing the value with the help of its generous donors and sponsors increasing its reach and influence, and advancing its programs exponentially.
From nurturing the Leader Development Program and sending over 20 Camp Mentors to SAME’s Engineering & Construction Camps, to building its STEM Pathways Program that brings STEM programs to American Indian and Alaska Native youth, the SAME Foundation continues to make a lasting impact across the nation.
Read the SAME Foundation Impact Report
SAME’s Posts play a critical role in driving those partnerships from federal levels down to the local government agencies all across the nation, discovering and delivering solutions together and developing people through leadership development programs and other leadership opportunities.
Sharon Krock, F.SAME, SAME’s National President
Collaborative Events and Programs
SAME’s world-class events and programs bring together members from across the country and globe for unique training and education opportunities, multidisciplined discussions on the toughest engineering challenges facing our nation, and unparalleled networking. Stay in the know on upcoming events and relive past events here.
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Event Recap: SBC 2024
The 2024 SAME Small Business Conference in in New Orleans, Louisiana, concluded its most successful conference ever! Read the wrap-up of the week. -
In Focus: Exploring Asset Management Challenges
SAME’s Facility Asset Management COI serves to enhance the efficient, effective, and sustainable stewardship of federal facilities, providing a collaborative platform for sharing resources, technologies, and strategies that support informed decision-making and risk management through the FAM Forum at JETC. -
Enhance Your 2024 SBC With a Pre-Conference Workshop
Enhance your experience at the 2024 Federal Small Business Conference with one of SAME’s pre-conference workshops. -
Recapping the 2024 Post Leaders Workshop
A wrap-up of the 2024 Post Leaders Workshop where SAME Post representatives gathered from across the country in Scottsdale, Arizona. -
SAME’s STEM/Engineering & Construction Camps Wrapping Up the 2024 Season!
SAME’s 2024 season of its STEM/Engineering & Construction Camps has come to a close. Read the wrap up of final three camps of five STEM camps this summer.