Seattle Post’sCombined Regional Small Business Symposium and Meet the Chiefs brings industry and government together to tackle an historic workload.
This spring, the Combined Regional Small Business Symposium and Meet the Chiefs event took place in Seattle, Wash., as a joint effort between the Seattle, Mount Tacoma, Portland, Sacramento, and San Francisco Posts. While previously these two events were held separately, this year the Posts combined them together in a singular event. The results? A larger audience, increased opportunities for members, expanded industry-government engagement, and greater value delivered across the region.
With the 2026 Joint Engineering Training Conference & Expo headed to Portland, Ore., around the same time, Post leaders decided to combine their two signature events into a single one-day conference. This would have the benefit of easing travel challenges for presenters and attendees who planned to participate in both events. However, that was only the beginning of the benefits this approach would have.
The combined symposium kept its sharp regional focus, in contrast to JETC’s broad scope of education and training across the entire joint engineering spectrum, and drew businesses interested in supporting national security needs in the Pacific Northwest. The event attracted over 300 attendees including representatives from USACE, NAVFAC Northwest, SBA, industry firms, and small businesses. “We normally have about 150 for the Small Business Symposium and about 200 for the Meet the Chiefs,” said Valerie Wade, Environmental Project Manager, WSP, and Programs Chair for the Seattle Post. “So pulling close to 300 for a combined event was pretty good.”
Combining Goals
The combined format served two distinct but complementary IGE purposes. For the Small Business Symposium, it’s all about getting small businesses connected. Matchmaking sessions were organized between federal agencies and industry to allow small businesses the opportunity to grow their network of potential teaming partners and gain a clearer understanding of future opportunities.
At the Meet the Chiefs portion of the program, focus was turned to providing clarity on what’s coming and when. “There is a lot of interest and a lot of confusion around upcoming contracts,” Valerie said. “Most people who come to Meet the Chiefs are there to understand what’s in the pipeline and get timeline updates on what’s going to be released and when.”
Together, the combined events provided a single venue that maximized networking opportunities and let attendees take advantage of a broader range of knowledge and expertise. “A second great benefit was lightening the workload for our government speakers,” Valerie said. “NAVFAC in particular only needed to accommodate time and travel for one event but received the full value of both events.”
The positive feedback on the combined events has the Post considering the same format in the future.
Tackling the Workload
The event reflects the importance of the region as part of the Pacific Deterrent Initiative, which seeks to invest $11.7 billion to enhance U.S. force posture, infrastructure, presence, and readiness, as well as increase the capacity and capabilities of U.S. allies and its partners. As agencies work to deliver this massive workload, relationships formed and strengthened through engagement opportunities like this combined event are key.
No singular company can do what the government needs. There’s going to be a lot of coordination, a lot of planning, and a lot of trying to figure out how to climb this mountain.
“The way they described it was like an image of a mountain, and we are at the very base of it,” Valerie said. “No singular company, and I work for a company of 85,000 people, can do what the government needs. There’s going to be a lot of coordination, a lot of planning, and a lot of trying to figure out how to climb this mountain.”
SAME is at the frontline of building the bonds and connections needed to meet these infrastructure delivery challenges. In Hawai’i, the Honolulu Post’s 2025 Indo-Pacific Regional Summit convened government representatives and industry partners to strengthen collaboration across the region. Later that year, the Japan Post’s Industry Forum focused on infrastructure readiness by connecting military, government, and A/E/C professionals around shared priorities. Together, these Post-led events demonstrate how SAME’s growing international presence is expanding the Society’s ability to connect government and industry at the point of need to advance readiness and infrastructure resilience around the world.
As Programs Chair at the Seattle Post, Valerie has been instrumental in making events like the combined Seattle conference a driver for IGE and knows that the expertise available and the partnerships developed are helping the industry take a few steps up that massive mountain of work ahead.
Read the USACE Caribbean District article about the 2026 SAME San Juan Field Chapter Industry Day event.
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