The Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB) at Fort Riley takes in wounded or ill soldiers from across the Army to provide medical treatments and time to heal with the goal that the soldier would either carry on with their military career or to seek employment in the private sector.  The WTB is supported by the Soldier and Family Assistance Center (SFAC) operated by the Garrison with Ms. Sally Sowell as Director. Ms. Sowell spoke at our 2013 Industry Day about her program.   The Committee co-chairs have worked with Ms. Sowell for several months discussing how GKC Post might best be able to provide service to the WTB.

The first goal was met by relying on the strength and support of the Sustaining and Individual members of the Post.  We asked for donations from our members to sponsor soldiers to attend events.  Through these efforts, we sent 8 soldiers to the Chiefs-Packers game, 20 soldiers to the Royals-Rangers game, and 13 soldiers to the SAME Small Business Conference with 20 Post members sponsoring these activities.

The second goal is approval of the Committee 2014 Workplan and Budget by the Post Board of Directors for the Wounded Warrior Transition Support Committee.  We have multiple activities planned throughout the year to deepen the relationship between the Post and the WTB. The mission of the committee is fourfold:

1.  In collaboration with SAME HQ Wounded Warrior Initiative, "capitalizing on our current mentoring continuum by providing job transition and education assistance for wounded warriors who are beginning their transition into the civilian workforce."  Rear Adm. Gary A. Engle, SAME President

2.  Provide opportunities for career transition through professional development, training, job search assistance, mentoring and networking

3.  Encouraging SAME Membership and active participation in our Post activities and events

4.  Give thanks for their service by providing  opportunities to share time with their families and our Post members

The committee members are:

Jackie Hacker, HDR

Mark Loes, Kleinfelder

Leslie Fangman, Range and Civil Construction

Andrea Cekovsky, Stantec

Tony Casella, GBA

In November 2013, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend The Emerging Leaders Alliance (ELA) Workshop.  The ELA is a partnership among leading engineering, research and science-based organizations that provides high quality leadership training.  Essentially this annual conference is leadership training geared towards engineers and scientists.  Participation in the ELA is still new to the Society of American Military Engineers, as SAME just joined as a partner in ELA a couple years back.  Current partners are ALME, AIST, ASCE, NACE, SAME, SEG, SME, SPE, and TMS.  Each of these organizations sends 8-10 individuals to the conference.  Although any individual is welcome to apply, the majority of attendees come from these partner organizations. 

The application process for SAME begins in the early summer timeframe.  Each SAME Region was able to select and submit 1 applicant to SAME HQ and then 10 individuals were selected.  The selection process for 2014 may be slightly different from 2013 but be looking for information shortly after JETC in May. 

As a professional in the engineering industry, I can say this was the single best non-technical training I have ever attended.  What a great experience!  Many of the topics initially sounded like standard leadership training topics.  That's where I think ELA is unique.  A combination of remarkable presenters as well as the collaboration from the partner organizations made this training top notch.  The two and half day training in Reston, VA included topics such as:  Making the Transition from Technical to Management, Developing Emotional Intelligence for Success, Engineering Diversity within Leadership, and Social Styles.  One topic of particular interest to me was "Insights and Ideas for Leading Volunteers."  It was very positive to me to know that this organization recognizes what a difference there is working with a volunteer organization.  The Society of American Military Engineers' success is driven by the countless volunteers that give their time and talent every day. 

 

As we look forward to 2014 and what we can achieve as a Post, I want to offer a big congratulations and thank you in advance to our 2014 Board of Directors.  

President-Ann Ewy, USACE

Vice President-Rob Rastorfer, HNTB

Secretary-Melissa Kelley, SKW

Treasurer-Matt Turner, Yaeger Architecture 

Immediate Past President-Matt Metcalf, Tepa 

Elected Directors: 

Scott Perkins, Quantum Spatial 

Rex Ostrander, USACE 

Steve Iverson, USACE 

Bill Yord, RIC 

Kevin Casey, US Army 

Kim Pemberton, Trekk Design Group 

Amy McCurdy, McCurdy Engineers 

Jason Davis, Affinis 

Jason Sweet, Stantec 

On Wednesday, 12 Dec 2013 over 30 Air Force airman, civilians, and post members met for a luncheon meeting at the Missions End Club on Whiteman Air Force Base.  Mr. Al Osborne, Post Treasurer gave a presentation on the benefits of SAME and an overview of the Greater Kansas City Post.  The special guest speaker was Lt Col Aaron Wilt, Commander, 509^th Base Civil Engineering Squadron. 

Lt Col Wilt's presentation focused on the mission of the 509^th BCE and their program for sustainment, modernization and repair of critical base infrastructure.  Lt Col Wilt highlighted the some of the unique aspects of Whiteman AFB and its mission as the power projection platform for the nation's only B-2 Bomb Wing.  He stated that the base recently celebrated 20 years of the B-2 at Whiteman AFB.  Many of the unique facilities and infrastructure that were built to support the B-2 mission are in need of modernization and repair and the 509^th BCE has made a concerted and somewhat successful effort to secure funding for major SRM projects in the past several years.  Lt Col Wilt is working to maintain this pace for the foreseeable future. 

The meeting concluded with several door prizes and wishes from Al Osborne for a safe and happy holiday season.   

Name, Title and Employer

Jackie Hacker, Director, Small Business Program, HDR, Inc.  

What is your position with Greater Kansas City Post?

What is your "day job"?

Responsible for HDR's Nationwide Small Business and Mentor-Protege Program that includes a good deal of travel.

How did you become involved with SAME ?

I was working under a Senior Business Development Manager with another firm who introduced me to SAME. My first involvement was as volunteering as a member of the planning committee for Partnership 2001 Industry Day/Small Business Training Conference hosted by GKC Post and USACE. At that time it was LTC Gary Heer, President of the Post and COL Don Curtis as Commander of the KC District. We spent a year planning that conference! I spent a year getting to know the Post leadership and SAME. I was hooked! I became a dedicated and active member to the mission of this organization.

What role has SAME played in your professional life?

SAME is a lifeline to my professional life. The industry networking, connections, and friendships that I have developed across the country, through SAME, are priceless. I have learned and grown so much in the past twelve years as a professional because, through SAME, I have been so fortunate to be mentored by some of the smartest professionals of high integrity on the planet; and, taking advantage of the training and activities that SAME offers. When I resigned from my long-time job in 2009, I was astounded by the amount of my SAME network that reached out to me and offered to help with whatever I planned to do from that point! That is testimony of the value of your professional network, valuable benefit of SAME! I decided to consult for awhile and because of the awesome professionals in my SAME network, I had clients right away! SAME has and continues to be a significant role in my professional life!

What SAME accomplishment are you most proud of?

The focus for Small Business and continuing my role as a small business advocate in SAME. I received the SAME 2012 National Small Business Advocate Award and I received the 2008 Presidential Award for Small Business Advocate of the Year through our Post . I have been a member of the SAME National Small Business Council since 2004, serving as an executive staff member from 2006 - 2012. I was the Chair for the Post Small Business Committee and Post SBLO for a few years and we raised the emphasis on small business training and activities for the Post. I started an "Annual After Hours Networking Social" that brought 150+ attendees including government, adding a few new members each time. We started annual one-day training workshops for small businesses and plan specific conference sessions for small business during our Annual Industry Day. Our Post raised the bar for our small business members!  

What would you like to see the Greater Kansas City Post accomplish in the near future?

Near and dear to my heart is outreach initiatives to our Military in transition! We have an opportunity to give back. We have approximately 1200 wounded soldiers at Ft. Riley that is right in our back yard. As the soldiers transition out, we can provide help with professional development, mentoring,networking, job search, and be a benefactor in time of need. I look forward to our Post building relationships at Ft. Riley to give back to those who have sacrificed for our Country, protected our freedom to be SAME. We can strengthen our community and industry with military professionals of honor and integrity, building our future strong!!

What benefits do you see for our community through SAME's work?

SAME GKC Post is an integral part of our community reaching out on many levels. SAME provides community services from house rehab to Ronald McDonald's House, professional development opportunities and training, education and mentoring to our local elementary, high schools, and colleges; as examples. Community outreach efforts are provided by our volunteer SAME members. Our community benefits from the SAME activities and opportunities that promotes education to our kids, promotes interest in the math and science fields, promotes the sustainment of current and future engineers; and, our SAME mentors sharing their years of experience and knowledge helping build future leaders.    

What would you say to an individual thinking about getting involved with Greater Kansas City Post? 

Join Now!! I sincerely believe that if you want to or are working in the federal industry, you need to be an active member of SAME. SAME provides opportunities and education for you professionally; and, nationwide opportunities for networking and building relationships. GKC Post has top professionals in their field, committed leaders and mentors, and sincerely really great people. These are the people and businesses you need to get to know! As Membership Chair, I will be happy to help you join!!