President's Message
At our 2010 Camp Pendleton Day event, before I had the honor of presenting donations to our charities, I mentioned a song lyric I’d been listening to that morning while driving down the 5 freeway at 5 AM: I want to live in a place where soul meets body. I sensed our Camp Pendleton Day event would be such a place--a place where we could network, learn about new opportunities, and create teaming partnerships, while assisting courageous families that are sacrificing so much as their loved ones serve overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Through our donations from this great event, the Armed Services YMCA was able to keep a daycare center open that was to be closed due to lack of funds, and Operation Homefront was able to augment their Thanksgiving Meal program. Soul meets body when we are able to earn our livelihoods, when we serve our respective companies, our families, and ourselves. But the experience deepens when we are also able to give back to our communities, support our troops and their families, and be part of something larger.
In 2010 we donated over $80,000 to charities and scholarship programs--I am grateful we’ve been able to do this! In addition to the two charities we support at Camp Pendleton Day, we also support the Wounded Warrior Program and, in honor of Dr. Peter Supko—a founding father of the reborn OC Post, the American Cancer Society. We also give five scholarships to deserving college students.
As I look to the months ahead, I am certain we will build on the accomplishments of this past year and create something even better! I have no doubt we will continue holding quality monthly meetings, which provide excellent networking opportunities with decision-makers in the federal market sector, as well as significant professional training. We are looking forward to having another outstanding joint event with the San Diego Post at Camp Pendleton and other events with organizations such as CMAA and SMPS. We will continue to support the next generation of engineers with a larger scholarship program, increase our support of military and other charities, and expand into supporting disabled veterans through our annual golf tournament. In addition, we plan to establish a Student Chapter to facilitate mentoring opportunities with young, local engineers. And, as always, we will finish the year with another great event in November—the Federal Business Development Opportunities Symposium. I encourage you to join us for another exciting year in SAME Orange County!
I am initiating a plan to establish the Orange County Post’s Education and Mentoring Fund. The goal of this Fund is to create self-sustaining resources to pay for scholarships and outreach activities for students of all ages, ranging from kindergarten to College. Last year we gave $12,500 to our scholarship recipients and we donated and supported the MathCounts program through UC Irvine. We also support the STEM-Up K-12 outreach and mentoring program, initiated by the LA Post, and as a result, we are proud sponsors of the Sunrise Elementary School in Boyle Heights/East LA. The OC Post has already been active with Sunrise Elementary; we hosted a field trip to the Discovery Science Center and guided students with their entries in the ìBuild a Bridgeî Competition. If the Board approves the creation of this Education and Mentoring Fund Committee, the committee would create a five-year plan to raise the monies needed to fund these initiatives without diminishing our current donations and scholarships.
I am grateful for the privilege to serve as the 2011 OC Post President, and hope to expand the Post by exploring ways to improve our practices and our effectiveness, and continue forward in the spirit of enrichment: professionally and personally. It is vital to have programs that are relevant and impactful, and I will do my best to meet these goals. I look forward to working with this year’s Board of Directors, Post members, and industry representatives. Together, I’m sure we will continue to make the Orange County Post one of the premiere industry organizations in our area--a place where soul meets body!
I hope you are all as eager as I am to embrace this exciting challenge!
Sincerely,
Jim Carter
Post President
SAME Orange County
