Post Notes Archives

Denver Metro Post helps community

Starting in November through December 2012, SAME Denver Metro Post will give back to their local community by holding two donation drives: Angel Tree at Fort Carson and Marion House Clothing & Blanket Drive.

Angel Tree at Fort Carson
In support of the Warrior Transition Battalion and their families at Fort Carson, SAME Denver Metro Post has partnered with the Fort Carson Soldier and Family Assistance Center (SFAC) to collect gifts for children through the Angel Tree Program. Participants will receive the name, age and wish list of a child to "adopt” for the program. Wrapped gifts will be collected and then presented to the children at Fort Carson to open for the holidays.

Marion House Clothing & Blanket Drive
The Post will collect blankets, coats, jeans, socks and other warm clothing to donate to The Marion House, a local Colorado Springs homeless shelter. SAME sustaining member Coover-Clark & Associates, Inc. has pledged to match each blanket donated. Through this initiative, the Post aims to help the less fortunate endure the tough Colorado winter.

For more details including what you can do to help, please contact Amanda Clark at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . To learn more about the SAME Denver Metro Post, go to posts.same.org/denver.

Carolina Posts collaborate for veteran

SAME Carolina Midlands, Charleston, Coastal Carolina and Fort Bragg Posts teamed up to renovate the home of Sgt. Kelvin Woods, a wounded veteran in Gastonia, N.C.

The project started when Cindy Zwolensky, Business Development Coordinator and Treasurer, Carolina Midlands Post, received a call for help from the Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2) about Sgt. Kelvin Woods. The 40-year old disabled veteran served in the Army for 21 years as a motor transport specialist and was in need to make his home wheelchair accessible.

Due to the scope of the project, Zwolensky reached out to other Carolina Regional posts and soon enough construction was started and made possible by hardworking members of the Carolina Midlands, Charleston, Coastal Carolina, Fort Bragg Posts and community volunteers.

Sgt. Kelvin Woods’ home needed accessibility in the master bedroom and master bathroom.  The bathroom fixtures were relocated so a door could be put in to provide an egress to the outside deck.  A lift was installed on the deck to be able to lower him to a new sidewalk that goes to the front driveway. The sidewalk was built by Edifice General Contractors, a commercial contractor in Charlotte, N.C.

The Posts only had a budget of $6,000 but Edifice Vice President Brad Edwards garnered approximately $20,000 in materials and labor donations from the 145th Civil Engineering Squadron and  245th Civil Enginering Flight of the North Carolina Air National Guard. Stewart Cooper Newell Architects and volunteers from the North Carolina Air National Guard in Charlotte also provided much needed assistance to complete the project.

Sgt. Kelvin Woods moved into his newly renovated and accessible home on October 1, 2012.

Baltimore Post sponsors career-oriented event for students

As the hustle and bustle of another school year begins, students are eager to learn about new and exciting lessons to help mold their career decisions. After attending Easy as Pi, an event sponsored by SAME Baltimore Post last spring, students are better equipped with what they need to do to excel in a specific field. Five school systems in the greater Baltimore area participated in the event with a total of 75 student attendees in grades seventh and eighth.

Baltimore Post sponsored the event to encourage interaction between the students and professionals, allowing the students to learn and inquire about the different career pathways available in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program helps students investigate their options. “It’s important to teach kids so they understand better what is out there,” said Emily Schiffmacher, Student Mentoring Committee Chair, Baltimore Post. “Because of all the different technology available to kids these days, many are deciding what they want to be when they grow up before seventh and eighth grades.”

Event presentations were enhanced with educational activities. “The speakers presented and then engaged the students with different hands-on activities to allow them to apply what they have just learned,” said Greg Johnson, Baltimore District Corps of Engineers Resources Management Chief.  Johnson is also Baltimore Post's Scholarship and Education Committee Chair.

Easy as Pie featured volunteer speakers from the Baltimore Aquarium, University of Maryland, Cabrera Services, the Maryland State Police Crime Lab, the Corps of Engineers Baltimore District, and the Department of Homeland Security.

By Stacy Ouellette, SAME Baltimore Post

Carolina Midlands Post raises funds, awards scholarships

The SAME Carolina Midlands Post continues to reinforce education and promote the field of engineering through outreach and scholarship programs. The Post recently raised money for their Education Fund and awarded scholarships to five students.

Carolina Midlands Post Program Manager Otis Aleman sold t-shirts to his fellow colleagues at Alliance Consulting Engineers to raise money for the Post's Education Fund. On August 14, 2012, Aleman presented the proceeds, totaling $900, to Post President Lt. Col. Terrence Walter, USAF.

Carolina Midlands Post Program Manager Otis Aleman (left) presented
a check to Post President Lt. Col. Terrence Walter (right) for the
Post's Education Fund.

The donation is essential to the Post's scholarship program to assist students in need. In June, the Post awarded scholarships to five deserving students: Cindy Zwolensky, Addision Lucas, William Lightle, Logan Dickson and Seth Mangan.

Carolina Midlands Post Scholarship Chair John Collum (left) presented
scholarship awards to Cindy Zwolensky, Addision Lucas, William Lightle
and Logan Dickson.

Visit midlands.same.org to learn more about Carolina Midlands Post. To make a donation and for more details regarding the SAME Education and Mentoring Fund, click here.