SNAME LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
8-11/06/2017
SNAME Leadership Summit was held in Virginia from the 8th until
11th of June. The purpose of this annual event is to introduce to the
new section chairs their responsibilities and the mode of operation of
the society but also to get to know each other and to establish paths
of cooperation and the importance of partnership.
During the first day of the summit, the registration of the attendees
and their acquaintance with other members, students and professionals
all over the world took place. Additionally, a welcoming reception was
held in the evening. The live BINGO tournament and the distribution
of SNAME presents to the lucky winners were the highlights of the day.
The second day started with presentations early in the morning that
brought into focus the different types of services that SNAME provide
and the ways that the members could full use of them. At later stage,
small working groups were created , each one sharing its ideas and
reasons on WHY SNAME exists and HOW it can become a successful
organization. In the evening a cocktail reception was held at the Tide
Lock Park, where everyone enjoyed their drink while socializing with
other colleagues.
The third day of the conference, also started with presentations and
was followed by a discussion regarding the weaknesses of the society,
how we can eliminate them and WHAT strategy we should follow in order
to help our section prosper. The last event of the day was the
cocktail reception/dinner at SNAME HQ, where everyone was dressed in
their Hawaiian shirts, participating in the ‘’Luau’’ competition.
The final day was spent on recapitulating everything (goals and
action) being discussed during the previous days and addressing any
questions.
To conclude, If I had to choose one word to describe the best thing
about this event, that would be socialization. During the various meals,
the members where put in different tables with different people every
time and in that way we got to know each other really fast.
Everybody was friendly and social, no matter the age of the profession. I
had the chance to meet great people from all around the world and
discuss with them about matters of the society but also of the
industry and of the education provided. I believe that this kind of
communication is actually the core of SNAME because at the end of the
day, this what our job is going to be about, meeting different people
from all around the world and cooperate with them in order to achieve
our goals together!
