2026 SAME Projects of Excellence

This event will showcase projects our membership and partners are delivering for the various communities we serve. In addition, we will be presenting awards for the best submissions in five distinct categories: Collaboration, Innovation, Complexity, Environmental Stewardship, and People's Choice.

For People's Choice, project posters will be available for viewing and judging by all event attendees. Judging will be open during the social hour leading up to dinner. Votes will be counted during dinner and the award will be issued alongside the other categories later in the evening.

The project submission period is open starting August 7th and will close September 25th. All submissions should be sent to the following email address: poe2026submissions@gmail.com.

When: Friday, October 23, 2026 from 6PM to 9PM

Where: Salty's on Alki Beach

Attire: Semi-Formal

Food: Hors d'oueurves | Plated dinner (Roasted Chicken, Top Sirloin, or Stuffed Portobella Mushroom) | 2x drink tickets per person (one alcoholic, one non-alcoholic)

Program:

• 6:00 - Registration / Cocktail Hour / People's Choice Voting
• 6:50 - Dinner Service
• 7:00 - Welcome Address / Keynote Speaker (TBD)
• 7:50 - Sponsor Presentation
• 8:00 - Intermission / People's Choice Voting
• 8:20 - Awards Presentation / Raffle
• 9:00 - Adjourn

Parking:

• Private Lot - Free parking is available on-site at Salty's on Alki Beach.
• Street Parking - Additional free and timed spaces can be found along Harbor Avenue SW if the main lot is full.
• Alternative Transit - The King County Water Taxi from downtown Seattle (Pier 50) to Seacrest Park, which is just a short 5-minute walk from the restaurant.

Tickets (Early Bird through September 18th):

• Non-Member - $200 (Early Bird $175)
• SAME Member/Guest - $150 (Early Bird $125)
• Government / Retired / Young Professional (39 and under) - $50

For planning purposes, ticket sales close end of day October 9th.

Please consider sponsoring the event - our supporters are the ones who help make this happen! Options include:

Platinum Sponsorship - $2,000 (two available)

• Three complimentary tickets
• Seating at front center table
• Company logo on promotional material prior to event and on slide at event
• Company shoutout during event
• Five-minute presentation during event

Gold Sponsorship - $1,500 (four available)

• Two complimentary tickets
• Seating at front side table
• Company logo on promotional material prior to event and on slide at event
• Company shoutout during event

Silver Sponsorship - $900 (six available)

• One complimentary ticket
• Company logo on promotional material prior to event and on slide at event
• Company shoutout during event

Bar Sponsorship - $1,500 (two available)

• Three complimentary tickets
• Company logo on promotional material prior to event and on signage at event

Attendee list will be shared with attendees after the event, including name, title and company (no contact information).

Refund Policy:

• Starting October 9th, no refunds will be issued. If you request a refund prior to then, the refund will be issued in full minus Eventbrite fees.

For questions, please contact the event chair Jason Hu at jason.hu@hdrinc.com.