Captain Craig S. Hamer, CEC, USN (Ret.) Appointed President Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association

Captain Hamer has extensive Navy leadership and program management experience and most recently served as the Maritime Headquarters Director for Navy Expeditionary Combat Command in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Previous positions included Commanding Officer, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Commanding Officer, NAVFAC Bethesda, where he led a 200-person engineering and acquisition team in the construction of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and Commanding Officer, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR.  Hamer retired in June after an extraordinary 30-year career of service to our Navy and nation.

Hamer holds a Master of Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Professional Engineer registration in South Carolina.  Hamer earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Clemson University and completed the Executive Business Program at the University of Michigan. Hamer's community leadership includes serving on the Board of Advisors for the Clemson University Civil Engineering Department.

"We are extremely pleased to have Steve join SMSA as our new president.  His track-record of performance in the Navy and his genuine care for our emerging leaders make him an ideal fit to lead SMSA into our future.  We are confident that Steve will continue to position SMSA to serve Seabee families and donor investors," said retired Rear Admiral Mike Giorgione, CEC, chairman of the SMSA Board of Directors.

Hamer is replacing Captain Kurt Sisson, CEC, USN (Ret) who served impressively as SMSA president for eight years.  Under Captain Sisson's leadership SMSA experienced exceptional growth and performance outcomes.

SMSA Accomplishments 2009-2017

• Grew SMSA's corpus from $3 Million to $6.3 Million,
• Doubled the value of scholarship grants from $1,800/year to $3,300/year,
• Increased total scholarships awarded to students annually from $176,000 to over $293,000,
• Led the SMSA board of directors in launching the Legacy Campaign to raise $5M by 2020,
• Improved community and donor communications and outreach by establishing SMSA's social media presence,
• Revamped SMSA's branding, marketing and communications presence, by integrating multimedia platforms on the website to include online giving and publishing a newsletter three times/year,
• Combined the Audit, Treasurer's Report, and Finance Report into a single report with consolidated and reliable accounting performance measures,
• Improved SMSA's administration by updating the Bylaws, transitioned donations and recording of donations to Gulfport, studied the potential merger of SMSA and Seabee Historical Association, improved donor recognition and stewardship processes, improved contracts with staff to include Nondisclosure Agreements and Confidentiality Agreements.
• Expanded SMSA fund raising initiatives by launching an annual Gala, increasing the number of golf tournaments, and developing alternate approaches to funding scholarships.

"The entire board thanks Kurt for his eight years of exceptional service as SMSA president. Without a doubt, Captain Sisson's leadership and managerial oversight modernized SMSA operations and infrastructure, positioning the Association to serve more Seabee and CEC officer children and grandchildren, college and vocational school-bound students in the future.  We appreciate Captain Sisson's lifelong devotion to the Seabee community and wish him and Barb the very best," said Rear Admiral Giorgione.

About the Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association:

The Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association is the nation's only provider of scholarships for the children and grandchildren of individuals who have served with America's fighting Seabees and the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC).  SMSA has awarded over 2,800 scholarship awards totaling $4.6 million since 1972.  The Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association participates in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC number 11959). For more information on the Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association and its scholarship program, visit www.seabee.org.

For additional information contact:
Eugenia Gardner (703) 373-7172

SOURCE Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association

Related Links

http://www.seabee.org