Attendee FAQs

No.  All individuals onsite at SBC must be eighteen (18) years of age or older. There are no exceptions to this policy.

Registration pricing can be found on the Registration Information Page of the SBC event website.

Registration is open.  Visit the Registration Information page for details.

What's included with your Registration: 

Full Conference Registration includes all General and Education Sessions, Matched Networking Appointments*, access to the Exhibit Hall (during show hours), including Networking Receptions and breakfast and lunch on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

*Matched Networking is only available to Full Conference registrants.

One Day Registration includes all General and Education sessions on that day, breakfast and lunch on that day, and access to the Exhibit Hall (during show hours) for that day, including a Networking Reception on Wednesday or Thursday. 

Exhibit Hall Only Registration includes all activities and meals that are held in the Exhibit Hall.  This is only available to registrants who are attending with an Exhibiting Company.

A link to SBC Housing will be available on the SBC Travel & Lodging page about the same time as Registration opens, in mid-July! Visit this page to secure your Hotel room before rooms sell out or by the Hotel cutoff dates!

Please do not contact the hotels directly! Reservations must be made through Connections Housing to receive the SAME rates and to be in SAME's blocks.

All sessions and events that will be included in our 2024 SBC can be found on the Schedule-At-A-Glance!

ALL SBC events will be held in New Orleans, LA, which is in the Central Time Zone.

You can view our Schedule at a Glance for our 2024 SBC.  This is an overview of what is taking place on each day and will be updated as needed.

Please visit the Sessions Page of the SBC website (available in July).  You can see the details of the education sessions, including the title, description, and Speaker(s) participating in each.  You can view these All or select a specific day.  You can also search by title, speaker, or track by clicking on "Search/Filter" at the top of the page.   

The event is being held in-person only at the Earnests N Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA.  The sessions will be recorded (audio) and this will be set to the presentation slides.  They will be available after the conference in the Attendee Service Center (ASC) through December 31, 2024.
 

Matched Networking appointments are one-on-one appointments between a Host (Government Agencies and Exhibiting Companies) and Private Industry Attendees.  Beginning on Monday, November 4, 2024, individuals with small businesses can access and complete the matched networking profile and request appointments through the Attendee Service Center (ASC). On Monday, November 11, 2024, this process will open to Medium and Large Businesses. Appointments are open to Full Conference registrants ONLY and are on a first-come, first-served basis.  Each attendee is responsible for their own schedule. Networking Appointments will be conducted onsite on:

Wednesday, 11/20, 1:30 - 5:30, CST,
Thursday, 11/21, 10:30 - 12:00 and 2:00 - 4:30, CST,
Friday, 11/22, 9:00 am - 11:30 pm, CST. 

The matching will be determined based on specific criteria such as NAICS code, Small Business Designations (Veteran-owned, etc), and other options.

Additional details can be found HERE!

No, you do not need to be a member of SAME to attend the Small Business Conference (SBC). However, SAME members do receive a discounted registration fee.

The option to become an SAME Individual Member is available through the Registration process.  If you have questions about SAME member types, you can visit our website click HERE.

Please visit the Registration Information page of the SBC website for pricing information.

If your member information doesn't populate in the registration system, please send an email to member@same.org.

If your company has an SAME Corporate membership, this does not mean that all employees have an SAME membership. The organization must select the employees to be on the Corporate membership.

If you would like to find out if you are on your company's corporate membership or how to become one, please contact our Membership Department at or 703-549-3800.

We expect about 5,500 Attendees, 20% Govt. with the majority of those being USACE employees.

Online registration will stay open until the end of the conference. You can also register at the conference at one of the Onsite Registration stations.

For SBC, we do not offer any Guest/Spouse registrations or offerings.

Once registration opens in mid-July ...

All exhibitors attending SBC must be registered using the Booth Staff Registration Form, which can be found HERE.

No one is automatically registered to attend the conference. ALL EXHIBITING COMPANY STAFF ATTENDING SBC MUST BE REGISTERED ONLINE.

For SBC, each Booth comes with (2) Complimentary Exhibitor Full Conference registrations. Those receiving the complimentary registrations must register through the Booth Staff Registration form.

Once the two free registrations have been used, any additional registrations are fee-based. Please check the Registration Information page for pricing.

If your booth is not paid in full and approved by SAME, you will not see your company in the drop-down list. Keep in mind that this process is not instantaneous. Our staff makes every effort to check payments daily and approve paid companies as quickly as possible.

Please email exhibit@same.org if you have any questions regarding your booth payment status.

We accept credit cards (Visa, American Express, Mastercard), ACH, and check payments.

If paying by check, please make it payable to SAME and mail it with a copy of your invoice to the address below.  Checks will be accepted through November 8, 2024.  They must be received and processed by SAME by this date.

Mail to:
Society of American Military Engineers (SAME)
P.O. Box 360795
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-6795

Tax ID#: 53-0196491 [this number may also be called the TIN or EIN]

If paying by check, please make it payable to SAME and mail it with a copy of your invoice to the address below.
*Please note: payment by check will not be accepted after November 8, 2024, due to mailing and processing times.* 

Mail to:
Society of American Military Engineers (SAME)
P.O. Box 360795
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-6795

Tax ID#: 53-0196491 [this number may also be called the TIN or EIN]

Cancelations will be accepted through COB (5:00 pm  EDT) on October 25, 2024, and must be received in writing, to registration@same.org. Registration fees will be refunded in full minus a handling and processing charge of $100.00 for individual registration. If you are a government employee or your registration fee is $0.00, you will not be charged a cancelation fee if you cancel. SAME regrets that refunds cannot be issued after October 25, 2024. You may transfer your registration to a colleague if circumstances prevent you from attending the event.

The cancelation fee and deadline do not apply to government registrations. Government registrations will receive full refunds at any time. Please send cancelations to registration@same.org.

To retrieve your registration invoice/receipt, please login to the Attendee Service Center. Your login information is located in your confirmation email.

Registration Transfer:

To transfer your PAID registration to someone else in your company, please have the substitute register for SBC.  When they get to the Payment page, click the down arrow for the “Payment Method” and select “send invoice” from the menu.  Complete the the Registration, but do not pay. Then, send an email to registration@same.org when this is completed to request the transfer.  The original registration will be canceled and the fee paid will be transferred to the substitute’s registration.  *If the substitute’s fee is different (member vs non-member or Early vs Regular fees) the difference will be charged.* 

To transfer a Complimentary Exhibitor Full Conference registration, the process is different. Please send an email to request that your registration be canceled. Once it is canceled, the substitute can register and select the Complimentary Exhibitor registration item. Transfer requests must be submitted by 12:00 p.m., (EST) on Friday, November 15, 2024.  After this deadline, transfers must be completed onsite at the Help Desk. 

Yes, for Government attendees, if you would like to register now but pay later please select, "BALANCE DUE" as your Payment Method.  Click on the down arrow and select this from the menu; defaults to "credit card."  When you are able to pay for your registration, please login to the Attendee Service Center and make payment. Your login information is located in your confirmation letter.  Payment must be made prior to the start of the conference.

A Pre-Conference Attendee List will be posted in the Attendee Service Center (ASC) two weeks before the conference (11/06).  A Final list will be posted within one week after the end of the conference. Your login to the ASC can be found in your registration confirmation letter.  Access to the ASC and the Attendee List is limited to registrants only.

Yes, there is a UPS Store located in Lobby F of the Convention Center.

Mobility scooter rental is available at the convention center's UPS Store, located in Lobby F. We welcome and encourage guests to make arrangements in advance: Mobility Scooter Reservation Form. Wheelchairs are also available upon request.