The calendar still says August, but now is the time to start thinking about November.
On November 4th, we will be voting for 34 new U.S. Senators, plus all of the House of Representatives, 36 new Governors and a variety of state and local issues.
To help you navigate your way through issues that are most important to our supply channel, NAED has launched its “Step Up and be Heard. Vote.” page on www.naed.org. The page will take you through actions you can take before the November election, the top issues, election information and how to contact your elected officials. You can check it out for yourself at www.naed.org/tellcongress/.
In the meantime, NAED is preparing for the annual Congressional Fly-In on September 9 and 10. There is still time and space to attend. NAED Vice-President of Government Affairs Ed Orlet posted the following in his blog about attending this year’s 2014 Congressional Fly-In.
Hopefully by now you’ve seen promotions for our 2014 Congressional Fly-In, September 9 and 10 in Washington DC. This is our fourth year doing the Fly-In and it promises to be our biggest and best ever.
All you need to do is register and get to Washington– we take care of the rest for you. We prep you on issues, set up your meetings and give you material to leave behind at your meetings.
Associations and groups of all types head to Washington all year long for similar events. It’s one of the unique privileges of living in this country – if you haven’t done it before, here’s something you may not realize: elected officials and their staff would rather meet with constituents (voters) than with lobbyists. You are the most effective spokesperson for our industry and for your business.
We know our members like to be prepared – and we work to make sure you’re comfortable with But the NAED Fly-In also gives you training on how to effectively meet with your elected officials and start building relationships. We bring in Stephanie Vance, owner of Advocacy Associates, who has over 20 years of experience on the Hill as both a Congressional staffer and a lobbyist. She’ll bring her extensive knowledge to the training session at the Fly-In. We’ll also do a webinar briefing a few weeks prior to the Fly-In. Finally – if you REALLY want to study up – give me a call anytime to talk policy or politics. The best part of my job has always been talking to our members.
No matter how much you want to prepare, though, you are NOT expected to be a policy wonk – you are just expected to talk about your business and how these issues could affect your business. Many of these folks in DC are lawyers – and not even they always understand the machinations of legislation. They do understand a happy constituent – and that’s really what matters to them.
So many members of Congress have no idea what electrical distributors do. That’s why it’s so important to build relationships with them – they truly want to know who their constituents are, and what they do. And the more they know about you, the better than can represent you.
To learn more, go the NAED website www.naed.org/flyin for an agenda and FAQ. You can also contact me any time with questions.
And be sure to register today on NAED’s website.
Thank you for your time today and thank you for supporting NAED.
Tagged with tED