By Casey Fields, Municipal Association's Manager for Municipal Advocacy
You know the Association's legislative team doesn’t have the chance to get out of Columbia and visit cities like our field services staff does. So when we can come to your hometown and visit you for a change, we jump at the chance. It’s great to see everyone, catch up on family, sample some of your best local food and talk shop.
For nine years, the Association’s legislative team has taken to the road in search of the best fried chicken, tastiest barbeque and most delicious banana pudding. No, I’m not setting up the next installment of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. I’m talking about the Regional Advocacy Meetings. My favorite time of the year.
We can’t do our job at the State House unless we know what you are experiencing in your hometowns. What are residents and business owners complaining about? What do you hear about at the grocery store? At church? Can we work together and fix it through legislation? And I say work together, because it takes hometown voices and direct lobbying working simultaneously to get it done.
The Regional Advocacy Meetings are the first step in the Association’s process of gathering proactive legislative initiatives to tackle for the upcoming session. Your ideas and suggestions are wrapped up into a presentation to the Association’s legislative committee and then sent to the Association’s board of directors. This gives us a road map to follow during the session.
This year, we have invited legislators to join us for lunch at the Regional Advocacy Meetings. This is a new addition to the usual agenda, but we’ve heard so many times from you that we should invite them, so here we go. We’ve had a great response so far from legislators excited to eat lunch and share their priorities with us.
After you read this, go ahead and register for a Regional Advocacy Meeting. You can check the schedule and RSVP here. The meetings start in Greenwood on September 18 and run through October 8 in Rock Hill with one in each COG region of the state. Come to the one most convenient for you. The meetings are free, but we do need to know if you’re coming so we can make sure to have enough food and handouts.
You know the Association's legislative team doesn’t have the chance to get out of Columbia and visit cities like our field services staff does. So when we can come to your hometown and visit you for a change, we jump at the chance. It’s great to see everyone, catch up on family, sample some of your best local food and talk shop.
For nine years, the Association’s legislative team has taken to the road in search of the best fried chicken, tastiest barbeque and most delicious banana pudding. No, I’m not setting up the next installment of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. I’m talking about the Regional Advocacy Meetings. My favorite time of the year.
We can’t do our job at the State House unless we know what you are experiencing in your hometowns. What are residents and business owners complaining about? What do you hear about at the grocery store? At church? Can we work together and fix it through legislation? And I say work together, because it takes hometown voices and direct lobbying working simultaneously to get it done.
The Regional Advocacy Meetings are the first step in the Association’s process of gathering proactive legislative initiatives to tackle for the upcoming session. Your ideas and suggestions are wrapped up into a presentation to the Association’s legislative committee and then sent to the Association’s board of directors. This gives us a road map to follow during the session.
This year, we have invited legislators to join us for lunch at the Regional Advocacy Meetings. This is a new addition to the usual agenda, but we’ve heard so many times from you that we should invite them, so here we go. We’ve had a great response so far from legislators excited to eat lunch and share their priorities with us.
After you read this, go ahead and register for a Regional Advocacy Meeting. You can check the schedule and RSVP here. The meetings start in Greenwood on September 18 and run through October 8 in Rock Hill with one in each COG region of the state. Come to the one most convenient for you. The meetings are free, but we do need to know if you’re coming so we can make sure to have enough food and handouts.
After you register, then call your Senators and House members and encourage them to attend, too. All legislators have received a letter of invitation from the Association's president, Anderson Mayor Terence Roberts.
We can’t wait to see all of you on the road!
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