“Do not be intimidated,” said SAF’s Senior Director of Government Relations Shawn McBurney. “Congress relies on you for information. They want you to tell them about your business.”
Stephanie Vance of Advocacy Associates helped attendees practice their pitch before the meetings on Capitol Hill. She cautioned SAF members that they might end up walking alongside junior aides on the way to other meetings, or getting only a few quick moments — but she also said that with a strong argument and great story, every second counts. Another tip from Vance: Always follow up. Invite lawmakers to your business, she said.
“We don’t have to be the experts,” Skip Paal, AAF, the head of Rutland Beard Floral Group in metro Baltimore, told the crowd. “Our stories matter.”
Joe Bischoff, Ph.D., one of SAF’s lobbyists with Cornerstone Government Affairs, explained the ins and outs of Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative funding; CAD participants asked lawmakers on Tuesday to support a “modest” increase that would restore the fund to earlier levels. “[FNRI] is a partnership be industry, the academic community and the federal government,” he said. “We’re not just asking for money from the government. It’s about leveraging dollars.”
Jim Carter, vice president of government affairs at Emerson, a diversified global manufacturing and technology company based in St. Louis, Missouri, and a tax reform adviser on the Trump Transition Team, briefed attendees on tax reform on Monday. “This administration is more attune to checking off campaign promises than others,” he said. Tax reform is something [President Trump] campaigned on. I would be shocked if we didn’t have something this year.”
After being briefed on the top three issues, attendees met with their state delegations to map out a strategy for their meetings. A few of the delegates from Virgnia and Maryland: Paul Brockway, Conklyns; Wesley Hook, Rutland Beard Floral Group, and Kaitline Radebaugh, AAF, Radebaugh Florist & Greenhouses.
The Illinois delegation – the largest state delegation at CAD — had appointments in about 20 different congressional offices.
CAD first-timer Corrine Heck, Details Flowers, Oromonde Beach, studies up on the issues with veteran attendees and fellow Floridians Ben Powell, Mayesh Wholesale, and Oscar Fernandez, Equiflor/Rio Roses.
While trade was not a key issue for CAD this year, because the new administration is focused on trade, Alice Gomez, one of SAF’s lobbyists with Cornerstone Government Affairs, made a brief presentation on the president’s position on high-profile agreements, including NAFTA, which could ultimately affect floral industry members.
The Colorado puts what it learned into a practice roleplay session. From left: Dave Legge and Dave Gaul, AAF, DWF Wholesale Florist; Lee Sorensen, Brad Beck, AAF, and Dwight Larimer, AAF, PFCI, Design Master color tool, Inc., and lobbying strategist Stephanie Vance.
Craig Regelbrugge, senior vice president of industry advocacy and research at AmericanHort, called the country’s broken immigration system “an existential threat for industry. It’s a supply chain issue that will have an awful lot to do with how our industry looks in 10 years. The longer it goes unresolved, the more it hurts our country.”
“It’s so important for you to go to the Hill and make sure members know what’s important to you,” emphasized small business attorney Jessica Summers, of Paley Rothman
