My first visit was with a Legislative Assistant to Congressman Adam Kinzinger of the 11th Illinois District. Chava McKeel, GCSAA Sr. Manager of Information and Public Policy, attended this meeting with me and filled in a lot of gaps in my message. Also, having her there helped ease what nervousness I had. She certainly had a busy day as well. Congressman Kinzinger and his aide were both golfers so it was easy to quickly break the ice for our meeting. What I found most interesting was that meetings with Congressional staffers only were about 10-15 minutes long. But, in realizing what they do and with the amount of people they deal with everyday, 15 minutes is about all they have time for. I thought our meeting went well. It seemed like the message did not fall on deaf ears. Later that morning, I found my way back to the Rayburn building and went to the office of Congresswoman Judy Biggert. Her aide was also a golfer so again, very easy to have a connection with someone. Conveying the message the second time around was a bit easier. Also, in listening to Chava share her thoughts in the prior meeting helped me as well this time. After thanking them for their time, I headed down to lunch in the Rayburn cafeteria. Just before sitting down for lunch I ran into another person from one of the allied organizations representing We Are Golf. In speaking with this person for a few minutes and telling him about my Congressional visits, he asked the question, “how did you get the opportunity to meet with those people?” I told him about our Information and Public Policy department at GCSAA and the great work that they do keeping up our relationships in Washington. So, in realizing what this gentleman was asking me, I quickly figured out that the GCSAA contingent probably had more ‘Hill’ visits then most of the other organizations that represented We Are Golf. Hopefully, all of the We Are Golf allies will be able to meet more with legislators and their staffs at future We Are Golf events. During this lunch, I did get to see a 2 -star Air Force general. I had never seen such a high ranking officer in person before. Cool Stuff. After lunch, I made my way across the Capital Campus to the Hart Building. In my travels I began noticing more and more security as I got closer to the Capitol. People were still allowed to go back and forth but getting close to the Capitol for photos was nearly impossible. I did finally figure out why I couldn’t get close. The President’s motorcade had pulled up to pick him up. The budget debates had been going on that week so hence he was there as well. There was a lot of security around the Capitol Campus that day. Upon getting to the Hart Building where some of the Senate offices are housed, I met up with Chava again. This afternoon’s meetings were with the aides of both Illinois Senators, Durbin and Kirk. Furthermore, in that the Senate had not voted on H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011, it was important to have as much information as possible and she knew much more about it than I did. Surprisingly, both meetings went well. The aides listened to our message, asked questions, and took down notes. It seemed to turn out better than I expected. Both of the staff members were open to listen about 872 why it should be passed. Many lobbyists have law degrees, I can certainly understand why after spending the day talking about golf and its many merits. If you are looking for any juicy gossip about our meetings, Capital Hill, or anything else; sorry to disappoint. The GCSAA government relations committee met to talk about issues that pertain to Golf Course Superintendents and also to meet with legislators from our respective districts and to spread the word about Golf. As I boarded my flight that evening back to Chicago from Reagan National, I left with a sense of pride. I am proud to be a member of GCSAA. I am proud of the work our committee did in our nation’s capitol. I know that my 4 – 15 minute meetings that day with Congressional staff is not much in the grand scheme of Washington politics but hopefully it is helping build bridges for Golf. Hopefully, they will remember parts of our message and when future legislation comes along that might affect golf, they will remember that too. My only message to everyone is to get involved in understanding your state and local laws that pertain to golf courses. Also, know who your legislators are as well and do not be afraid to contact their offices. Now, if I could only get back my iPod which I left on the plane from Reagan, my trip would have been perfect. |
Dispatches from D.C. Pt. 3
While the 15-minute meetings that day with Congressional staff is not much in the grand scheme of Washington politics, John Ekstrom hopes it helps build bridges for golf.
