Overview of NAA CapCon and FAA Legislative Days
By: Chip Tatum, FAA Government Affairs Director
FAA is very appreciative of the many volunteers and sponsors that made our advocacy efforts and trips in March so successful! March proved to be both busy AND productive with NAA’s Capitol Conference (CapCon) and FAA’s Legislative Days.
Florida Delegation Dinner
Be sure to thank CORT & Apartment Guide for making this such a success!
One of the highlights of our time in Washington, D.C. was our annual Florida Delegation Dinner! Once again CORT and Apartment Guide graciously sponsored this event and are directly responsible for making it such a great experience! As is the FAA tradition, we hosted the Florida Delegation Dinner immediately following the Capitol Steps performance on Sunday evening. This year’s dinner was held at the Old Ebbitt Grill, which is steeped in a rich history in our nation’s capital. The restaurant certainly did not lack character and provided our delegation with the opportunity to enjoy great food and fellowship.
FAA Members meet with the Florida Congressional Delegation
Following a meeting-packed few days at the Omni, FAA members hit Capitol Hill armed with honed and new information obtained at CapCon. (For information on National issues please visit http://www.naahq.org/governmentaffairs/issues/Pages/default.aspx.) NAA/NMHC chose four discussion topics for our visits: GSE (housing finance) Reform, Energy Policy, Balanced Housing and Bed Bugs. Our contingent visited personally with seven lawmakers and had meetings with the staffs of 13 other! As always, it proved to be a very busy and productive day.
FAA Legislative Days
FAA Legislative Days has long been one of my favorite annual events since I started attending it several years ago, and being directly involved with the planning of it truly added to the thrill! We’ve been making positive and progressive steps with this event over the last few years and I hope that you have enjoyed attending as much as we enjoy putting it on for you. A few notable changes this year was a commitment to keeping the "brief" in opening Legislative Briefing, producing high-quality handbooks and materials and the APAC "Thank You" Donor Breakfast at the Governor’s Club!
The Legislative Days "Ambassador" Handbooks were the star of the show thanks to our sponsors The Law Offices of Heist, Weisse, Davis, and Wolk P.A. and Roto-Rooter!
FAA President-Elect/Legislative Chair Susan Truesdale kicked off the event with the Legislative Briefing and got attendees fired up for the briefing and the following days Hill visits! One of the most memorable moments was the "How to interact with your lawmaker" role play with Heidi Broom, AAGO Government Affairs Director, Jeff Rogo, BAAA Government Affairs Director and Creston Leifried of Coastal Reconstruction (who we’ll say was a willing participant). That evening attendees enjoyed a delicious dinner and were joined by our special guests Representative Frank Artiles (R HD-119) and Representative Jason Brodeur (R HD-33). And, what Legislative Days Dinner would be complete without the one and only Ron Book, FAA’s lobbyist, entertaining and educating us on what is transpiring in the state capitol?
APAC "Thank You" Donor Breakfast
As part of FAA’s ongoing efforts to expand APAC and recognize donors, we hosted a breakfast at the Governor’s Club for companies/individuals who contributed $100 or more this year! We were joined by several freshman state representatives who took time out of their busy schedules to meet with our group. A big THANK YOU to The Law Offices of Heist, Weisse, Davis, and Wolk P.A. for sponsoring the event!
Tallahassee Hill Visits
Thank you to everyone who made the commitment to attend this important component of FAA’s advocacy efforts! Lawmakers and their legislative staff appreciate hearing directly from you, the stakeholders, on the issues important to our industry. In what is probably a record, FAA members met with the lawmaker and/or staff of nearly EVERY district in the state! That’s not just impressive, it’s incredible!
In closing, thanks again to everyone who attended CapCon and/or Legislative Days! You hear us say it again and again that your voice matters. We would also be remiss not to thank all of our sponsors without whom many of these events and perks wouldn’t be possible...
Florida Delegation Dinner –
Apartment Guide: www.apartmentguide.com
CORT: www.cort.com
FAA Legislative Days Handbook –
The Law Offices of Heist, Weisse, Davis and Wolk, P.A.: www.evict.com
Roto-Rooter: www.rrsc.com
APAC "Thank You" Breakfast
The Law Offices of Heist, Weisse, Davis and Wolk, P.A.: www.evict.com