Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1436421
J ason Ortega, Vice President of Public Affairs, is the newest member of the NWPCA team and comes to the association with a clear vision of involving members from all walks of life in the organization's advocacy efforts. "I take a personal approach to help people get connected to NWPCA initiatives, whether it's at the ALC or plant tours or visiting members around the country," Ortega says. "We want to engage as many members as possible. That is why I am planning trips around the country to visit members of different sizes, in rural and urban markets, and with diverse backgrounds. Everyone has a voice, and I want to hear every perspective." NWPCA has made a concerted effort to help members of diverse cultural backgrounds become more engaged with their peers. "The Hispanic Council provides our members an addition- al opportunity to connect and network. The opportunity to share experiences and challenges and hear perspectives from all over North America is an invaluable tool for success." "We also recognize that language can sometimes be a barrier. That is why the NWPCA has made available publications in Spanish, such as the Fire Manual, and now, the PDS User's manual." "As an organization, to best serve the needs of the industry as a whole, we depend on everyone's input, no matter their back- ground or setting," says Ortega. "There are feed- back opportunities through surveys, requests for information, or just calling us directly, all of which incredibly helpful. Our most recent survey asks what industries are the biggest customers of our members, and knowing the rising threat from plastic pallets, we want to dig into that more." As Vice President of Public Affairs, Ortega depends on member input for his advocacy efforts in Washington. "It has been a very successful several months. I have met multiple times with Members of Congress from both parties, in the House and Senate – at least a dozen meetings so far – to lay out our priorities as an industry, educate on who we are and how important we are to the supply chain," says Ortega. "These high-level, face-to-face conversations with Congressional leaders are made possible by the PalletPAC." With Farm Bill negotiation starting next year, labor issues, and ongoing supply chain back- logs, meeting with lawmakers is as important as ever to make sure they are clear on the impacts of these to the industry, and that they consider our needs in conversations on these issues. "I am always looking for members who want to engage with congressional representatives or host a member of Congress with a plant tour, I will do my best to facilitate that." If members are seeing an issue that they think has a federal nexus or state level issues, contact Jason Ortega at jortega@palletcentral.com 24 PalletCentral • November-December 2021 palletcentral.com Connecting to Diversity