Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/536121
INSIDE NWPCA Capitol Hill Corner "Yes Senator, Two Billion Pallets" A dvocacy is like media, you are vying for people's time and attention, and getting them to remember you and your issues is critical. There are many interesting facts about the pallet industry. One of those facts that always impresses people is the number of pallets in circulation domestically in the United States: two billion pallets. This works to the advantage of the pallet industry. People remember you and your business when you talk about industry statistics. In June, NWPCA was able to meet with Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-1st), United States Senators Tim Kaine (VA) and Al Franken (MN). Senator Kaine was fascinated to learn about the number of pallet businesses in his state. Likewise, as we were walking out the door of the conference room in Senator Al Franken's office in the Hart Senate Office Building, the senator turned to me and asked in earnest, "Two billion pallets?" Yes Senator, two billion pallets. Meeting with members of Congress is important, but just as important is meeting with their staff. Their job is to be experts in their issue areas and brief their 'bosses.' Along with Senator Kaine, we met on a separate occasion with his staff: Megan Field and Alvaro Zarco. Megan handles transportation policy issues while Alvaro works on immigration policy for the Senator. Both staffers showed an interest in our issues and in visiting a wood pallet production facility. NWPCA also met with Senator Warner's (VA) staffer Lauren Marshall who handles transportation issues. The purpose of that meeting was to introduce her to NWPCA, educate her about member companies in Virginia and industry concerns. Lauren noted she wanted to keep in contact with the industry. These relationships build a 'web' to gather information. NWPCA is reaching out on Capitol Hill, but also to federal agencies, associations, companies and individuals to cast a wide net that captures as much information as possible. If an issue taps the web, we want to know about it so we can inform our NWPCA members. To stay current on NWPCA Advocacy, visit PalletCentral.com >> Advocacy, and follow Patrick on Twitter @NWPCA_Policy. PC NWPCA with Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-1st) in Washington, DC. U.S. Senator Al Franken (MN) with Patrick Atagi, VP of Advocacy and External Affairs. NWPCA with U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (VA) as part of the National Association of Manufacturers Congressional Fly-In. 10 PalletCentral • July-August 2015 palletcentral.com