Recently, my teammate Zach Hamilton and I made a visit to our nation’s capital to meet with our legislators and advocate for agricultural issues important to our state. We started with a day-long training to help better equip us with the tools and knowledge we needed to be successful on our visits. We started the next morning in the wind and rain for our visits on Capitol Hill! While the weather was less than desirable, we will were able to make the most of our visits and share the messages of National Ag Day with our legislators. We met with Senator Joni Ernst and discussed how the Iowa FFA was doing and some of our recent happenings. She was happy to see familiar faces from home, and was very welcoming and receptive to our request for her continued support of agriculture. Later that morning, we walked over to Congressman David Young’s office. While he was in a hearing, we still got to meet with a member of his staff and pass our message along! Between a couple of flights and long layovers, I had the chance to reflect on just what makes a visit with our legislators successful. Having worked in state government, I have had the chance to see a lot of successful visits, but also quite a few visits that didn’t pan out as well. As the legislative session in the Iowa General Assembly is wrapping up, there still is time to reach out to your legislators and advocate for your message! Here is a list I compiled of the top ten ways to make your visit to the Iowa State Capitol worthwhile!
1. Contact your legislator or their clerk beforehand to set up a time for your meeting.
Your legislator’s email and phone number should be listed on the Iowa Legislative website. You can start at this link here: Contact your legislator!
Keep in mind that our legislators have extremely busy schedules, and it may be difficult to find a time that works! The next week’s schedule often does not come out until Thursday of the previous week, but do not let that stop you from emailing them a week to two weeks ahead of time to make sure you are on their radar. Once they have their official schedule for the next week, they will often try to reschedule if a conflict as come up.
2. Give them your name AND where you are from!
One of the most important things to tell your legislator is that you are a constituent! Especially when session is in full swing, they always appreciate seeing friendly faces from their home district.
3. Be flexible!
It is hard for legislators to gauge exactly what their schedule for the given day will look like. Sometimes they will have free time in the day either earlier or later than expected. Plan to spend a bit more time at the Capitol than just your scheduled visit. While you are there, don’t be afraid to schedule a tour to see all of the beautiful parts of the building!
4. Once you have a scheduled meeting, plan out what message you would like to share.
Knowing exactly what you want to share with your legislator ahead of time will be extremely helpful when it comes time for your visit. They hear from a lot of different people about a lot of different issues! Make yours stand out. Be sure to include why it matters to them and the people of their district. Prepare your “ask”, which is the one thing or idea you want to leave them with.
5. Make your message thorough, but brief.
Time is precious, and so are your words. Make sure that you can come up with a good balance of the two! Most of the time, your legislator may only have five to ten minutes in between meetings or voting. Make the most out of the time that you have to meet with them!
6. Add a personal touch to your message.
Telling your legislator that you would like something to change is nice, but you want your message to really resonate with them. Do you know someone that has been impacted by the issue you are bringing up? Does it personally affect you? How many of their constituents are affected by it? This can help make your message much more effective.
7. Wrap it up and reiterate your ask.
Summarize up your message before you get ready to leave. Reiterate what your “ask” is, and remind them how it applies to their district!
8. Leave behind some useful material.
Infographics, annual reports, or important facts are all information sheets that you can pass along. More often than not, they already have a folder in their desk made for the given topic you are there to discuss. They can hold onto this material and reference it as needed. That being said, make sure that the information you pass along is accurate and fairly portrays your topic.
9. Thank them for their time.
Our state legislators have a short amount of time to get a lot of legislation researched, proposed, and passed. Thank them for their time and ask for their business card so you can keep in touch in the future. If you have a business card, it would be a good time to give it to them!
10. Follow up after your visit.
Send them a thank you card. A handwritten note goes so far! That applies for not only a legislative visit, but for so many other circumstances in FFA. True thanks can be shown through a handwritten note, and they will appreciate the effort you took!
Cassie Bond
SC State Vice President
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