Let’s Show Up

By James Ellsworth, RCS Business Development. 

Find time to meet with your local legislators to make your voice heard and promote change.  

Two months ago, we in the roofing industry came together to express our priorities and concerns with Congress during the annual Roofing Day in D.C., hosted by the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA).  We met with our elected officials and their staff to share our thoughts and answer their questions about the roofing industry.  It was a remarkable success, with nearly 250 meetings on Capitol Hill (virtually), 57 with a member of Congress and over 325 participants this year; we owe a great deal of thanks to the NRCA team!   

Our work is not over yet though.  We have only started the process of ensuring that our elected leaders know the priorities of the industry.  Your state legislature, for the most part, will impact your business and personal life more than Congress ever will.  It is your local leaders who will set the state budget (which must be a balanced budget, except for Vermont), update building codes, change labor laws and invest in the future.    

41 of our country’s legislatures are currently in session and discussing pertinent issues and potential solutions.  Many are using technology to host virtual meetings, making it easier than ever to share your thoughts and opinions on existing proposals. These are the decisions we need to show up for.  This is where we need to engage and make our voices heard.   

As a former Chief of Staff for a state Representative in the Oregon Legislature, I can attest to how important it is to develop a relationship with your local representative.  More often than you may expect, I was tasked with reaching out to constituents we had met with, and developed a relationship with, to get their insights and perspective on a proposal that would impact their area of expertise.  We called contractors, realtors, business owners, tech developers and many more.  They were not all affiliated with the same party as the Representative, but there was a deep amount of respect between them and they all knew how important it was to get that “on the ground point of view.”   

Find the time to reach out to your legislators and have a meeting.  See if you can get them to join you in your office or work site after the legislative session has ended so they can see what you are actually doing.  Build that respect and trust so they will think of you first when a bill comes before them and they will send you a text to get your quick thoughts.   

Remember what Aaron Sorkin wrote – “Decisions are made by those that show up.”  Let’s show up! 

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