Bravo to Bruce and the MPI Leadership for sharing this information on the proposed amendments to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). This is yet another example of government shortsightedness and lack of understanding of the business value trade association meetings and events provide their attendees. Additionally, it is a clear signal that we in the meetings industry have a tremendous amount of advocacy work ahead of us if we intend to educate others on the value of meetings, the value of the meeting professional, and the value of the meetings industry.

I fully applaud this blog post; however I do not understand specifically how you would like members to act. What would you like us to say in our comments to the OGE? What does success look like?

MPI members need to show their trade association that they are willing and able to assist in voicing the value of these meetings and events.  My experience speaking to chapters on advocacy issues tells me that most members are not comfortable in communicating to officials. Here are a few pointers to help those who are willing to speak out in support of our industry. Good Luck!

Following are some helpful hints when writing officials.

Introductions: 

·    Your name and home or work address should be included in the correspondence.

·    Include your name in the first line of your letter along with the name of your organization and/or the fact that you are a constituent.

·    Always send a personal letter – never send a form letter.  Remember that you are writing from the standpoint of a concerned citizen or industry professional; a form letter may defeat your purpose.

Be Frank:

·    State your purpose at the outset, and then utilize the remainder of your letter to expand your views.

·    Attempt to confine the letter to one subject.  Too much information may decrease the force of your argument and complicate efforts to act upon it.

·    Be brief – although brevity should not be achieved at the expense of clarity and completeness. A letter more than one page in length might not be read immediately.

·    Do not assume the official is as well-informed as you about a given problem.  Explain the situation clearly and concisely.  Remember that officials cannot keep abreast of everything.

·    If your industry, interest group, or organization has talking points, then use them in your letter to support your viewpoint.  (Bruce has outlined some talking points in his blog post)

·    Letters concerning a particular piece of legislation or regulation you should include the assigned reference number, as well as the subject matter. 

o  For our purpose reference: Proposed Amendments to Part 2635

·    The conclusion should clearly state whether you want the official to support or oppose the legislation.

Personalize:

·    Officials want to hear how the legislation you are writing about will affect your life, your business and your employees.

·    Attitude is important.  Polite and positive-sounding correspondence may be more impressive than belligerent or negative-sounding correspondence.

·    While many topics addressed in correspondence are of an emotional nature, beware of the use of nonfactual arguments.  Your view will only be weakened if you use them.

·         State the facts and use clear illustrations. Reciting barren concepts will result in an ineffective letter.

Roger Rickard

Chief Advocate