On March 14-15 the Society of American Florists held its 36th annual Congressional Action two-day event in Washington, DC, and a 90-member delegation gathered to lobby and advocate on behalf of the needs of the floral industry. On the first day, attendees learned about the issues and how to use their influence as constituents while preparing for day two, when they headed to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and their legislative aides to advocate for the industry’s issues.

The event was hosted at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City located just minutes from downtown Washington.

There’s no doubt lobbying is a thrilling experience, especially if it’s your first time on the Hill. This experience was made much easier by the experts SAF brought in to help attendees learn about the two issues they would be discussing in meetings with their congressional offices —immigration reform and the Simplifying Technical Aspects Regarding Seasonality Act.

Immigration reform is an issue the floral industry is very familiar with and for which it has been advocating for years. However, SAF recognized that corrections to the Affordable Care Act were needed to reflect the realities of today’s workforce and supports the STARS Act introduced last year, which would define “seasonal employee” as a worker who is employed on a seasonal basis for six months or less during a calendar year, consistent with Department of Treasury regulations. The act also would simplify the methods for seasonal employers to determine business size and ultimately whether the business and seasonal employees are subject to required offers of coverage under the ACA’s employer mandate.

As far as the political insiders, their lobbying tips were all about persuasion and selling a point of view. Here are a few highlights:

Former lobbyist Kevin Burke, president and chief executive officer of the Airports Council International North America, reminded attendees that lawmakers care mostly about how the legislation affects voters in their district; lobbyist Lynne Jacquez from CJ Lake LLC offered advice on how to talk about immigration reform with those who oppose it; and Stephanie Vance, from Advocacy Associates, gave some hard and fast best practices for approaching members of Congress and their staff.

It was a fascinating overall experience to participate in democracy in action — especially as a group of professionals representing the critical concerns of the floral industry — during this important two-day event. I hope that by speaking as one, our voices truly were heard across Capitol Hill.

Diana Roy is director of sales and marketing at Resendiz Bros. Protea Growers LLC in Fallbrook, CA, and the chair of the California Cut Flower Commission. She can be contacted at [email protected].