2020 Summer In-District Virtual Congressional Visits

July 17, 2020

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Welcome to the Webinar

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Abby Emanuelson

AVP, Advocacy and Activist

Engagement

Webinar Logistics

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Agenda

Purpose: To learn more about the logistics behind

virtual in-district meetings.

• Summer legislative meetings

• Scheduling Process

• Hear from an MS Activist

• Best Practices

– For virtual meetings

– For congressional meetings

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Summer Meetings

• The Society is not holding in-person meetings or

events.

• Congressional Recess annually August 1 through

Labor Day

• Member is usually home

• Typically more available for meetings

• However in 2020, no in-person meetings in Capitol or district

offices

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Resources and Scheduling

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Laura Bennett (LB)Senior Manager, Grassroots Advocacy

Process

1. Contact your MS Society Government Relations

staff member

2. Scheduling the meeting with your U.S.

Representative

• Sample meeting request form

• Lists of congressional staff (schedulers and health LAs)

• Ask technology preference

• GoToMeeting is preferred, Society staff can provide links/phone

numbers

• Be prepared for offices to provide their own conference line

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Scheduling Options

• A list of congressional staff is available on the in-district

meeting website

• Some offices are now adding tele-conference request

forms to their congressional website

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Process Continued

3. Prepare for the meeting– Once a meeting is scheduled, submit it to the webform

– Attend a prep meeting

4. Hold the virtual Meeting

3. Debrief with your visit team

3. Follow up with the MS Society and congressional offices– Feedback form

– Sample thank you letter

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Point of Contact & Process for Scheduling In-

District Recess Meetings

• National MS Society Government Relations staff is

your primary point of contact and the primary

organizer of scheduling – be sure to check with

him/her before scheduling any meeting

• Email laura.bennett@nmss.org if you need help

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• Scheduled by MS Society Government Relations StaffU.S. Senate Meetings

• Scheduled by District Activist Leader(s)U.S. Representative Meetings

Meet Elaine!

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Elaine Shelly

California District Activist Leader

California GRAC

Elaine's Virtual Visit

• Got in Comfort Zone

– Know your challenges & link those to issue positions

– Get physically and mentally prepared

– Get acquainted with Legislator's background

– Understand Using Technology

• Visit Execution

– Know who says what when

– Take notes during visit as items may require follow up

– Be able to read the room; Legislative staff may be directive

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Best Practices for Virtual Meetings

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Anna Meyer

Manager, Grassroots Advocacy

Best Practices for Virtual Meetings:

• Be prepared– Attend trainings and prep meeting

– Personalize script and review position papers

• Be professional– Test technology prior to meeting

– Wear orange and business-casual attire

– Conduct meeting in uncluttered, well-lit, quiet area of the home

– Start meeting a few minutes ahead of scheduled time

– Mute yourself when not speaking to eliminate background noise

• Follow up– Send position papers and thank you (sample provided)

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Successful Legislative Visits and Resources

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Stewart Ferry

Director, Advocacy and Activist

Engagement

Successful Virtual Legislative Visits

• Hold a prep meeting– Test technology– Personalize the script– Determine the flow of the meeting

• Introductions• Issue order• Request for feedback from speaker• State the "Now" or ask and tell them you will follow up.

• Send reminder

• Implement a successful conference call/ video chat

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Resources

• All in-district visit resources will be posted on:

• www.nationalmssociety.org/augustrecesss

• Wow-How-Now/Script

• Sample visit request letter

• Congressional staff contact information

• Leave behinds, and more

• The MS Activist app:

• Instructions on how to download the app will be posted on

the website above.

• All scheduled visits should be entered online

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Next Training!

• Join us next Friday, July 24th, at 1:00 pm Eastern

(12:00 pm Central, 11:00 am mountain, 10:00 am

pacific)

• Learn about the policy priorities we will focus on for our virtual

meetings

• Hear a wow-how-now for each issue

• Mandatory before hosting a meeting

• Recording will be available after the webinar

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Questions and Answers

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