How to Contact Your Legislator and What Do You Say

0 downloads 175 Views 80KB Size Report
DEROGATORY MANNER. Should you be asked about these groups, be honest ….Tell them that accredited courses are at a Mast
How to Contact Your Legislator and What Do You Say By Ken Jacobs, Key Contact Chair, Federal Government Affairs Liaison STEP 1 The first step is to set up a meeting with your legislator. Invite them to a subdistrict, or district meeting; Invite them to your work or go to their office. STEP 2 Be sure you are prompt, even early. Dress appropriately. Introduce yourself and tell them you are a physical therapist and a member of the Florida Physical Therapy Association (do not use acronyms i.e. FPTA) or if this is a US Congressman, that you also belong to the APTA. STEP 3 Briefly give them information on your background, education, where you work. This opens the door to talking about physical therapy. Tell them the type of patients that you treat. Tell them the methods of treatments we use. (You would be surprised to see that they do not know everything we do other than exercise and hot pack). You can discuss massage and inform them that it is part of the PT practice act, as are other modalities (explain what they do and why you use them). If you work with burns, talk about that. Whatever your area: pediatrics, outpatient, acute care, etc. Suppose that they ask you a question you do not know or are unsure about. Tell them that you will get back to them on it and follow up with this. (You can email me if you like). Or find someone proficient and knowledgeable in your area. NEVER REFER TO ANOTHER PROFESSION (MASSAGE, CHIROPRACTERS, ATHLETIC TRAINERS) IN A DEROGATORY MANNER. Should you be asked about these groups, be honest ….Tell them that accredited courses are at a Masters Degree level at this time. STEP 4 After your meeting let them know they can call you with any questions. Give them your business card. Write them a thank you letter as a follow up and if you feel like you can really support this person, then there are several options open to you. You can write them a campaign contribution check (be careful about where you give this to them. It can not be done during legislative session, or in their offices. You can mail it to them or ask them how they would best like to receive it.) You can tell them that you would like to volunteer time when it comes to their re-election. (I actually went door to door for a candidate that I supported). You can tell them you would be willing to put up signs. They may ask you to support them by serving on a committee or advisory panel. Whatever you feel is appropriate. STEP 5 You may email me back with a response from your legislator and how your meeting went. Your regional directors should have a CD disc that shows how to contact your legislator. Ask them if you can view it. Finally, remember that these are people like you. They really do want your input. Most are very friendly and receptive. I hope this helps. If you still have question you can get help 2 ways. 1) each district has a Key Contact chair person ; OR 2) you can email me Ken Jacobs at [email protected]