MOAA State-by-State Assessment
4. Sharpen your pencils. Start a letters-to-the-editor program. It’s easier to get a letter printed in a local newspaper than in a large, national paper; just be sure to follow the submission guidelines the newspaper provides on its website.
Connect your local or personal issue to its bigger, national impact to encourage your audience to see how everything fits together.
If your letter is published, try to find a link to your letter online so you can share it easily with other supporters using social media and via email.
5. Go public. Hold a tabling event to share information on your legislative issues at a high-traffic location, such as a farmer’s market or an outdoor shopping center.
Ask supporters to share their contact information with you, and then have them write a short postcard to their state representative (you can provide blank postcards for them to write on), or have them call their elected official right there if they have a cellphone. You can leave a voice mail for most state legislators on the weekend or after hours.
Be sure to get permission from the location before setting up your table, and use signs (homemade ones are fine) on your table to identify your group. This encourages interested parties to come to you, so you won’t always have to approach people cold.
Don’t forget to follow up with potential volunteers by sending them links to contact their state representatives directly; include information on future organizing events.
Connect your local or personal issue to its bigger, national impact to encourage your audience to see how everything fits together.
6. Grow your network. Train your fellow advocates on the how-tos of contacting their state-level representatives, and then ask them to do the same with their own friends and family. The goal is to replicate your effectiveness and create other issue advocates who can reach out to their own networks.
Grassroots activism from military community members across the nation helped create the gains noted in this year’s State Report Card. Jump in and do your part to make your state more military-friendly.
MO
80 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2013
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