The Capital Hill Experience

            After NASCAR Day at DuPont Headquarters where Jeff Gordon unveiled the “Celebratory Car” paint scheme that will race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to commemorate the 20^th Anniversary of the Jeff Gordon/DuPont partnership, followed by hospitality for DuPont customers at the NASCAR Cup Series race in Dover, I departed my “motorsports world” and drove to Washington D.C. with another purpose.

            When I arrived in D.C. last week, I met eight of my follow Jeff Gordon Children’s

Foundation Promise Circle

members on Capital Hill for Childhood Cancer Action Day. Organized by the Alliance for Childhood Cancer, we spent Monday being educated about the issues and participating in advocacy training.

            Congress is in session and both a House and Senate version of the FDA Reform Bill are on the table. It was our job to both educate and lobby our NC senators and congress men and women to pass legislation for very specific initiatives including the Childhood Cancer Survivor Ship Act and The Creating Hope Act, among others.

            There were organizations, nonprofits and individuals including childhood cancer survivors and parents of both survivors and of those who lost their battle with cancer from every state. Since each contingent only meets with reps from their own state, the 200+ advocates were seated at tables with others from their state.  I would have to verify this fact, but I’m quite sure that North Carolina had the most people as I think only California had more than one table at the training session. Additionally, I’m proud to say that the

Promise Circle

had the most people representing one organization.

            The issues were in full focus by the end of the day on Monday, and with specific appointments set for Tuesday, we were ready to advocate for the cause. We had four appointments, two that overlapped. As part of the Charlotte-area group, I was able to meet with reps from Senator Richard Burr and Rep. Mel Watt’s office and directly with Patrick McHenry. Others in my group also met with Sen. Kay Hagan.

            It’s interesting how the process works because you are actually welcome in the halls of Congress and the reps and staffers are truly interested in hearing what you have to say. With so many issues on the table, to go to D.C. and meet with them directly is to deliver specific information that may not land in front of them otherwise. When the house and senate meet to hammer out the details of the bill, they will have better information about the issues with a sense of where the voting public from their district/state stands on the issues because of our visit.

            This is what lobbying actually is. We often think of lobbying as a negative because we tend to hear only about how big business lobbies the government and gets unfair tax credits and other initiatives that protect its industry when others do not. These big businesses also give large sums of money to support candidates and the political parties. 

            But again, that’s only one part of it. If “advocating/lobbying” is also about lending information that may increase the likelihood of incentives to drug companies to create new treatments for pediatric cancer, or to make it mandatory for them to report drug shortages to the FDA so that patients don’t suddenly find themselves at a lost for treatment with no warning, or to address the very specific needs of ongoing treatment, then we should all know that in the United States of America, it is possible for our voices to be heard through this process.

            And it is possible for nine women from the Jeff Gordon Children’s

Foundation Promise Circle

to make a difference -- and we believe we did.

           On a lighter note, those of us who have worked in NASCAR for a long time have met many famous personalities including athletes, singers, actors and even politicians. That being said, only in D.C. can you walk in front of the Captital Building between appointments and see Warren Buffut just standing on the sidewalk. I think he was getting ready to do an interview, but still...

            So what I'd like to share is this: When people say “write your senator or congressman,” know that it really does make a difference. They work for you and they need to pay close attention to what voters have on their mind. Sadly, only a small percentage of eligible voters actually exercise that right. Your government representatives know that if you wrote a letter, called their office or went to visit them, that you’re probably one of the few who also goes to the polls. That means that a small portion of the population has a great deal of influence and your voice if you let your voice be heard, you can nake a difference.

            Since cancer is the No. 1 cause of death for children under 20, and only one new drug has been developed to treat pediatric cancer in two decades, if we moved the needle at all, then we made a difference. I believe we did.

            And as we (The Charlotte Destination Group) won the bid for both the transportation contract and to host one of the 12 delegate events for the Democratic National Convention – I am more interested than ever to see first hand how the political convention process plays out.

            I am a very proud 19-year resident of Charlotte and an even prouder American!

2012 already a year to remember

So it’s been far too long since my last post and a whole lot has transpired since. I guess that’s why I’ve been too busy to post.

I’ll try to spare too many details but still write about some of what’s been going on. Let’s see… at the end of last year we were busy creating a “DuPont 20 Years” marketing and PR plan as 2012 marks the 20^th year of DuPont partnering with Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. They are the longest currently running sponsor/driver/owner combination in all of NASCAR. We are proud to say that Performance PR Plus is the fourth partner in the relationship as we have also been there since the beginning!

Our Charlotte Destination Group (CDG) business has really come back strong in 2012. After several years of what is commonly known as “The Enron Effect” along with corporate budgets being slashed since the recession – meetings, conferences and conventions are back on the rise and we’ve been able to partner with several coming to Charlotte including some of the biggest.

But nothing will be bigger in Charlotte this year than the Democratic National Convention. The DNCC announced last week that CDG was one of three companies that partnered, and was awarded, the bid for one of the largest DNC contracts -- transportation. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We are so proud to be a part of such a significant event and to represent the Queen City in this manner.

In the mean time, we moved from our offices of 17 years located on the north edge of “uptown” Charlotte to the Federal Reserve Building on

E. Trade St

. What a huge step up this has been as we are now in the heart of the city just blocks from the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Time Warner Arena, The Epicenter and most every other major uptown attraction and the offices of many of our partners. Our employees love it here and I’m really enjoying getting out and walking to all of our meetings throughout the week because I truly love our clean, friendly, vibrant city.

I set up my new office with all my favorite things that I've collected over the years. One is my Jim Hunter bobble-head doll. For those of you who didn’t know him, “Hunter” was my mentor when I interned at NASCAR many moons ago and was an icon in the industry for many more moons than that. I still miss him dearly.

The other is my Jiminy Cricket which hangs above base that reads “Let your conscious be your guide.” How can having hose two items alone not just completely inspire and guide me each day?

Well, with this being a huge year professionally, I don’t expect any big vacations anytime soon. And since my husband has given up on boating, we are looking forward to taking the RV and getting away from it all a little here and there throughout the year.

I recently planted our veggie garden, and although the pollen was doing its best to hinder my progress – I know fresh, organic veggies are going to be plentiful in a few months after the pollen has long subsided.

So here’s to spring. I hope you take the time to enjoy it and don’t let the pollen (yes, that’s a metaphor for all things that irritate or try to keep you from flourishing) succeed at getting the best of you! And I hope all is plentiful for you this year – especially when it comes to the things that matter most.

Just let your conscious be your guide.