By Stephanie Wagner
After months of preparation, the day of Lobby Night had finally arrived. We lugged in all the signs, folders, snacks, swag, and other supplies in as others began setting up tables. With so many kind attendees and careful planning, the registration process went so smoothly as we said hello to each activist and checked them in. After an hour or so, I was informed by one of our volunteers that it was already 4 PM; it was time for the presentation to rally the troops. A lot of information was reviewed with even more questions from Sierra Club activists. With me being a district captain and time keeper for the presentation, I hurried over. Laurel and some of our wonderful volunteers helped take over the registration tables.
The air in the room was filled with eagerness to begin collaborating. After everyone joined their district sections, got their Sierra Club shirts, and then had the group photo taken, they were off to their legislature meetings! My district (5) was fairly small, and I was inexperienced with lobbying, let alone being a district captain. Both of the interns, Maddie (Outings) and Heather (Transportation and Climate Change) as well as Tom (a volunteer that tagged along) worked with me to figure out some sort of approach with our legislature meetings. Thankfully, I was joined by Sandy Foote, a veteran of Sierra Club lobbying! She definitely made the experience much more knowledgeable and interesting.
We met mainly with staff of Delegates Rose and Ready, who were pleasant and factual. We also got to speak with Delegate Krebs, who had a lot of passion along with statistics about every bill we covered! I definitely learned how good research on your representatives and your approach to talking about the bills can change the course of the conversation.
By the end of the night, we were all tired, but feeling happy with the work we had done! After packing up all the rest of the supplies (and the few remaining snacks), some of us met up at the Galway Bay Irish Restaurant and Pub in Annapolis for a little celebration over a delicious late-night dinner. We even found a sweater that one of our activists left (if it is yours, let us know, it’s a really nice sweater!)
Overall, the night went terrifically, and that was thanks to the staff, volunteers, and over 275 activist attendees that came to meet with over 130 Legislators to help support our environment! Each and every one of you made Lobby Night 2020 a resounding success. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience!
- Pictures from Lobby night will be posted on our facebook page soon. Send yours to Legislative.Intern@mdsierra.org
- Find out about the MD Legislative Session www.sierraclub.org/maryland/legislation
- Write to your legislators to ask them to support the environment www.sierraclub.org/maryland/take-action
Stephanie Wagner, legislative intern