Pub. 1 Issue 2

19 Many people have heard me say, that in any organization, there’s the 80/20 rule. There’s the 20% that show up and engage, and the 80% that simply enjoy the ride. • Why should the dealers be actively reaching out to their local legislators? Because it works. When legislators see that their constituents are engaged and aware of what is happening legislatively in their industry, things are simply better. For instance, with HB 2174, we had dealers that came from all over the Common- wealth, at their own expense, in the room. They were there, and the legislators saw them. I think it is a little more difficult to have to answer how you vote, when the people that voted you in office are there to observe. When actions are observ- able, I believe it keeps our legislators accountable. And they need to be accountable. • Every vote and every dollar counts. I am a blunt dispenser of the truth, and the truth is this: money doesn’t buy votes, but it does buy access. And access to tell our story is all we have in the fight to protect our business model. Our legislators aren’t full-time legislators—they have other ca- reers, and they are time-starved just like the rest of us. We need to take advantage of opportunities to educate our legislators and gain access to time, and that costs money; there’s no other way to say it. For instance, as an example, the beer wholesalers across the Commonwealth have seen legislative fights of their own, and their members write checks for hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to gain access to the legislators and tell their story. It works, and it is effective. Our membership is going through a transition. Our “old guard,” if you will, was used to writing checks, but they are retiring, and many have passed away. VADA has lost a lot of big players behind the scenes in our legislative efforts, who were major donors and supporters of our mission, and we are the people to step into those shoes. • Why would you say that 2019 election year is extremely important for VADA? In my opinion, 2019 is probably the most important and most significant year in our General Assembly because all 140 mem- bers of the General Assembly are up for election, and we need people who are supportive of franchise laws. That’s as succinct a statement as I can make. As an organization, VADA is bi-partisan. We don’t care about Re- publicans or Democrats; we care about franchise-friendly laws. We are looking for good government and a level playing field. VADA has friends on both sides of the aisle. But the concerns are that as younger legislators fill the seats, our job to educate is even more important. Things have changed. For many younger people, legislators included, deep down inside, there is the leaning that buying direct isn’t a bad thing and that there is no direct benefit to consumers from the franchise system, which is a 100-plus-year-old business model. Our dealers, like many dealers across the country, are owners of local businesses, which actively support charitable endeavors in their communities, provide jobs, and pay taxes. Franchise dealers run those proverbial main street businesses that make up the cornerstones of our communities, which may not be the most obvious layer of the franchise business model. It is part of the story we need to tell. I am a blunt dispenser of the truth, and the truth is this: money doesn’t buy votes, but, it does by access. And access to tell our story is all we have in the fight to protect our business model.