This is advocacy

Advocacy. You hear about it. You hear about its importance for the sustainability of golf. You hear about it as one of the four pillars of the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG). But what is it? What is advocacy?

Advocacy is a few things, but one thing in particular is government relations. That is, advocating (or lobbying) to government officials on behalf of our members, and our industry, so that we are not the recipients of unfair legislation, authored by people who really don't know much about us. Not that their lack of knowledge is necessarily their fault; that's where we come in. It is our responsibility to educate them about our industry, and why golf is important to our economy, our communities, and our environment.

This past Tuesday, I had the opportunity to spend the day on Capitol Hill with four superintendents; Chava McKeel, our associate director of government relations; and our D.C.-based lobbyist, Bob Hellend. Through the course of the day, we visited the staffs of three senators and two congressmen; one congressman directly; and the chief of staff for the House immigration committee. Wow - what an experience. The purpose of these visits, was to advocate about the importance of H-2B work visas in the golf industry.

The four superintendents in attendance all shared a similar message - that these work visas are important for the sustainability of their businesses - their tax-paying, job-sustaining businesses. One superintendent in particular, Ken Flisek of The Club at Nevillewood in Pittsburgh, Pa., shared that his club is the largest employer in the township. That's a lot of jobs. That's a lot of economic vitality. If the H-2B wage requirements are altered, that could mean laying off local (American) employees, cutting benefits, or not offering raises. Again, all of which affect our local, American employees. That's an important message, and a strong one, that we can share with our Congressmen and Senators to educate them about our industry.

We don't know what will happen with the H-2B laws in the upcoming months - time will tell. But we did our part. We went, we advocated, we shared our message, and now it is up to them. All we can do is continue to do our part, continue to advocate, and hope that our message is coming across as effectively, strongly, and efficiently as possible. After all, if we don't stand up for ourselves, who will?

This is advocacy.