[il-talk] Annette

[Rose Sloan]

Inspirational. I owe her A LOT. More than words can express. Not like owe her money. And she'd probably say I owe her nothing. But she has had an incredible impact on my life. Life changing. 

As a timid, naive, college student, I was gently (probably should have been harder) pushed by NFBI members to attend this event called Washington Seminar. Anyone in my major (social policy) should have jumped on this opportunity at their first chance--a pretty much entirely funded trip to DC to advocate for a cause that I care about. So I send in my application, and I get to go. Ok. So I'm going to D.C. now I need to know what to expect. This woman named Annette informed me that I had to be on a planing call during winter break. Ok. This incredibly detail-oriented and organized leader not only provided me with incredibly helpful resources about Washington Seminar, but we had a planning call about what to wear, the exceptions for us, the whole nine yards. 

The next month I arrive in DC. Everything is completely smooth!  I meet a friend for dinner the first night, I attend a meeting just for blind students the next morning, and then we have seminars about the legislative issues AND we get to role play to practice! How can this day get any better? 

As soon as the seminar is over, because I'm a "first timer," I  am instructed by Annette to save 10 seats for something called the Great Gathering In. This room is huge. There are sooo many chairs. Why in the world do I need to save chairs? How stupid. 

Well. By about 4:15 I am already having to tell folks sorry, these seats are saved. I hear Pennsylvania! New York! Indiana! and so many other states names throughout the room. So I join in. Illinois! 

At 5 PM (sharp) the gavel goes boom boom boom. President Maurer's powerful voice attempts to bring the overflowing room to order, but the attendees drown him out with an engulfing cheer. 

I wish I had a specific quote or memory from that meeting. The only thing I do remember was frantically keeping notes in my phone about all of the dignitaries who spoke. I'm pretty sure Governor Paterson spoke. Him alone would have impressed me a great deal. But he was just one of probably ten names I wrote down. 

After the Great Gathering In, the Illinois delegation went to dinner together. There happened to be two other college students in our group! I was so relieved for the structure because so many new people in one place would have been overwhelming otherwise. We were given schedules for the week and instructed to be at the restaurant in the morning.  Of course these instructions came from Annette. 

At the breakfast the next morning, we have the opportunity to go over the bill numbers and names one more time. All of my questions are answered or at least discussed. We were reminded about the structure of our upcoming meetings. One person would set the stage, and initiate introductions, each issue should be covered, and most importantly--we should only talk about our issues!

On our way out of the hotel, I see folks getting into cabs. Not us! Annette says we will walk. We arrive at the Rayburn House Office Building. After going through security and going up the stairs, we make a right and head for the cafeteria. I learn that this is our home base. Someone from our delegation will be at the table at all times. 

The first meeting on my schedule is in a place called Longworth. I will be on a team with the affiliate president and my chapter president. I am so nervous!  Thankfully the staffer we met with was really nice. Patti leads the meeting, introduces Debbie and me, and sets the overall tone for the meeting. Patti and Debbie let me pick the issue that I would talk about. The meeting goes well! What a relief! 

As instructed by Annette, after the meeting, and after we're a good distance away from the office we visited, we assign rankings for that Member of Congress for each of the issues we discussed. We decide that Patti will report out to Annette. 

The rest of the week was a blur with meetings similar to my first, but Annette purposely rotates who each person would present with ensuring everyone in the Illinois delegation got the chance to know and work with each other.  During one meeting, it was just Annette and me. We met with her Member of Congress, who Annette bragged had one of the best views from his office. She wasn't kidding. The beautiful dome of the Capitol could be clearly seen from his window. Annette did pretty much all of the talking during this meeting, but I didn't care! I was learning so much from her from the way she was articulating the issues. 

On the schedule, I noticed that most of my meetings were in Rayburn, Longworth, or Cannon. But two were not. Annette had decided that the three students and Bob would go to the Senate side. Here, there was another cafeteria. When we went to Hart to go to Senator Durbin's office, Lauren McClarney was awaiting us. She asked us what our plan was for the meeting, and we explained that Bob would lead the meeting and that that we three students would each take an issue to talk about. Verbose Lauren barely said a word. She affirmed that we did a great job after the meeting! Annette had trained us well. 

Year after year, Annette kept leading the planning calls. She made the schedule. She planned the Illinois delegation dinners. Within one or two years, I realized--I want Annette's federation responsibilities one day. 

Many of you probably know how my story ends. After graduation, my first job is working for the National Federation of the Blind in the Advocacy and Policy department. I honestly thank my first experience in DC for shaping my career path.  I have Annette to thank for that. I will forever be grateful to her and will miss her very much. Welcome home. 
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