Thank you.

Here's an idea for folks to consider. It has to do with getting attention of decision-makers. After all, we're a special interest group with no money to donate. By being creative, and nice, we can still get attention. Check out this proposal….

We choose some work week in the future and during that week EVERYBODY call their legislators' offices and invite that person to go muskie fishing. Follow up the same day with a brief, polite e-mail but be sure to include a pic of you holding a big Michigan Muskie.

When you call you'll probably talk with an aide, not the legislator. That's ok, the aids manage communication, that's the job. Tell the aid that you intend to invite the senator/representative fishing but want to show a pic of what you and the legislator will be fishing for. So ask the aid for the e-mail addy, ask that the aid please give the boss a heads-up, and then send the e-mail right away. Keep the e-mail simple, just a brief, polite, invitation and be sure to include a pic of you holding a really big muskie.

One or two people doing this won't make a ripple. But if the legislators get a whole bunch of invitations over just a few days they will notice, and with the killer pics they will maybe remember us. Don't mention anything but the invitation to fish; don't try to educate them about our issues with this contact. The purpose of our action is just to make sure we and muskies get some attention.

Who knows, maybe we'll get a bite and some of us can actually take their legislator fishing. No matter what, legislators will appreciate an invitation to go fishing, and the pics will probably get passed among the aids because, after all, our fish are huge and we look great in our boats.

I guess you can decide if this is a silly idea. But we got no bucks and we're competing with groups that have lots of bucks and/or lots of members/votes. This sort of kind gesture to the legislators, an invitation to go fishing, is something we all have right now.

Just a thought.

Hmmmm….after rereading my first post it seemed a little, um, "overstated and braggy". I actually wasn't very good at certain political aspects of my job. For example, here's a critical skill I don't have: I'm unable to both 1) misinform and 2) tell the truth at the same time on the same subject to a single group of people.

Will said "When I first started working with the DNRE 10+ years ago I quickly realized that my experiences with corporate red tape paled in comparison to the politics and unwritten rules of state government. Even now when I think I have a handle on how things work I'm surprised at how one part of the state govt. will screw another part of state govt. simply because they can." Right on! Will, seems we share this skill deficit: unable to tolerate working with people who make incredibly bad decisions in the face of repeatedly being proven wrong by the very people/experts invited to ensure effective and efficient outcomes. Pissed me off more yet as I sat there and considered I was helping pay the salaries of, well, arrogant idiots who would later claim they incorporated the input of stakeholders like me in whatever POS money-eating program they developed.

But anyway, stuff does get accomplished in Lansing, for good or ill, all the time. And some of the folks there have very good hearts most of the time. So why not target the right folks in a positive manner, play smart and nice, and hope for the best. That's what I was trying to say.