On June 1, more than 100 tradeshow industry advocates gathered in Washington, DC, to participate in Legislative Action Day. This annual event, which is more than a decade old, has been planned and executed by the newly formed Exhibitions & Conference Alliance (ECA) for the last two years, and this was the first year since the pandemic that advocates were able to gather in person again.

Legislative Action Day provides industry advocates with the opportunity to meet with their legislators and discuss key issues related to the trade show industry, ensuring those in government understand how live events help fuel the U.S. economy. ECA vice president, Tommy Goodwin, is responsible for the organization's advocacy and member engagement work, and he said that consistent advocacy efforts have paid off.

"The people who have attended every Legislative Action Day since the event's inception said that there was a much greater understanding of the industry among Congress and their members of staff," Goodwin explained. "They had to do much less foundational education. That means our message is getting through. And the issues they discussed were well received because they're all tangible."

The issues discussed were determined by the ECA's board in a months-long process that ensures multiple viewpoints from within the industry were considered. This year, advocates focused on reducing visa wait times to support international trade show involvement, supporting workforce recruitment, retention, and training, and combatting scams targeting industry professionals. Mark Johnson, owner of Exhibitor Group, attended the event and said of the talking points, "The selected issues were well received. None of them are controversial at all."

Goodwin said that was by design. "The ECA's pillars are supporting small business and driving economic development and job creation. Those are nonpartisan issues that anyone our advocates met with could get behind."

Advocates weren't sent to their representatives' offices unprepared, however. In an incredible feat of planning on the ECA's part, advocates were provided a list of prescheduled meetings with their state's representatives and a quick policy briefing before heading to Capitol Hill.

Johnson said of the policy briefing, "We were prepped on which topics to discuss and which to avoid. Tommy suggested we find a way to make a connection during our meetings so that reps would remember us and our topics."

Connection is key, according to Goodwin. "If we do this right, it's a year-long relationship," he said. "If we discover a member of Congress is interested in workforce development, we can share research with them or have an ongoing dialogue. It's important that there's shared understanding between advocates and their elected officials."

Goodwin and Johnson both remarked on the energy and excitement surrounding the day. "If you're going to run an event for event people, it has to be high quality," quipped Goodwin. But he doesn't want Legislative Action Day to be a single annual event, rather the focal point in a year-long cycle. "We want more people to be involved in our organization because if you're not at the table, you're on the menu," Goodwin said. "Legislative Action Day will be the apex of the industry's engagement with us throughout the year. We're rolling out a social-influencer program that allows folks to post calls to action. We're showing people how to bring policymakers to their event. Our hope is that if we create opportunities throughout the year, industry leaders and advocates will be more engaged."

Legislative Action Day was designed to make it easy for the ECA to identify which legislators are supportive of the industry's priorities. Goodwin said, "Maybe we'd ask them to be part of a process or sign a letter, and their positive response would show us who to pursue. But it seemed like all of our asks were in line with what's in the realm of possibility. We want the people we speak to to feel like we value their time."

Although a lot of business took place during Legislative Action Day, it wasn't all work and no play. Goodwin recognizes that spending time in the Capitol building and exploring the campus isn't an everyday occurrence for most people, so although each advocate had five or six meetings scheduled, he built a lot of downtime into their day so they could take in the experience. "I want people to have a good time so they come back!" he said.

And anytime trade show folks get together, it's a good time. "I saw a lot of friends and colleagues," Johnson said. "There was a huge sense of camaraderie and an interest in helping each other so that both the ecosystem and we as individuals can thrive."

Goodwin hopes that his work and the work of ECA will subtly shift the culture of the tradeshow industry to put advancing its interest with policymakers front and center. He said of ECA's mission, "Advocacy needs to be part of our industry's DNA." E