Throughout the year, NRPA members meet with their state and federal representatives in their districts and states and in their Washington offices to advocate on a range of issues important to parks and recreation.  When they aren’t advocating in person, they write and call their representatives. The annual Legislative Forum, held this year March 27-29 in Washington, D.C., serves as a particularly important role in preparing members for visits to the Hill. In the following interview, Candi Rawlins, Executive Director of the Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association, discusses her experiences in advocating for parks and recreation. 

Parks & Recreation: Please discuss your views on advocating on behalf of parks and recreation?

Candi Rawlins: Go in with facts, but be prepared to have to go in a totally different way.  Legislators want to do good.  They cannot be experts on every issue. That is what they look to us for. 

P&R: Have you always felt comfortable doing this? 

CR:  Definitely not.  I remember going into an office and shaking so badly the whole time I was there. But the more you do it, the more comfortable it becomes. It helps to go as a small group at first, so you are not the only one doing the talking.

Testifying scared me to death in my earlier days. Even meeting with a legislator scared me to death. I knew I was going in prepared, but you always know they can find questions you have not thought of.  Now I know if I don’t have an answer for them, I will try to have it before their deadline. 

P&R: Have you changed your approach over the years?

CR:  Not really.  The best way is to be honest.  I do sometimes let one of my partner organizations take the lead if I know I have a legislator who we have previously been on opposite sides of the table, knowing my partners may have a great relationship with the legislator.

P&R: How much different is advocating at the national level as opposed to the state level?

CR:  It is different.  You sometimes find partners at the state level who we have opposing views with at the national level. The current fight for stateside of LWCF is one of those. Sometimes I think we get more attention at the national level, because they know we made the effort to come.  Locally they see us a lot.  Once the staff get to know you and know they can call on you when they need something it gets easier.

P&R: Do you feel like you know your Washington representatives well enough to make your efforts easy enough?

CR:  I work to make sure the Representatives and their staffs know our organization and that we are a resource for them.  If they need information on parks and recreation (environmental, public health, environmental education, transportation, nutrition, etc.), I want them to call or email me.  I may not have the answer, but I will find one for them.  I want to be sure they feel they can always trust the information we give them.  It’s always helps to have something that is not funding-related to talk about with them.  

P&R: Did you learn new things from this most recent LWCF advocacy initiative? Was there anything you would do differently? 

CR:  I have never asked the other groups to sign on with us before.  We have spent a lot of time building and networking with these groups and have never asked for their help before.  It was wonderful to see their response and I will ask them for help again.  I’ll also have to think about how we can use our social media links for future too.

P&R: Do Any advice or insight to share with other park and recreation professionals and advocates?

CR: Be yourself.  All legislators are people, too.  All parks are local parks and all legislators want to do good and believe they are.  You are making a difference—whether you let your voice be heard or remain silent. They notice.  If you want a legislator to know where you and their constituents stand, you must talk with them.