Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/618006
Winter 2015 | wyoea.org 5 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE Ron Sniffin WEA Executive Director rsniffin@wyoea.org Your staff and president at the Wyoming Education Association are very proud of the work that we do. One main area of focus is our work around legislative action. Led by our Government Relations Director Ken Decaria, we make available countless hours and resources to providing legislators and other elected officials information so that they are better informed. This enables them to make the best decisions possible to ensure a preeminent education for Wyoming students. With all of that said, our lobby team would be the first to acknowledge that legislators would much prefer to hear from their constituents than from the paid lobbyist from WEA. Those constituents are you. We are asking that you reach out to your legislators and share with them your stories about what it is like to teach and work in Wyoming's education system. We know that this can be intimidating, and that is why we provide an annual training during the legislative session that gives you the skills so that you are more confident to communicate with your legislators. This training is called the Research, Bargaining, and Lobbying Conference, RBL for short. Not only does this training give you the skills to communicate with your legislators and deliver your message, it will provide the information that you will want to share with them. This year we are excited to have a presenter from the National Education Association: Ramona Oliver, the Communications Director for NEA. She will provide a training about delivering your message. It will not focus specifically on legislative action, but will provide training that you can use when communicating with anyone about anything. This training provides the foundation for all leaders who want to convey a persuadable message that cuts through all of the noise and rhetoric that bombards each of us every day. This message training will provide the foundation for an advanced message training focused on the message we would like you to deliver to legislators this legislative session. This training will be facilitated by our own Communications Director Coleen Haines. A very important component of messaging is quality information. WEA research analyst Cherie Cox will provide an in-depth perspective of information and data that she compiles each year. She will give an overview of the WEA Research and Data Book that compiles information specific to Wyoming's education system and how it compares on a national level. The third component of RBL is bargaining. You may use much of this information when you are talking to your legislators, but it will also be valuable when you go home and work with your administration and school boards. Bargaining, for those of you whose locals do this, is all about sharing a perspective on data. The information we will share with you at RBL arms you with the information to enable you to reach a positive agreement with your school district and school board. RBL is a great opportunity for not only local leaders, but for any member who is interested in political action, the legislative process, communications, lobbying and bargaining. We encourage you to please consider attending the conference this year. More information and a registration link can be found at our website: wyoea.org. Share Your Story With Legislators Use your smartphone to register