By: Doug Shatto, Chief Operating Officer/Senior Vice President
Mike Hinton and I attended the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Spring Conference in Washington, D.C. during the week of May 6. The program included a wide array of educational sessions – we primarily focused on current trends in business practices – as well as Capitol Hill visits that allowed conference delegates to act as “citizen lobbyists”.
I joined groups of other consultants from both Indiana and Missouri to visit a number of different Congressmen, Senators, and members of their staffs. These visits allowed Lochmueller Group to have a voice in the legislative process. We advocated for policies and measures that will benefit the consultant engineering industry as well as our communities. Key issues that were discussed included:
Watching how our government “works” is fascinating! While time is limited and attention spans are short, we really are given the opportunity to influence our elected officials. Of course, they sometimes have their minds made up on certain issues, but they are anxious to hear how the combination of federal monies and our services can impact their home districts and improve communities. They have proven to be receptive to new information from groups like ours.