Hardwood Floors December 2017/January 2018

Peter Connor, VP of Nicolet Hardwoods and WD Flooring, gives Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) a tour of the Nicolet Hardwoods facility in Laona, Wisconsin. Photos courtesy of Dana Cole.

Resolve to Get Involved (Continued)

elected o cials will remember your role in your community and your hospitality. e Hardwood Federation has developed a guide to help you plan, prepare for, and conduct a successful facility tour and ensure that your experience is as e ective as possible. You will nd a simple, yet thorough, checklist to follow to ensure your facility tour runs as smoothly as possible. e guide is available on our website at hardwoodfederation.com.

to your place of business and let them see, feel, and smell what it takes to work in the wood ooring industry in 2018. Conducting mill or site visits for elected o cials at any level of government – local, state, or federal – is an excellent way to build relationships for your company and increase support for a pro-growth, pro-business, pro- hardwood agenda. Likewise, they provide unique opportunities for lawmakers to meet with their constituents, hear the success stories and the struggles that you face, and see rsthand how their policies work in real life. Facility tours educate lawmakers on the importance of the hardwood industry in the economy. ey paint the perfect picture of the hardwood industry at work. e de nition of elected o cials covers a wide variety of individuals, including those elected to local city councils or mayors’ o ces, those who represent your community in state legislatures and governors’ o ces, and those who serve as members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate inWashington, D.C. It is vital that people at every level of government understand why your business is essential to your community. Policy, rules, and legislation happen at every level of government, and many of those elected at the local level will continue their careers at the state level and in Congress, bringing their experience and awareness with them as they move from one rung of the political ladder to the next. Facility visits can also provide excellent press opportunities for your company. Be er yet,

Download a Free Guide The Hardwood Federation has a guide to help you plan, prepare for, and conduct a successful facility tour. Download a copy at hardwoodfederation.com.

e Hardwood Federation is here to help you with the process, and if you have any questions or need assistance along the way, please do not hesitate to ask. We are here to help you. Dana Cole is Executive Director at the Hardwood Federation, a Washington D.C.- based hardwood industry trade association that represents thousands of hardwood businesses in every state in the U.S. and acts as the industry’s advocacy voice on Capitol Hill. She can be reached at dana.cole@hardwoodfederation.com.

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