Tuesday, January 13, 2009

first meeting

The first time I got sent out to meet with a legislator was one that could've sent me in the other direction. My boss told me to set up a lunch with a legislator to deliver a small ($250) PAC check. I set up the lunch and a short time later, met the legislator for a lunch.

The legislator was a solid supporter of the issues our group represented and was generally a pretty nice guy. He was one of only a handful of legislators who actually read every piece of legislation before he voted.

So at the lunch, I get into polite chit-chat, but I really didn't know the guy and wasn't quite sure how to act and what to say. I was young and aggressive, so I spent most of the time pressing him on our issues and watched him spill as much french onion soup on his chin as actually make it in his mouth.

However, by the end of the meal, I really appreciated the guy and thought while we didn't really share a whole lot in common, I respected the hell out of him for his dedication to the job and his patience for sitting through my blabbering on about the issues.

He passed away a couple of years ago and I often think of my first meeting with a legislator and wish there were a few more like him in Indiana's legislature.

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