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Virginia C apitol C onnections, Fall 2016 25
How to be an Effective
Citizen Lobbyist
By Emmett Hanger
Here is a timetable and some helpful tips
to be an effective citizen lobbyist in both the
budget and bill process.
Public hearings on the BUDGET are
held in early January. The Senate Finance
Committee website always has the specifics.
Attend committee meetings during session.
Call or write or visit. House and Senate
Sessions can be viewed online during the
session at virginiageneralassembly.gov.
Our offices can get, especially during Session, hundreds or more
emails a day, constant phone calls, mail and visitors. Let’s be frank,
staff has to manage and triage the flow of communication to ensure the
most critical information gets to the legislator in communicate
constantly with agency heads, lobbyists, groups and organizations
too—so I will focus this next part on making sure individual citizens
get heard!
Help us hear you by making sure we know:
1) You are a constituent—include, first thing at the top of your
email or letter, your name and home address. We hear from all over
the state (sometimes the world) but your biggest advocate is often your
own legislator so we try to prioritize our constituents communications.
2) Succinctly tell us what your issue or concern is and how you
would like us to help. Sometimes people want the legislator to vote a
particular way; tell us why. Sometimes people want help resolving a
problem in state government; give us details. Sometimes people just
want to vent; that is okay too!
3) Be aware that lots of groups and organizations use robo calls
and mass emails to communicate about hot topic issues. A personal call
or email is always most effective! There is an apparent misconception
that if we get 1,000 emails for a bill and 2,000 emails against a bill,
that the legislator will automatically vote against the bill. That is
not how it works. We are a representative democracy, and often the
legislator (thru the legislative process) has the advantage of all kinds of
additional information to evaluate an issue and make a decision. The
legislator can review the input of those mass contacts but it is always
better to get personal!
4) Contact us in a timely matter. (I am still getting emails to support
specific bills that were defeated over a year ago!) We want your input,
and we know you want to be effective!
Senator Emmett Hanger, 24th District of Virginia
The Virginia War Memorial
By Dr. Clay Mountcastle, Director, Virginia War Memorial
Sixty years ago, on February 29, 1956,
the VirginiaWar Memorial in Richmond was
formally opened and dedicated.
Five years earlier in 1950, the Virginia
General Assembly authorized the building
of a memorial to honor and remember
those Virginians who had made the ultimate
sacrifice serving in the U.S. Armed Forces
during World War II. A design was chosen
and a location selected—nearly five
acres overlooking the James River and the
Richmond along U.S. Routes 1 and 301,
the primary route from Maine to Florida before the construction of
Interstate 95.
Before construction began, America entered the Korean War and
the Memorial’s design was changed to also honor and remember the
heroes of this conflict. When it was completed, the Memorial included
a 200-seat auditorium, a small visitors’ center, and the inspiring Shrine
of Memory where the names of Virginia’s heroes were etched on its
stone and glass walls.
In the 1980s, the Shrine was expanded to include the names of those
Virginians who died in Vietnam and in the 1990s the names of those
killed in the Persian GulfWar were added, and now total nearly 12,000.
The Commonwealth has a long and proud tradition of honoring
its military for their service, from the RevolutionaryWar to today. It is
therefore not surprising that Virginia would establish the premier state
war memorial in the United States.
The basic mission of the Virginia War Memorial is to Honor
Veterans, Preserve History, EducateYouth and Inspire Patriotism in All.
The addition of the 18,000 square foot Paul and Phyllis Galanti
Education Center in September 2010 dramatically changed the size and
scope of the Memorial. It also allowed it to extend its focus to honor all
veterans through educational and patriotic programs, historic exhibits
and documentary films designed to pass their stories of service and
sacrifice forward to future generations.
While the Memorial is owned and maintained by the
Commonwealth, and since 2013 has been a division of the Virginia
Department of Veterans Services, the Galanti Education Center was
built with a combination of public and private funding. This center
includes exhibits, classrooms, administrative offices, a research library,
and two theaters that show the Memorial’s award-winning film Into
Battle and award-winning documentary series, Virginians at War. The
500-seat E. Bruce Heilman Amphitheater on the Memorial grounds
hosts numerous major events such as the Commonwealth’s Memorial
Day, Patriot Day, and Veterans Day ceremonies each year.
The non-profit Virginia War Memorial Foundation finances the
Memorial’s exhibits, films, and educational seminars and outreach
through funds raised from individuals, corporations, military and
veterans’ organizations, civic groups, and grants.
The Memorial now hosts over 50 programs each year and visitation
has grown more than 500% in the past five years to over nearly 75,000
in 2015. Plans are underway to further expand the Memorial with a
20,000 square foot addition that will include a lecture hall, additional
exhibit space, classrooms, a distance learning center, and a multilevel
parking garage.
As a retired Army officer and a military historian, it was my
honor to be chosen as the new director of the Virginia War Memorial,
succeeding Jon Hatfield this past June. We have the opportunity to
build upon the traditions here and to utilize the newest technologies to
assure that Memorial excels in its mission and remains a vibrant and
living place of learning and excitement for each new generation.
I invite you to bring your family and friends to the Virginia War
Memorial. Come meet our more than 70 volunteer docents—most of
who are military veterans themselves—and let them give you a tour
and show you what a living memorial can be. I can promise you that
you will be enlightened, entertained, and inspired by this beautiful
tribute to our heroes and our heritage.
The VirginiaWar Memorial is located at 621 South Belvidere Street,
Richmond, 23220, just north of the Robert E. Lee Bridge. The Paul
and Phyllis Galanti Education Center is open from 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Monday-Saturday and Noon–4 p.m. Sunday. The Memorial grounds
are open from 5 a.m.-midnight daily. Admission and parking are free.
For more information, please call 804.786.2060 or visit
or
The VirginiaWar Memorial is a division of the Virginia Department of
Veterans Services.
Dr. Clay Mountcastle joins the VirginiaWar Memorial as its Director
after serving as Assistant Professor of Military History at U.S. Army
Command and General Staff College at Fort Lee, Va. He is a graduate
of the Virginia Military Institute and earned his PhD in history at
Duke University. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 21 years of
service in the U.S. Army.
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