1.) Know your districts. Your home address is assigned to a house district for your Representative and one for your Senator. You need to know those two numbers and the names and faces that correspond with each. The tricky part is that your Library may be in a different district, so be sure to look up your address AND your Library's address to get the correct Representative and Senator. To find your district, go to https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/fmlv3/districts.asp

2.) Send your Representative and Senator an invitation to the breakfast.  They will get a general one from TLA but are more likely to attend if one comes from you as well.  Meet them at the door of the breakfast. Walk and talk with them through the line. Sit with them while they eat. Try and talk about things that interest them that also relate to the Library - for example, last year, a State Senator's son was taking the ACT.  I reminded him about the free ACT prep available on TEL. His son's ACT grade improved, and I got a very nice thank you note. I had nothing to do with his score, but it was a major win for the Library.

3.) Make appointments to talk with your folks later that day in their offices!! Call NOW and make these appointments. Sometimes, their day will be incredibly full, and you will need to catch them at the tail end of a hearing before they start another meeting. Work in that slot and be respectful of their time. Yes, you do pay their salary, but they also pay yours, so don't go down that route.  Have no more than three talking points, show some cute pictures of your library, preferably printed off and labeled so they can keep them. Get in and out. For example, I had a photograph of my Representative singing Christmas carols with a group of developmentally delayed adults at the Library right before covid hit. I framed it for him and gave it to him at his office. All the lobbyists in the state cannot buy that type of connection. 

4.) Success at Legislative Day comes down to the relationship you build with your representative and senator. Follow them on social media. Get to know their hobbies and interests. Know their families, who they are related to, where they donate their money. Get to know them in the months they are not in an office in Nashville. Invite them to every event you have at the Library. Take the time to build that relationship, so when you need them, you are not yet another stranger asking for a favor.

5.) WATCH THIS VIDEO from the Friends of Tennessee Libraries on how to approach our elected officials in Nashville: https://vimeo.com/766506651?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=122725802