Who represents me in Austin?

We hear it over and over; relationships matter if you want to get things done. In our day to day business we all take a well planned approach to building relationships with our clients. We know how critical it is to separate ourselves and our business from all the other services vying for the clients attention. Many of us see the value of client visits and relationship reviews. Others focus on getting the potential client into their office; understanding the opportunity to take the mystery out of what we do and how we do it. Most all of us still invest the time to make it personal with a thank you card or phone call. We do it because works and we keep doing it because we know it is good for business. People do business with those they know and trust.

Austin is no different. Getting in the door is easy; being heard and respected requires some effort. Certainly, nothing close to the individual effort that we are willing to expend to get a new client, but effort all the same. Relationships matter in business and relationships matter in Austin.

Listed below are the Top 10 State Senators and Top 20 State Representatives who represent the most TAPC members in Texas. If you still have not provided Helene with your home address, now is a good time to do it. In the coming weeks, TAPC owners will receive a couple of important briefings along with a personal invitation to our Legislative Rally at the Texas Capital. We will need your home address to get you on the list.

Some of you already enjoy a working relationship with your local elected officials. Many more of us see the value but may not understand the steps to take to get things started. We would appreciate the opportunity to discuss with you some ideas of how get your voice and the collective voice of TAPC heard in Austin. Our goal is to get each of our members “a little bit” involved in the legislative process in Austin. TAPC members need you to take “a little bit” of time to make a couple of phone calls to those that represent you. We know and appreciate that you have a business to run and many demands on your time.

In the coming weeks the legislative committee of TAPC will be sending you our Action Plan for the coming legislative session. You will see 2-3 activities that will work much more successfully if we can count on your support. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the TAPC Legislative Rally and Reception which will be held at the Capital on Wednesday January 28, 2009.

We will have sponsorship opportunities available for the lunch and evening reception. If you would like to discuss a sponsorship for your business or if you have a good idea of who might be interested, please give Helene or me a call.

Each of us doing a little will result in all of us accomplishing a lot.

Rick Marshall
TAPC Legislative Committee
(817)-737-2645 or rmarshall@marshallcareerservice.com

TAPC’s “Top 10 State Senators and Top 20 State Representatives”

The following 10 Texas State Senators and 20 Texas State Representatives represent the most TAPC members in their homes and/or businesses:

Texas State Senators:
Senator Rodney Ellis
Senator Mario Gallegos
Senator Chris Harris
Senator Mike Jackson
Senator Kyle Janek
Senator Dan Patrick
Senator Florence Shapiro
Senator Leticia Van de Putte
Senator Jeff Wentworth
Senatora John Whitmire

Texas State Representatives:
Representative Alma Allen
Representative Dwayne Bohac
Representative Bill Callegari
Representative Ellen Cohen
Representative Garnet Coleman
Representative Frank Corte
Representative Al Edwards
Representative Gary Elkins
Representative Jessica Cristina Farrar
Representative Allen Fletcher
Representative Tony Goolsby
Representative Scott Hochberg
Representative Jerry Madden
Representative Brian McCall
Representative Ruth Jones McClendon
Representative Jim Murphy
Representative Burt Solomons
Representative Joe Straus
Representative Hubert Vo
Representative Beverly Woolley

This information was gathered from addresses for our member’s firms and any home addresses submitted by our members. If you are the owner of a member firm and haven’t yet submitted your home address with zip code, please send it to Helene Cavanaugh at tapc4u@sbcglobal.net. This information will help us as we develop our legislative plan and activities throughout the fall, leading up to and throughout the next legislative session.

If you have a relationship with one of the above State Senators or State Representatives, please let us know! If one of the above legislators represents you in your district, please let us know that too! TAPC will continue to work with our legislators on our members’ behalf.