Maritime Industry SailIn - Washington, DC - May 13th

For those of you that are going to be in or around DC, you should consider attending the Maritime Industry SailIn on May 13th. I just signed up yesterday and am looking forward to attending. It’s free to register but you do have to pay your own way.

This SailIn is a first of its kind for the maritime industry, but similar events have been held in other industries and have proven successful.

Here is some information about the Sail-In from the events website http://www.maritimeindustrysailin.com/Default.aspx

[I][B]Welcome![/B]

You have arrived at the organizing website for the first-ever Washington advocacy day celebrating the maritime industry’s contributions to America’s national strength and prosperity. From this page you can learn all the details of the event, register to attend the event and discover how to access travel suggestions and discounts that have been arranged on behalf of attendees.

[B]Purpose
[/B]
The purpose of the Maritime Industry Sail-In is to increase the awareness of the importance of America’s maritime industry to the economic and national security of the United States, and to generate support for the programs and policies important to the survival and growth of the United States-flag merchant marine and to the jobs of American merchant mariners and America’s maritime workforce. Over the past decade, most of our traditional maritime supporters in Congress have retired or left the Hill for various reasons. So the purpose of the Sail-In is to extend maritime’s reach and visibility across the Hill and to powerfully demonstrate the value our industry brings to the nation and the U.S. economy. The idea is to meet with as many Members and Congressional offices as possible with a significant number and diversity of industry representatives.

[B]What’s In It For You[/B]

The Sail-In is a powerful and direct way to protect and advocate for your job, your company or union, and the maritime industry as a whole. Participants will be actively engaged in the democratic process that the U.S. Constitution guarantees. It will be motivational and inspiring and attendees will leave Washington with a much better view of how government affects our industry and vice versa.
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Pretty soon we’re going to start soliciting your questions and concerns here on the forum so I can bring them up in front of members of Congress and their staff, but feel free to get the ball rolling on this thread.