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A Primer on 2018 Parks and Great Outdoors Legislative Day – Your Presence and Voices are Needed!

WRPA Members and Organizations

As the 2018 legislative session draws closer, a reminder that WRPA is again teaming up with our colleagues at the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition (WWRC) to host the Parks and Great Outdoors Legislative Day in Olympia on Jan. 25, 2018.

We hope you’ve had a chance to register for this important event! If not we encourage you to learn more below and register today.

We Need Your Voice

It’s more mission-critical than ever to get parks and recreation voices to the State Capital in 2018. The Legislature still has not yet adopted a 2017-19 Capital Budget that includes a proposed $80 million for the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Program (WWRP), over $17 million for the Boating Facilities Program, more than $13 million for the Non-Highway Off-Road Vehicle Account, and much more. We need YOUR voice and presence to ensure that happens! There is also a bill already filed that, by prohibiting the use of state bonds for compensation of state employees, could have negative implications for the administering of the WWRP account. In short, we need your help to make contact with your legislators!

Here's a quick ‘what you need to know’ regarding Parks and Great Outdoors Legislative Day:

  • Registration: It’s only a computer click away! See link above.

  • Cost: It’s free for WRPA Members to register for the Legislative Day. There is a $75 cost associated with the evening reception at the Governor’s mansion to offset WWRC’s costs of food, beverages, mansion rental, and catering.

  • Meetings: The WWRC prefers to set meetings for attendees – simply contact Betsy Robblee at WWRC at [email protected] We know that for some of you who are veteran attendees of Parks and Great Outdoors Day prefer to set your own meetings – and that’s OK, too. For logistical purposes, and to help avoid duplication or scheduling one meeting on top of another, we ask those of you scheduling your own meetings to let Betsy know of those so she can better coordinate the day.

  • Is Legislative Day new to you, or are you in need of a refresher? WWRC will be coordinating two 30-minute event-training conference calls leading up to Jan. 25, 2017.

  • Day-of-event orientations: Additionally, on the morning of Jan. 25, we’ll have an orientation session at the Woman’s Club of Olympia, 1002 Washington St. SE. You can use the Woman’s Club to get some morning coffee, juice, muffins, and bagels, get a packet of information and get tips from lobbyists and officers of WRPA/WWRC to help you navigate the day.
    • Please note that WRPA will help to staff the front desk for the morning orientation and that volunteers are needed If you can provide some extra time for orientation setup, we’d love to have you – e-mail Betsy Robblee at the Coalition [email protected], or Doug Levy at WRPA at [email protected]

  • Evening reception at the Governor’s Mansion – 5:30-7:00 p.m:  The evening reception is a great way to unwind, meet legislators and stakeholders in a more casual setting, and possibly meet the Governor as well!  For those of you who wish to attend, remember that you will need to do so at least seven days prior to Jan. 25.  Remember, too, that you will need personal identification to show at the booth in order to enter the mansion grounds.

We hope to see you there on Jan. 25!