Make New Friends, but Keep The Old

There are some songs that never leave your head. As we prepare for a change at the helm of North Carolina’s Senate and House, we would be well advised to follow tried and true principles.

Make New Friends:
• Write letters of congratulations to individuals who won their elections.
• If you are an organization, publish short bios of the newly elected Senators and Representatives, with photos, and encourage your supporters to speak to the elected officials about the arts and economic recovery. http://www.ncarts.org/elements/docs/NCCreativeIndustryContributionOverview.pdf
• If you are an artist or organization, make sure the newly elected are on your mailing list.
• Plan to attend the January 26th Swearing In Ceremony at the General Assembly to support and congratulate your Senators and Representatives.
• Use any opportunity (Food Lion check-out, soccer practice, etc) to tell your elected official that you would like to visit with them about arts and economic recovery…then do it!

Keep The Old:
• Write letters of appreciation to individuals who have supported the arts but lost their election.
• Ask the individual if you can meet to get their advice on how to best advocate for the arts…then do it! Use the experience of supporters who have “retired”.

Need contact information on your new Legislators?  http://www.ncleg.net/