Make Your Voice Heard in 2022

After two years of COVID uncertainty (and anxiety for many of our readers, I’m sure), 2022 can be the year when you take charge and get make your voice heard in politics. Whenever I speak to groups anywhere in the Upstate, I always remind people that you — the business owner or employee who actually lives and works in these districts — is more powerful than any corporate lobbyist on an individual level with an elected official.

So say adieu to minute by minute Twitter bombs and over-hyped doomsday coverage in the national 24-hours news. Take charge in 2022, engage with policy and political leaders, and shape the debates that impact you and your business.

It’s January and the first week of the legislative session. Maybe you had great intentions for getting involved last year. Getting involved in policy is different than getting involved in politics. Whether you’re excited that 2022 may mean changes in our Statehouse and Washington, or you have apprehension about those changes, it’s more important than ever to take an active role in shaping policy. The 14 Chambers in our Coalition provide many opportunities to engage in policy and develop deeper relationships with your elected officials. Here are some ways for you to get involved in 2022:

• Sign up for our weekly updates. We send out regular updates on what’s going on at the Statehouse, and how legislation affects the business community. We try to keep these updates easy to read, jargon-free, and skimmable. We know that you’re busy running your business, and you don’t always have time keep up with what’s going on in Columbia. Our weekly updates will help keep you informed. So sign up today! (We’ll also be doing weekly Facebook Live events so you can ask questions and get beyond the newsletter.)
• Get involved in an Advocacy committee. Many of our member Chambers have committees that tackle policy issues. The Greenville Chamber has four committees: 1. Business Advocacy, 2. Energy & Environmental Compliance, 3. Health & Community Wellness, and 4. Growth & Infrastructure. The Spartanburg, Greer, Anderson, Easley, Simpsonville, Greenwood, and Clemson chambers all have policy committees that meet monthly or quarterly. Each of these committees includes updates of what’s going on in their respective areas, and all are a great way to get plugged in to an issue. You’re also likely to run into members of the legislative delegation, city or county councils, and Congressional staff. If you’d like to know a little more about one of these, please email us.
• Attend an event. All of our Chambers run events that include public officials — state legislators, city council, county council, school board members, etc. These are great opportunities to introduce yourself and get to meet these folks one-on-one as people… not as faceless entities you read about on social media. We’ll soon be posting information about our DC Fly-In on September 7-9 in Washington, which is a great opportunity to learn more about how things work in Congress.
• Respond to calls-to-action. Throughout the legislative session, we sometimes send out calls-to-action asking our investors to take action in making a phone call or emailing their representative about a certain issue. We do this when a piece of legislation that you told us is critically important to the business community needs help getting across the finish line. Your calls and emails are important. It takes five minutes but could save your company money, provide you a stronger workforce, or improve our community. Responding to our calls-to-action gives you a way to directly influence policy.
• Become a candidate. We always say that the best way to pass pro-business legislation is to have pro-business legislators in office. This year the chamber will host both advocacy and candidate schools, known as the Upstate Political Leadership Institute, where you can learn the nuts and bolts of running for office and how to advocate for your issues. Both courses will be offered in the fall. If you’d like to know more about these classes, feel free to reach out to us.

Even though some of the above opportunities may seem small, just making a phone call to a legislator or inviting him or her out for a coffee can have a much bigger impact than you may think. For more information on the Business Advocacy and how to get involved, please contact us.