On the front line: awards in government relations.

The winners of the 1993 Government Relations Awards of Excellence show how you can make a difference in public policy.

Are your members aware of and involved in the important legislative issues facing their association? The efforts of the winners of ASAE's 1993 Government Relations Awards of Excellence illustrate that aggressive, member-based government affairs programs get results. From the honorees, here are some ideas for keeping your members informed and active.

1. Brief your members.

Give members the information they need to communicate effectively. Among the educational tools used by this year's award winners:

* Action kits. The National Athletic Trainers' Association, Inc., provides members with a legislative survival kit. Culling from a variety of publications, the kit provides articles detailing the legislative process, tips on working with legislative staff, and lobbying techniques.

The Associated Builders and Contractors' grass-roots lobbying kit gives information on everything from how to write your representatives to how to run for public office.

* Videos. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants uses a series of training videos it developed about the legislative process to help drive its "Federal Key Person Program." The video training is designed to be presented by one or more discussion leaders.

* Programs and seminars. The Management Association of Illinois provides its members with a handbook and training program entitled Learn How to Effectively Do Business with Government. Open-registration workshops and on-site training, for a more customized approach, educate members. The Associated Builders and Contractors holds a legislative conference to update members.

2. Let association members do the talking.

Your members are the best advocates, since they are legislators' constituents. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Federal Key Person Program helps members cultivate relationships with their legislators while improving their understanding of the legislative process. Approximately 1,800 AICPA members nationwide participate in the program. To increase the personal touch, the American Association of Museums encourages its members to write letters and make telephone calls citing their experiences related to an issue. And to keep the message focused on the will of their memberships, both AAM and the Alabama Association of School Boards survey their members before launching legislative campaigns.

3. Coordinate your efforts with other organizations.

Working with other organizations that have an interest in your issue can strengthen your effort and increase your chances of realizing a favorable result. The Michigan Insurance Federation, for example, enlisted the support of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Farm Bureau, and the National Federation of Independent Business to form a coalition, the Committee for Auto Insurance Reform. The Alabama Association of School Boards created the "Champions for Children" campaign and enlisted the support of the Alabama PTA and the Alabama Association of School Administrators to fortify AASB's grass-roots network of school board members. Similarly, in 1991, the American Association of Museums instituted the "Museum Advocacy Team," now comprising more than 950 museum professionals.

4. Communicate frequently.

Keeping your members informed is a critically important way to keep them involved. The Management Association of Illinois faxes a weekly issue update that provides a brief synopsis of critical legislation and highlights certain bills. It also may ask members of the association's "Employers' Legislative Network" to call or write their legislators.

The Associated Builders and Contractors uses a similar format to disseminate information to members. The association's two-page government affairs update is distributed weekly and contains information on various federal and state legislative issues; a biweekly newsletter called ABC Insiders is faxed to members of ABC PAC and provides information on all that goes on in Washington. The association also sends action alerts, complete with talking points and a sample letter, to members either by mail or fax depending upon the urgency of the issue.

The National Athletic Trainers Association, Inc., produces a monthly legislative status report that includes a newsletter, a report on legislation, and handouts to members participating in the legislative arena. Besides producing its own publications, NATA has established a legislative library that houses copies of all legislation affecting the profession.

5. Use technology to maintain contacts and speed communication.

Data bases and broadcast faxes are key technological tools for furthering government affairs programs. For example, the Alabama Association of School Boards can reach 90 percent of its grass-roots network by fax. At the American Association of Museums, broadcast fax capability allows the association to communicate with members almost instantaneously. To save money, the Associated Builders and Contractors faxes its newsletter overnight during an off-peak hour.

In recent years, many associations have decided that data base software is well worth the initial investment. The builders and contractors association is in the process of implementing a data base of legislative activities to be used by the association's entire national staff. Similarly, the American Association of Museums has matched its institutional master file of more than 9,700 museums by ZIP code with congressional districts. This list, along with the Museum Advocacy Team list, survey results, and a congressional list, are maintained in a multi-capable relational data base.

The Michigan Insurance Federation and the Committee for Auto Insurance Reform built a convincing data base of legislators' constituents by mailing 3 million brochures across the state asking supporters to return a tear-off coupon and by establishing a toll-free call-in line. More than 200,000 supporters returned coupons or called CAIR. The coalition put the names into a data base, sorted the list by legislative district, and gave it to lawmakers. Similarly, the Management Association of Illinois matched members with their respective state or federal legislators through a strategic alliance with Hannah Information Services of Illinois. The matchup service made it easier for members to send personalized letters to their representatives.

For more information about ASAE's Government Relations Awards of Excellence, call [phone].

Winners of the 1993 Government Relations Awards of Excellence

Seven associations received awards in two categories: single program and overall program at the state/regional/local and federal levels.

SINGLE CAMPAIGN--STATE/REGIONAL/LOCAL

The Alabama Association of School Boards, Montgomery, is the official voice of the state's local public school boards. During the state's 1993 regular legislative session, AASB's primary legislative objective was to restore to local school boards funding that was lost during two years of budget cuts and during one year of level funding. AASB's staff of nine successfully lobbied for a $40 million appropriation, subsequently divided among the state's school boards.

The Michigan Insurance Federation, Lansing, represents the property and casualty insurance industry throughout Michigan and monitors legislative issues and lobbies on behalf of its 34 members. In 1989, MIF launched an intensive campaign to defeat a bill that required a 30 percent rate cut with no reduction in insurance company costs. Working in coalition, MIF completed its campaign in 1993 with the passage of legislation that cut insurance company costs and allowed companies to reduce rates by an average of 16 percent.

SINGLE CAMPAIGN--FEDERAL

The American Association of Museums, Washington, D.C., is the umbrella organization for the nation's museums and museum professionals, comprising 2,900 institutional and 9,000 individual members throughout the United States. With a government affairs staff of four, including three professional lobbyists, AAM focused last year on repealing a provision of the 1986 Tax Reform Act that limited a tax deduction of charitable gifts of appreciated property--collectibles, securities, real estate--to original value rather than current market value. The association obtained its goal of tax reform repeal in increments--five separate bills across three years.

OVERALL PROGRAM--STATE/REGIONAL/LOCAL

The Management Association of Illinois, Springfield, has been a leader in providing training programs and active lobbying for its 2,000 members. MAI employs two full-time lobbyists. The association's mission is to effectively present its members, to influence lawmakers, and to support and initiate legislation that promotes an attractive business climate.

The National Athletic Trainers Association, Inc., Greenville, North Carolina, represents athletic trainers in every state and has a direct interest in all state and local regulatory and legislative initiatives that affect its 18,000 individual members. The association provides its members with information about specific pieces of legislation and regulation as well as information concerning the overall government affairs process.

OVERALL PROGRAM--FEDERAL

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York City, is the national professional organization of certified public accountants in the United States. AICPA has more than 310,000 members and a staff of 730. The state legislation and legislative relations division, located in Washington, D.C., has a staff of 13. Through the Federal Key Person program and other efforts, this division works on a collaborative basis with the 51 independent state CPA societies and AICPA members in responding to federal and state legislation affecting the profession.

The Associated Builders and Contractors, Baltimore, represents members of the open shop construction industry, with more than 16,000 contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, and associated firms. The associations's government relations department speaks for the membership on industry-related issues and assists members by coordinating grass-roots lobbying efforts; the department also acts as liaison to the White House and all regulatory agencies.

Apryl Motley is editorial assistant for ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT.