From the President’s Desk
Rep. Deborah Ferguson, DDS (AR) – NCOIL President
Welcome to the third installment of my quarterly newsletter column: “From the President’s Desk.”
I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. It was great to see so many of you earlier this month during what was a very productive 2023 NCOIL Summer Meeting. The progress made in Minneapolis was the result of all of your support and participation and I truly appreciate it.
I was particularly happy with the diverse attendance at the Meeting as it highlighted NCOIL’s ongoing commitment to being both bipartisan and representative of America. Throughout the conference, we heard many diverse voices of talent, thought, and background contributing to our discussions. Over 50% of the legislators that attended were of racial or gender diversity and we had a near even split of Democrats to Republicans representing the full breadth of the political continuum. That is great progress from just a few years ago and it is vital that it continue.
Additionally, I continue to be pleased with the participation of first time attendee legislators. This year, we have seen back to back meetings with over 15 first time attendee legislators which is a great sign for NCOIL’s future. I can’t stress enough how important it is for that number to continue to be high as the structure and advancement of the organization relies on legislators becoming engaged and remaining involved with NCOIL. Bringing more legislators to the table creates a ripple effect as they can go back to their states and encourage their colleagues to participate at NCOIL. That process has in large part been the basis of NCOIL’s success for over 50 years.
An important aspect of keeping legislators engaged at NCOIL is creating a welcoming atmosphere at our meetings that enables legislators to learn about the issues at hand and connect with their colleagues from around the country. This is something we have always strived to do, but it has been a goal of mine to improve on that.
When I first started attending NCOIL Meetings, and I’m sure this is true for a lot of legislators, I didn’t have many opportunities to interact with other attendees outside of the committee meeting rooms. When I found my footing after a few meetings, I realized how valuable (and fun) it was to connect with attendees in a more informal setting, and I knew I wanted to find ways to make it easier for legislators to do that at their first NCOIL meeting.
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