Dork Pixie Goes to Washington!

Recently, I had the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. with our city to advocate with our representatives as a delegation. I'd never been, and I was excited to participate in our democratic process as well as see the sights and historical monuments.

The trip was, among other things, an endurance test as we raced from building to building...
meeting with business leaders and lobbyists who let us know how things were progressing on the national front and how we could become more involved as a city. It was back to back meetings and networking opportunities from 7am till nightfall, and then we would check out Washington D.C.'s restaurants and nightlife as a way to decompress from the day and plan for the next. We even had a chance to sing with Joe Adelson at Mr. Smith's in Georgetown, where knowing every word to "Bohemian Rhapsody" earned me a few friends among my business associates.

We had breakfast at the Senate office and met with both our Senators, and then took the underground tunnel to the Capitol to meet with our Congressmen. Throughout the day, it was encouraging to hear the commitment from representatives on both sides of the aisle to resolve issues we face as a nation. And we were thanked many times for participating in that process.

A friend of mine invited me to a separate meeting to meet with our representative's office to discuss concerns about upcoming proposed legislation. We met with a member of his staff, who heard out our concerns and helped us with discussing next steps for advocacy. The local staff representative even agreed to come to a town hall meeting on the subject when we returned.

I left the meeting with renewed hope for our democratic process, even swelling with pride as I took in the sights of the historical monuments in the National Mall. Back home, it's a lot easier to forget the journey we've taken as a nation to get where we are, since our oldest building in Colorado is just over a hundred years old. But standing in D.C., walking the steps to the Lincoln Memorial, paying homage to lives lost through the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and World War II, and seeing the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, really brought it all home to me in a way I hadn't felt before.

I'm just really glad I had the opportunity to go, and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to speak up when given the chance -- and I hope everyone reading this does too.

Democracy only works if we participate!