By Sid Fischer
The FMA National Convention this year was a successful evolution of training, networking, and meetings. Although I am not a manager, I feel that the training seminars geared towards managers are an insightful opportunity to learn more about how managers work and think effectively. The training seminars and speeches are still full of valuable information for me, and worth the time for me to attend. The first day of the convention dealing with administrative business relative to the FMA as an organization gave me hope for the future of the FMA. The change in bylaws allowing associate members to hold positions on the district level were a step in the right direction.
Recruiting and retention are problems faced by every chapter of the FMA, and in my opinion, an exclusionary ideology is not helpful in the long run. It is important to have people who are experienced high-level managers, however, the point of view and ideas that a non-manager can bring to the FMA are vital for the longevity of the organization. I hope that my actions and participation in the FMA can help bring to light the fact that valuable insight can come from any level of the workforce. While I would like to see in the future a more inclusive mindset, the change in the national bylaws is a promising first step.
My team met with several staffers, and each meeting went well. In our meeting with a staffer of Adam Smith, we were able to bring attention to a bill that he had co-sponsored in the past and had been reintroduced. We will follow up with the staff on the progress of that bill, and hopefully gaining his support. Each staffer we met with informed us that the representatives were supportive of most, if not all, of the items we presented. I attended one meeting with Craig Carter and Greg Stanford. We met with a staffer of representative Gerry Connolly, who has been an important supporter of the FMA. One of the topics we discussed, which was not in the issue briefs, was the introduction of AI in the workforce, and its ethical use. I had the most experience in that field, and during the discussion it became clear that this topic is going to be something the FMA will want to broach during next years convention in much more depth. The convention was a great opportunity for me, and the topics discussed on all fronts make me much more hopeful for the future of the organization. We will be following up with each of the staffers that we met with to thank them for their time and gain more information on the progress of the legislation we discussed with them. I look forward to seeing the impact our group has had this year, and I hope we can use what we learned to be more effective next year.