I got it. Thanks.

Thanks. Ryan would be a good one if you can get his attention.

Good Job fatboi83. When we get this done, we will do a Skype conference tellashot with all we can. Hope that makes sense, the Apple Brandy said it did.

The flip side of fatboi83's question is, "has anyone followed-up on a previous legislator contact lately?" It takes more than one contact to get an answer unfortunately. Sometimes it take 3 or 4 requests for them to do the right thing, read your information and respond back to you. I started the Squeaky Wheel Thread just for this reason. The lack of response does not necessarily mean he/she is not interested; what it most likely means is that he/she has not even looked at it yet. As I have noted previously, one of the best ways to get their attention is to Google your representative's local constituent offices and pick the one closest to you. Call them and get someone's name and email address to send the proposal to directly - or better yet, drive over to the office and sit down with them, explain our program and ask that they pass it along to their boss.

Another thing that will be very helpful is to send the legislative proposal prior to meeting with them. I have been told on numerous occasions that most people walk into their offices with an "idea" period. (Ex.) "I want you to pass a law against throwing empty beer cans and fast food coffee cups in the ditches in front of my house". What we have is a well written proposal that has been simplified to the point where it needs very little work to make it doable. They don't have to think! Be proud of it and show it off with enthusiasm. It is the fair and sensible thing to do, we have got to figure out how to get that idea across to the legislators in charge. The proposal should answer any questions they have concerning the dangers/myths of so-called "Moonshining". Everyone reading this post is salesman for our cause. Go get 'em. Thanks. Alli

Hokey,
Our experience has proven that the congressmen and staff in these offices are trained that they work "only" for the people that live in the district represented by the congressman. Anyone else gets the "me no work for you " letter. A number of people wrote several representatives in hopes of getting the word around, unfortunately it was probably a waste of time and stamps. Call your guy and see if you can talk directly to him. Thanks for the update.
Tom

I happened to run into Congressman Tom Kennedy last night at the local pizza joint that happen to make the best in the world. He is one of those that I sent a packet to. He was rolling by our table (wheelchair). I said "Hello Tom, Scott H#%^&## " and he said "I remember who you are" ((he used do date my cousin)) "and you are the home brewer. I have not forgotten about it and it is on our agenda." I'm not sure exactly what he meant by that but I think there's another phone call I have to make.

Hokey,
Just goes to prove that there is no way to know who actually sees the letters sent to congressmen. I was told by several aids that they sent non-constituent mail a generic letter without showing it to the representative. It probably depends on the office - some representatives want to see every letter, while other do not. Hokey is right, it is worth a stamp or two just to get the word out. The interest in pushing our proposal seems to have come to a low point. Anyone have any ideas about how we re-invigorate our efforts?
Tom

Please everyone, listen to RandyMarshCT. Working together as a large group we can and will make it happen.
t

The Hobby Distiller's Association website (www.hobbydistillersassociation.org (http://www.hobbydistillersassociation.org)) is now fully operational! Please take a minute to become a member, and urge everyone that you know to sign up as a supporter to show that they support legislation! The supporter account is a free non-member option for those that are not in the hobby but support the cause. All hobbyists- please help us to fund this effort by becoming a member. It is only $30, but it will help tremendously. At this point Brewhaus is shouldering the entire cost of this effort beyond what membership dues will cover, and the estimated cost for the lobbyist is between $35,000 and $40,000. Unfortunately, we need to do this in order to get hobby distilling brought out of the closet and given the same legal standing as home brewing and winemaking, so it is worth the cost!

Thank you, Red. And thank you for the help that you have offered with the HDA website!

Rick