Working Together for Change

AOPA has great news for all its member businesses! This past December, AOPA became an “Elite Member” of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, joining the more than 700 trade associations enjoying the benefits of affiliation with the Chamber.

The benefit included in our membership that AOPA is most excited about is AOPA VoteForBusiness.com, a link which will reside in a pull-down menu on the “Government Relations” tab of the AOPA Web site, www.AOPAnet.org. Here’s what the site will deliver for members:

•    Grassroots advocacy tools—customizable communications to connect AOPA members with their local, state, and federal officials; tracking tools to measure the success of any grassroots campaign; and profiling tools to capture detailed information on supporters.

•    Elected official lookup—information on local, state, and federal elected officials and searches by ZIP code, state or last name.

•    Get-out-the-vote initiatives—downloadable voter registration and absentee voting information, candidate profiles and customizable voting records, polling place locations and hours of operation and personalized e-mails on key races.

•    Latest news and information—as the Internet becomes more prominent in the political process, the AOPA VoteForBusiness Web site will have customized news feeds filtered to cover the hot O&P issues, key races and what’s important to our field.

Chamber of Commerce membership will give AOPA members tools to engage more in the issues that AOPA has been fighting for. Don DeBolt, AOPA’s chief operating officer, who has served on the Chamber’s public policy committee in the past, says that joining the organization “gives AOPA an opportunity to clarify its position on issues in O&P, and gives members a road map on how to get involved themselves.”

The Chamber has been “very effective in creating a more business-favorable litigation environment,” says DeBolt. It has changed several state laws regarding class action lawsuits, and one of its major legislative goals is malpractice litigation reform.

For more information, contact Don DeBolt at ddebolt@AOPAnet.org, or (571) 431-0876, ext. 214.