On Tuesday, Feb. 2nd I presented the newsletter to the House Committee and they have tabled it until their next meeting on March 2nd. I came out of the meeting with my head spinning. Ultimately, they needed more information on the cost projection. Going in I felt prepared, but after experiencing my first proposal, I walked away with several things I could have done better. I presented a three page newsletter with categories such as "How Our Programs Help You, " "How Our Programs Help the Region," and "How Our Programs Help the Nation." It was presented in color and they asked me to present both a black and white copy and colored copy at the next meeting. I also brought an application for non-profit organization bulk mailing rates and the information I researched about it online. Apparently, there's more involved to getting a non-profit permit than I thought, so I have to do more research at the post office. They really liked the idea and thought that the draft I brought to the proposal looked good and included the information they wanted. I'm not sure if I should update the newsletter for the next meeting to include information from Feb. or just keep the draft I have and wait until it is approved to start the next month. I also found out that there was a little communication issue with how I presented the dates of publication. I presented the newsletter as a bi-monthly newsletter, to be published every two months, 6 publications total per year. However, I think they may have misunderstood and thought I meant twice a month publications. I am also working on researching bills within legislation that concern veterans. The auxiliary is wanting me to write letters to state congressman about their support for and against certain bills. If anyone knows of any, it would be helpful for when I go to research them. Thanks!
Here are three websites worth checking periodically to stay up to date on veterans' related legislation at the federal and state levels:
ReplyDeleteVFW: http://www.vfw.org/ See in particular the column on the left-hand side with updates about pending legislation.
U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs: http://www.va.gov/ See in particular the "Public Affairs" and "Congressional Affairs" tabs in the left-hand column.
West Virginia Division of Veterans' Affairs: http://www.wvs.state.wv.us/va/
Lots of good discussion here about the various types of research you've done (especially cost projections) in putting together this proposal and that you need to do looking ahead to the next meeting. I do encourage you to produce an update newsletter for the next meeting; consider circulating it to the head of the committee prior to the meeting, as well, so that the discussion can be focused.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed. Your internship would be way more pertinent for me than mine. Mine's great, but its not helping the ole poli sci education much. Proposals, grants, newsletters: nice.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that seems like a lot of work. I know I've found it hard to balance my load with other things I'm into, so it must be pretty difficult for you, having to do so much research. Usually all I have to do is edit, proof, and edit. I'm interested, do you work from the Post more often, or from home/a library/etc.?
I work from home most often but that doesn't necessarily mean that the lines of communication are closed. I have the commander, sr. vice commander, and jr. vice commander's telephone numbers as well as the auxiliary's president and sr. vice president's telephone number.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it is a lot of work and like Dr. Wible talked about last class, I'm having a hard time managing all of the projects they have me working on. I have sat down and started on progress reports in order to let them know how much I can really handle on a weekly basis.