Finding Your Voice

We bounced the idea around for weeks and finally on the morning of this September 11th, my husband and I looked at each other and said, “It’s time. We gotta go!” We then immediately made some phone calls to secure a baby sitter for our son (my wonderful in-laws who slept on our couches that night), so we could get up at the crack of dawn to pick up my sister, say a short prayer and head on down to D.C.—for what was to be a very exhilarating and inspiring day.

The three-hour trip down was pretty silent probably because we were still half asleep, but mostly due to a bit of trepidation about not knowing what to expect when we got there.

We arrived in D.C. around 7 a.m. By the time we parked, checked out our meeting place, and circled back from finding and using the facilities, we were joined by more than a million people on Freedom Plaza, Constitution Avenue and Capitol Hill—all there to be heard … peacefully marching … there for love of country, their fellow man, their freedom and their future … and there because they too found their voices and knew it was time to be heard.

These are crazy times we are living in with decisions being made every day that affect our businesses and personal lives. It’s time to embrace what you believe in, stay informed, find your voice and be heard. I don’t care so much about what you believe in as much as I care that you find your voice and be heard.

If you don’t know where to start, give me a call to chat or better yet, seek out organizations who share the same beliefs and values that you do. Within your own industry there are several organizations you can check out (visit our Web Links page at moldmakingtechnology.com). One in particular is the AMBA, who held their Annual Fall Conference in D.C. the day after this march on the Hill, which I missed due to a sales trip in Minnesota that week. Fifty-seven members were present to attend pre-arranged meetings with 56 Senators and Representatives, as well as Congressional members who serve on committees important to trade and other issues.

Steve Rotman, President of the AMBA and Ameritech Die & Mold Inc., sums it up nicely, “With all of the changes that have been done, or are being considered, there has been no time like the present to get engaged and active. Without public participation, our politicians are not sure what we like and what we don't like. The experience continues to bring out how proud and blessed we are to have the freedoms we enjoy every day. To see our government up close and personal is an experience I will never forget."