By Sandy Shumaker, CMT, AHDI-F

AHDI-West Legislative Liaison

Over the last year, fellow MTs have asked me this question often with regard to Advocacy and to be perfectly honest, I’m not quite sure. One day, I was registering for the annual California state meeting in Sacramento and the next, I’m advocating for our profession in Washington DC. Quite a stretch for an MT from Glendora, CA! But thinking back, perhaps it was a very logical step and one that needed to be taken on my part.

It was February 2009 and my friend, Maggie, and I were making plans to attend the annual CA educational meeting. The registration form arrived and the organizers had decided to have an Advocacy Day in Sacramento one day before the meeting began. As someone who has tried to give back to a profession that has given me so much, it seemed like a good idea to venture out and try something new. Why not advocate?

Little did I know that this step into the unknown would lead me on a new and exciting path at this point in my career. With absolutely no knowledge of what I was getting into, it has definitely been an education into the legislative workings of our government and the ways in which laws and amendments in DC affect all of us—even in Glendora!

Did I know what I was doing when I started? Absolutely not! Do I know it all now? You’ve got to be kidding! Would I volunteer to do it again? In a heart beat! I would like to encourage everyone to take a leap of faith, try something new and exciting and become involved. It is a step on a path you will never regret!