Advocacy Day a Success!
Society Leaders & Members Spread the Word About the Power and Work of NYS Associations on Capitol Hill 

On Tuesday May 8, 2018, ESSAE conducted its second Association Advocacy Day at the New York State Capitol to raise awareness of the importance and impact of associations to the life and success of New York State, as well as make our elected officials know that ESSAE is the “go-to” source on all matters relating to associations.

The ESSAE Advocacy Teams had visits at the offices of the following Legislators:

Senator James Tedisco (R/C/I)
Senator Christopher Jacobs (R/C/I)
Senator Michael Ranzenhofer (R/C/I) - Deputy Majority Leader for Economic Development; Chair, Senate Corporations Committee
Assembly Member Patricia Fahy (D)
Assembly Member Phil Steck (D)
Assembly Member Carrie Woerner (D)
Senator George Amedore (R/C/I)
Senator Neil Breslin (D/I/WF)
Assembly Member John McDonald, III (D)
Assembly Member Amy Paulin (D/WF/I) - New Chair, Assembly Corporations Committee

Additionally, team members made information drop-off visits to:

Senator Kathleen Marchione (R/C/I)
Senator Robert Ortt (R/C/I)
Assembly Member Aileen Gunther (D/WF/I)

As part of our educational effort, the teams provided the Legislators and staff with the following “Did You Knows?” about NYS associations:

• NYS associations make broad contributions to the state:
• They create jobs.
• They are leaders in professional and workforce development. 
• They are a significant part of the meetings industry—hosting a wide range of conventions, conferences, meetings and seminars.
• They enrich communities and create positive change.
• They bring deep wells of expertise and knowledge—helping NYS to be a leader in the nation and enhance the collective quality of life in the Empire State.
• NYS ranks second in the highest membership organization employment in the nation (California ranks first).
• NYS ranks third in the nation for number of registered 501(c)3s—with 77,072 organizations; and fifth in the nation for number of registered 501(c)6s—with 2,883 organizations.
• NYS membership associations bring in over $11 billion in annual revenue.
• NYS ranks third in the nation in total membership association assets—with $28.1 billion in value (Massachusetts is first; California is second).
• Educating the workforce
• Volunteering in the community
• Community Service

Additionally, ESSAE’s representatives:

• Received an update on the Senate’s Regulatory Reform efforts, which just passed in the Senate.  ESSAE previously had filed a Memorandum of support for the reform package and S244 (Ortt)/A341 (Gunther). Click here for the Memorandum.

• Raised concerns with the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Corporations Committees over S8216. This bill relates to the regulation of “key persons” in not-for-profit law. ESSAE find the definition used in this bill for “key persons” is too broad and needs clarification as it could impact leadership and volunteer recruitment for associations.

We are grateful to the following ESSAE members who took time to help us with getting out the message yesterday:

Above: The ESSAE Advocacy Team used a Senate Conference Room as its base of operations. Front Row (L-R): Michele Endries, Vanessa LaClair, Lindsay Miller, Pam McHale. Back Row (L-R): Timothy Thate, Jim Calvin, Jay Cloutier, Ashley Ranslow, Paul Hook, Jeff Keller, Brian Buff (Missing: Alex Tancredi - who took the photo!)

Introducing Our New Vice Chair

We are pleased to introduce and thank ESSAE Member Ashley Ranslow for agreeing to serve as the Vice Chair of the Government Affairs Committee.  Ashley has been a member of ESSAE for five years and serves as Manager of Government Affairs at the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association. Ashley has taken an active part in ESSAE’s Association Advocacy Days the last two years.  We look forward to Ashley’s leadership and contributions to ESSAE’s Government Affairs efforts!  

The Government Affairs Committee will be keeping members up-to-date on any other developments coming out of Albany as the Legislature wraps-up its last weeks of the legislative session.

Your Government Affairs Committee

Chair: Brian Buff, Vice President, Association Management Operations, Capitol Hill Management
Vice Chair: Ashley Ranslow, Manager Government Affairs, Northeastern Retail Lumber Assoc.
Kathy Febraio, CAE, Executive Director, Pharmacists Society of the State of New York
Kelly Garceau, Executive Director, New York Physical Therapy Association
Jeff Keller, CAE, Director, Legislative & Regulatory Affairs, Northeastern Retail Lumber Assoc.
Randy McCullough, CAE, Deputy Executive Director, NYS Funeral Directors Association
Megan Osika, Vice President, Park Strategies, LLC
Lori Rehm, Director of Sales & Conference Services, The Sagamore Resort
Timothy Thate, CPHIMS, PMP, CAE, Senior Director, Information Technology, LeadingAge NY
Margaret Vandervort, Legislative Director & Business Manager, The Vandervort Group
Todd Vandervort, President & CEO, The Vandervort Group