(MEETING REQUEST SAMPLE)

FAX COVER SHEET

TO: Mary Alice

Scheduler

Senator Mike Hammond

FAX:202-242-0000

# PGS: 1

SENT BY: Your Name (include your email address too)

Unit or Department Position (if you are serving in one)

Unit # ___, American Legion Auxiliary

SENDERS PH: 202-861-0000 (work)

202-861-0001 (cell or home)

RE:Meeting Request

DATE: January 15, 2008

Dear Mary Alice,

Please accept this as a meeting request with Senator Hammond, for about 10 minutes, on Tuesday, April 1 for myself and Janet Member. Our schedule is flexible and open between 12:00pm and 4:00pm. Would the Senator have some time available?

We are both constituents; I am active in Unit ___ in Sandy, Utah and am currently Unit President. Janet is active in Unit ___ also in Sandy, Utah and is Department President. We will be in Washington, D.C. for our annual Awareness Assembly, March 30-April 2. Members of the Auxiliary, including others from the state of Utah will be visiting legislative offices on this day as well.

The Auxiliary has some concerns related specifically to the potential rise in the number of homeless veterans, the need for more aggressive diagnosis and treatment of PTSD and a comprehensive update to the MGIB.

The American Legion Auxiliary is the largest patriotic women’s service organization in the world with 900,000 members in nearly 10,000 communities.

Your assistance in coordinating a meeting time for us is appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Helpful Hints in making an Appointment for Awareness Assembly:

  1. Use department or unit letterhead for your correspondence (creating one can be as simple as using the ALA Brand as shown here.)
  1. Send your written meeting request to the DC office Scheduler the 2nd or 3rd week of January for our April 1st visit to the hill. Send your request via fax – it is the preferred method of receipt. Using a fax cover sheet as your “letter” is sufficient and easier to read than a formal letter. A call to the representatives local office will net you the Schedules name and fax number in the DC office, or check the reps website.
  1. It will make it easier for the Schedule to contact you if you include your email address, home, office and/or cell phone number in your correspondence.
  1. Let the Scheduler know that while you have some flexibility with time, March 6th is our hill walk and therefore, you don’t have flexibility on date.
  1. If more than one Auxiliary member attending Awareness Assembly with you, plan to visit your Senators and Reps as an Auxiliary team – the Auxiliary will have its own legislative agenda for its members, so we are encouraging you to meet with your representatives independently if possible.
  1. Give the Schedule your constituent information: what city you’re from and what position you hold with the Auxiliary.
  1. Be specific about the topics you’d like to cover during your meeting – when you check in at Awareness Assembly, let us know you will be going to the hill and we will provide you with a packet that includes the Auxiliary’s talking points on key legislative issues and a folder for you to leave behind after your meeting.
  1. Always let them know who the Auxiliary is – we need to continually distinguish ourselves from other Auxiliary groups and let them know we have a powerful voice with 900,000 members. Our name and membership numbers carry weight.