I write this blog post from the road. I am currently in the middle of a Citizens Campaign for the Environment summer tour, visiting half of the offices across the state. First stop was Syracuse, today I’m in Buffalo, tomorrow I will be in Albany, and Friday I go back to Farmingdale on Long Island. In the summer, when CCE’s staff is the largest, program staff get the opportunity to travel to offices across the state and give briefings, share stories, and network with staff old and new.
Even in the age of conference calls and webcams, there is no substitute for sitting down and meeting face-to-face. It is especially valuable in the summer when our staff grows exponentially with the influx of students who are home from school. I was able to talk to the staff on the specifics of some of the Long Island campaigns as well as bridge the gap between the state-wide campaigns.
For over 25 years, CCE has relied on cross-trains, and inter-office briefings to keep relationships between offices strong. Briefings keep the links between offices together and enable the staff to see that they are not a small organization, operating on their own in one corner of the state, but part of a larger network. Just recently having a campaign victory with the passage of the Sewage Pollution Right To Know Bill made it easy to show staff how important the outreach work of individual offices is when they all work together.
Of course it is also beneficial for us program staff also. We get to see parts of the state we have never visited and meet the organizers that make CCE run. It is a great experience to be part of such a fantastic network of individuals and I am proud to be able to share my experiences with them.
**This blog post originally appeared on Long Island Business News – Young Island.
