Each year in February or March, we hold a four day
conference called ‘Government Day’.  Yes,
I know it’s a bit of a misnomer, but bear with me.  The main audience for this event is our group
of advocate leaders from across the country that coordinate our efforts in
their chapters, states, and/or regions.

 Our goals for this event are many:

1. Build
   camaraderie
2. Bring
   everyone up-to-speed on our legislative agenda
3. Review
   the latest tips, tricks, and technology in the world of advocacy
4. Provide
   an update on the research that is being funded by JDRF
5. Continue
   to build relationships with Members of Congress and their staff

From an advocacy standpoint, one of our goals is to make
sure that we’re doing our part not just to grow our JDRF network, but to
support and advance the broader diabetes community–both online and offline.  To realize better treatments, and ultimately
a cure, as quickly as possible demands nothing less.

So, it only makes sense to open this event to the ideas,
feedback, goals, and concerns of the broader diabetes community (within the
bounds of our budget, of course).  I’m
proud to say that we’re taking steps to do just that.  This year, we’ve invited some folks from the
diabetes blogosphere to join us to share their perspectives on the advocacy
needs of the diabetes community and discuss how we can work together to achieve
them.

I want to thank (in alpha order) Allison
Blass, Michael Hoskins, Scott Johnson, Kelly Kunik, Kelly
Rawlings, Cherise Shockley, Kerri Sparling, Scott Strange, and Kim Vlasnik for
agreeing to make the trip to D.C. to be with us March 12-March 15!

My only regret, of course, is that we don’t have the budget
to invite more of you to attend and share your thoughts.  Rest assured, though, I do plan on making
this a yearly invitation!  And, in an effort make Government Day as open as possible, we’re
also investigating our options to live-stream sessions so that those of you
that can’t attend can still provide your thoughts.  As always, we value the feedback of anyone
that’s willing to talk with us and share their perspective.

As with most things we’ve done to engage the DOC over the
past 18 months or so, this is intended to be just another first step—one that
will hopefully lead to more engagement and discussion in the weeks and months
ahead.

Use the comments section to provide your feedback on what you
think we ought to be discussing at Government Day.

Thanks!