“We wanted to emphasize a couple of important things this year, first of all, we wanted our members to visualize the process,” said Governmental Affairs Director Russ Hendricks.
"We wanted them to know how laws are really made at the Statehouse and secondly, we wanted them to rub shoulders with lawmakers and make a connection with their legislators and that happened today.”
Members walked the Statehouse halls, talked to lawmakers and they got to see where State government happens, for a hands-on conference that put members in the legislative trenches. Idaho Lawmakers, in turn, got to see who they represent:
“It's was really important for lawmakers to be reminded that when we are at the Statehouse we represent more than 80,000 families in Idaho that live and work in each of their districts,” said Hendricks.
And Hendricks emphasized that it was a hands-on experience that benefited members. “Until you have actually been there and seen it with your own eyes it can be a very vague process. “It really helped our members visualize and see how things work.”
Hendricks says the Legislative Conference was a great success and it illustrated the grass-roots nature of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation.
