V
irginia
C
apitol
C
onnections
, S
ummer
/F
all
2013
20
On the afternoon of September 19, we, the three newest interns at
David Bailey Associates, met Mr. Bailey at the his office to prepare
for what we had no idea would be a challenging but incredible day
of bonding, team building, and networking. When we arrived we
grabbed some breakfast at the office, where we introduced ourselves
to one another. After breakfast we headed to the car to load the trunk
with copies of
Elect No Strangers
, a directory of Virginia candidates
for public office, and
2013 Virginia Capitol Connections Redbook
,
a directory of officials from the 2013 General Assembly session,
that we would be taking to Washington, D.C. to distribute to the
Virginia senators and congressmen. That evening in Washington we
were planning to attend an Intelligent Illuminations event in honor of
Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott. We then got in the car and
headed to I-95 toWashington.
The two-hour car ride was an enjoyable experience. We laughed,
joked, and played road games and became more comfortable with each
other. As we approachedWashington we had to make a swift decision
on how we would be delivering the copies of
Elect No Strangers
. The
three of us had to decide if we wanted to stay together or separate
while passing out the copies of the publication. Eventually we made
the decision to work as a team. The task at hand seemed very easy,
almost a no-brainer. We felt that the two hours we had to deliver the
publications would be more than enough time. Little did we know
that we were going to need every bit of the two hours we had allotted
that afternoon. Mr. Bailey gave us a list of the Virginia senators’ and
congressmen’s offices to distribute the publications to and he told us
to report to the Grand Hyatt Hotel by the end of the two hours.
The David Bailey
Associates interns
visit the United
States Capitol
By Direll Bodin, Ta’Mar Boyd
and Shataya Gilstrap
Direll Bodin, Ta’Mar Boyd, Shataya Gilstrap and Congressman Bobby Scott.
V
1001 East Broad Street
Suite 215
Richmond, VA 23219
804.643.5554
David L. Bailey
804.643.5554
Cell 804.405.8108
After being dropped off we proceeded to the Rayburn Building.
We walked in confident with our red bags through the security
system, just to be stopped by the Capitol Police, who informed
us that we could not distribute the publications in the building
and that we had to take them to a building at 2nd street and D
street. After the first mishap with the Rayburn Building we were
a little skeptical about going to the Longworth Building. Direll
suggested we try our luck with the next building and we found
ourselves sitting outside with phone numbers trying to call the
congressmen’s offices. After getting in touch with Congressman
Scott’s secretary, she kindly agreed to come downstairs to get the
pamphlets for the entire building. Glad to have one less bag we
moved on to the Cannon Building. Before entering this building
we decided to designate one member of our group to go inside.
Direll volunteered to go get the contact numbers for the legislators
in that building. After retrieving the correct contact information
he gave them to Shataya and Ta’Mar to make some phone
calls. Luckily, Shataya reached Congressman Hurt’s secretary
and we went around the building to meet her. She informed us
that she could only take the publications that were intended for
Congressman Hurt.
Now left with two bags we headed to the building at 2nd Street
and D Street. When we arrived, we found ourselves surrounded
by houses. We asked each other, “What Now?” We decided to call
Mr. Bailey and ask him what we should do. Mr. Bailey said that
he was having a little trouble himself and he told us just to keep
looking for the building. We walked to the corner of 2nd Street and
D Street where we saw two Capitol Police who told us to try our
luck in the library that was across the street. We proceeded to the
library, went through the security system and we were finally told
that there was not anywhere in the Capitol for us to drop off the
directories to be distributed. A little discouraged, we thanked the
officers for their help and left the library. We stood outside until
we could flag down a cab and headed to the Grand Hyatt to attend
the Bobby Scott event.
We had the opportunity to meet Congressman Scott and
network with many important people, which was a great end to
our long afternoon. We learned about Intelligent Illuminations and
street lighting controls. We heard great music, ate good food, and
truly enjoyed ourselves. The trip to Washington gave us time to
get to know one another and to work as a team.
