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V
irginia
C
apitol
C
onnections
, S
ummer
2016
13
A
merican author and activist Robin Morgan wrote, “Only she
who attempts the absurd can achieve the impossible.” It’s
no wonder that our very own Virginia author and activist,
Bonnie Atwood, would list Morgan as one of her favorite writers.
Throughout her life, Atwood has not only attempted the seemingly
absurd, but also achieved what others might have considered
impossible. And she’s made her dreams possible by pursuing them
all with exceptional passion.
At age 8, she decided that she wanted to skate with the “Ice
Capades,” even though she had never skated before. In fact, she didn’t
get the opportunity to actually skate until she was about 14, which
was a late start for someone attempting to become a professional. By
age 18, when she was a freshman in college, she gathered the courage
to audition for the show and was accepted.
After traveling with the “Ice Capades” for a year, she decided to
go back to college at George Mason University. In 1973, she began
to work as a reporter in their information office, which started her
lifelong career as a writer. After graduation, she joined the staff of the
“Manassas Journal Messenger.”And in 1980, she moved to Richmond
and became a freelancer with “The Richmond Times-Dispatch.”
Atwood explains that she comes from a family of readers and
writers, so both come naturally to her. She specifically credits her
mother for inspiring her to pursue writing. Her mom would read and
talk about newspaper articles to her when she was as young as 4. And
her mom would go on to achieve her own writing dream late in life
by having a story published in a magazine when she was 97 years old.
Even though she loved writing, Atwood found that it wasn’t
enough to fulfill all of her ambitions. She continued to look for
additional ways to broaden her horizons and to help others. Soon
she found herself pursuing yet another dream at a time that many
would have considered to be late in the game. In 1993, she entered the
University of Richmond School of Law. While working on her law
degree, she also wrote an etiquette column for young lawyers in the
school newspaper, and she had several stories published in a national
magazine, “The Student Lawyer.”
Atwood had originally planned to set up her own disability
or elder law practice, but she credits the founder and publisher of
“Capitol Connections” for helping her change direction once again to
become a lobbyist after law school. She explains that she saw David
Bailey giving a presentation about lobbying and that something just
clicked in her. She immediately knew that’s what she wanted to do.
“Instead of advocating for one person at a time, I could advocate for
a whole group of people,” says Atwood.
Soon afterwards, in the late 1990s, she became involved with
“Capitol Connections” as an editor and writer. “It was a perfect fit,
because I could combine lobbying with writing,” she explains. She
is still with David Bailey Associates to this day because she says the
work still brings her joy.
Even the name of her own business incorporates the idea of
achievement. In 2008, Atwood started “Tall Poppies FreelanceWriting
LLC,” a woman owned writing and legislative consulting service.
The “Communicator
of Achievement”
Achieves Impossible
Dreams…
By Sarah Alderson
See
Communicator of Achievement
, continued on page 15