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Virginia Capitol C onnections, Winter 2017 25
does allow Capitol Connections staff to add updates instantly.
Ken Jessup of Ken Jessup & Associates said he was sold on the
app because “contacts, phone numbers, [and] websites” were readily
available, and Marty Hall, Chief of Staff at DelegateWill Morefield’s
office praised the app for it’s expansive collection of information.
Delegate Rich Anderson is allegedly the first legislator to
download the app.
“Having used Virginia Capitol Connections’ Redbook directory
during seven General Assembly sessions and in my home district
between sessions, I couldn’t wait to download their new app for my
iPhone,” said Anderson. “Hardly a day doesn’t go by that I don’t
reference my hardcopy Redbook, so being able
to access the same information electronically
made my job faster and easier. The hardcopy
Redbooks have been a hit with my constituents.
At every public event, I lay out a stack of
Redbooks and they go like hotcakes. The new
app provides the same useful information, but
in an easy-to-use, user-friendly format that
puts the information in the palm of my hand.
Another job superbly done by David Bailey &
Associates and Virginia Capitol Connections!”
The Virginia Capitol Connections app is
available for free on Apple and Android devices.
Lydia Freeman is a graduate of Bluefield
College, former intern at David Bailey
Associates, and currently Teach for America fifth
grade teacher in Northampton County, NC.
Virginia Capitol Connections has gone mobile, allowing quick
and easy access to legislator contact information, meeting schedules,
news, and more.
“The Virginia Capitol Connection app is the most comprehensive
Virginia General Assembly resource app on the market and it’s free,”
said Dr. Tom Brewster, faculty of Bluefield College. “The app has
everything you need to navigate the General Assembly right in the
palm of your hand including emails, phone numbers, calendars,
news, and alerts.”
DavidBailey, President of DavidBaileyAssociates which produces
theVirginia Capitol Connections publications, had been contemplating
the creation of an app for several years. In 2015, he met Brad Veach,
president of Mobile Marketing & Entertainment Solutions, Inc., and
conversation around the creation of an app began. With the help of
Veach and Hayley Allison, a staff member of David Bailey Associates,
the content necessary for the app’s creation was added.
Kelly Gee, the Chief of Staff for Majority House Leader Kirk
Cox said that she loved the app.
“All of the pertinent contact information for our state government
is easily accessible right in the palm of my hand,” said Gee. “What is
especially helpful to me as I’m walking around the General Assembly
Building is that the Delegate’s and Senator’s office number is
listed so I don’t have to wander from floor to floor. I also suggest
downloading the app to constituents who visit Capitol Square so they
can look at the public meeting scheduling and have the map of nearby
restaurants.”
Virginia Capitol Connections was started after a conversation in
1986. David Bailey was meeting with lobbyists Sumpter Priddy and
“Judge” Williams. As they discussed the legislative session, Bailey
commented that it would be useful to have a published book of
information on legislators. Priddy suggested that Bailey take on the
task, and Virginia Capitol Connections was born. Throughout the
years, the publication has expanded to include the Virginia Quarterly
Capitol Connections magazine, and now, the Capitol Connections app.
Bailey envisions that the app will be relevant and used by anyone
interested in government with a smartphone or tablet.
“It’s not just for the youngest among us,” said Bailey. “Virginia
AARP is our lead sponsor of the app—it’s for people of all ages.”
And while the app is not a replacement for the Red Book, the app
Go Mobile
with the
Virginia Capitol
Connections App
By Lydia Freeman
Legislative Counsel
John G. “Chip” Dicks
FutureLaw, LLC
1802 Bayberry Court, Suite 403
Richmond, Virginia 23226
(804) 225-5507 (Direct Dial)
(804) 225-5508 (Fax)
V