On Thursday, April 10th, in conjunction with the 4th Annual Turkic American Convention, the Turkic American Alliance organized a full day of events for representatives of TAA member federations, councils and organizations, the TAA Board of Directors, TAA staff and other representatives from the Turkic American community. The events included a morning White House Tour, a briefing on ‘D.C. Politics’ by two Chiefs of Staff and an afternoon briefing by White House staff at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
White House Tour
TAA organized a morning tour of the White House for select members of the Turkic American community. The tour included visits to the East Room, the Green Room, the Red Room and the State Dining Room.
D.C. Politics Briefing
Following the tour of the White House, the guests made their way back to the Willard InterContinental Hotel for the D.C. Politics Briefing.
Special speakers included two distinguished Chiefs of Staff from the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, respectively. First to speak was Christopher T. Gahan, who serves as Chief of Staff for Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA). Mr. Gahan shared some insightful tidbits about his normal day on the job, which includes but is not limited to a schedule to the tune of 8 meetings, 6 briefings with the Senator, 12 phone calls and 1 email roughly every 75 seconds. Mr. Gahan also stressed the importance of twitter and social media in reaching out to elected officials. The second speaker was Stanley V. White, Chief of Staff for Congressman Robert A. Brady (D-PA). Mr. White provided some helpful ‘dos and don’ts’ in terms of advocacy on the Hill, including responsible and timely follow-ups, having an ‘ask’ for your meeting, and being honest, sincere and straightforward with all staff.
The briefing made for a lively and informal discussion. In fact, many of TAA’s guests called this the highlight of the day. A big thank you to Mr. Gahan and Mr. White for taking the time out of their busy schedules to brief select members of the Turkic American community on the topic of ‘D.C. Politics.’
White House Policy Briefing
The last event of the day was an afternoon White House policy briefing at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB). Speakers for the briefing included Kyle Lierman, Associate Director at the Office of Public Engagement; Rashad Hussain, U.S. Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); and a representative from the National Security Council. The speakers provided an informative briefing and answered questions by members of the audience.
Annual Board Meeting
Additionally, the Annual Board of Directors meeting took place during the Turkic American Convention. During the meeting, TAA President Dr. Faruk Taban presented the 2013 budget and the projected 2014 budget, while the Board Directors presented activity reports and elected new members to the Board.
