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The threat by the Trump Administration to levy significant tariffs against three of the biggest trading partners of the U.S. became reality March 4, 2025, and the impact on the meeting and events industry is still unfolding.Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson engaged Voices in Advocacy's Roger Rickard, the leading expert on political advocacy in the meetings industry and beyond, to gauge how the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and now 20% on China—and reciprocal actions by those nations—may touch the industry.Will meeting and event costs skyrocket? Will international attendance plummet? Will organizations from those countries take a pass on bringing their events to the U.S.?At the time of recording the impact was far from clear, but Rickard outlines some very real scenarios as well as provides resources for how those in the meetings and events industry can reach out to their political representatives to make sure their voices are heard.
In this Meetings Today podcast, digital content coordinator Logan Pratt sits down with Roger Rickard, founder and president of Voices in Advocacy to learn about how some of the key issues in the 2024 presidential election could impact the meetings industry. Rickard also talks about the effectiveness of destination boycotts, how groups can advocate for themselves in legislative policy and why there is always hope for the industry no matter who wins the White House.
"As we paused to look back four score, to honor and reflect on the brave allied soldiers that liberated a continent, my mind advanced to November evaluating the reality that lies ahead for America's future. I am battling to find the right words to express my concern for the governing institutions of our nation." Commentary from Roger Rickard, President and Founder of Voices in Advocacy. ABOUT our HOST Roger is the Founder & President of Voices in Advocacy®, author of 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates and host of the Voices in Advocacy® Podcast. He has more than 30 years of experience as an advocacy professional. As a recognized expert in advocacy engagement and grassroots activation, Roger works with a wide cross-section of organizations from diverse industries. His vibrant personality and a good sense of humor make for engaging and interactive programming that is packaged and delivered in an easy to understand, easy to apply format combining his education, experience, and enthusiasm to drive advocacy success. Successful Meetings Magazine named Roger one of the Six People Worth Watching. Meetings Focus Magazine named him to their inaugural list of Meetings Trendsetters, and Connect Magazine named Roger to their inaugural Class of 15 over 50 influencers. This podcast is dedicated to the art of advocacy. Contact Voices In Advocacy at: www.VoicesinAdvocacy.com 480 488-9150 At Voices in Advocacy, we work with organizations that want to inspire, educate, engage, and activate their supports to become even better effective, influential advocates.
Today I will speak about self-advocacy. Self-advocacy through voting. In the United States of America what could be more important than our freedom? One of our most precious freedoms is our ability to cast a ballot, to vote. We have the right and privilege to participate in our government, to set a course for tomorrow. I'm Roger Rickard and I approve this message.
Normally this podcast is dedicated to the art of advocacy. Today the show is dedicated to the act of advocacy. Today's show is an editorial on gun violence in light of the all too familiar recent events. This is an editorial by Roger Rickard, the opinions expressed our those of the host. Contact Voices In Advocacy at: www.VoicesinAdvocacy.com 480 488-9150 At Voices in Advocacy, we work with organizations that want to inspire, educate, engage, and activate their supports to become even better influential advocates
Roger Rickard believes in advocacy and believes in the right of each and every American citizen to be an advocate, in fact, it is our role and responsibility to participate in our form of self-government. Catch up on his advocacy reflections this Thanksgiving. Roger is the Founder & President of Voices in Advocacy®, author of 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates, and host of the Voices In Advocacy podcast. He has more than 30 years of experience as an advocacy professional, speaker, trainer, consultant, and author. As a recognized expert in advocacy engagement and grassroots activation, Roger works with a wide cross-section of organizations from diverse industries. His vibrant personality and a good sense of humor make for engaging and interactive programming that is packaged and delivered in an easy to understand, easy to apply format combining his education, experience, and enthusiasm to drive advocacy success. This podcast is dedicated to the art of advocacy. Contact Voices In Advocacy at: www.VoicesinAdvocacy.com 480 488-9150 At Voices in Advocacy we work with organizations that want to inspire, educate, engage, and activate their supports to become even better influential advocates.
Entrepreneurs and leaders are risk-takers, and they recognize opportunities where others see chaos. They stay focused and determined because they have their goals set that they need to achieve. Dr. Tracey Jones sits down with Roger Rickard to unravel more insights about staying focused. He is the founder and President of Voices in Advocacy, author of 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates, and host of the Voices in Advocacy Podcast. Let's dive into this episode with many deep insights regarding taking the next level in leadership despite different obstacles. Tune into this and don't forget to stay focused! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We take a deep dive into the topic of advocacy with advocacy expert, Roger Rickard, Founder and President of a company called Voices in Advocacy. He has had a life-long passion of working with organizations who want to inspire, educate, engage, and activate their teams to become even better influential advocates. Roger Rickard is clearly a leading expert in the Advocacy space. Listen as he shares: How at an early age, he found his passion for government affairs and political science. Then learned the importance of “we can agree to disagree without being disagreeable”. What advocacy really is. How an advocate and an activist can be similar but yet different. The difference between an advocate and a lobbyist. Seven habits of a highly effective advocate. How he at the age of 18, ran for political office against an incumbent who had the position for 22 years. The biggest mistake advocates make. Why some people don't get involved. Why leaders who aren't involved in issues, need to get involved
We are happy to be speaking to Roger Rickard today. Roger is an icon of advocacy in our industry. In this episode, Roger talks about what we can do as business owners, in terms of advocacy, particularly in these challenging times and also over the long term. Roger Rickard's bio Roger Rickard is the Founder and President of Voices in Advocacy® and author of 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates. He has more than 30 years of experience as an advocacy professional, speaker, trainer, consultant, and author. As a recognized expert in advocacy engagement and grassroots activation, Roger works with a wide cross-section of organizations from diverse industries. His vibrant personality and a good sense of humor make for engaging and interactive programming that is packaged and delivered in an easy to understand, easy to apply format combining his education, experience, and enthusiasm to drive advocacy success. Roger is a proud Penn State Nittany Lion and confessed political junky having received his education in Political Science. He has been an advocate for citizen involvement since the age of 13. Elected three times to public office as a young man, served as a state legislative staff member, and has worked on many political campaigns from his very own clear up to presidential campaigns. His work spans a cross-section of local, regional, national, and international organizations. He has served in numerous industry associations' leadership roles, is a recipient of several international industry awards, and is a member of Meeting Professional International's prestigious “Community of Honorees”. He is often interviewed by radio, print, and television media, highlighted by the MSNBC show Your Business. Smart Meetings Magazine did a cover story on Roger, entitled Passion & Purpose, Roger Rickard's Call to Action. Successful Meetings Magazine named Roger one of the Six People Worth Watching in the Meetings Industry. Meetings Focus Magazine named him to their inaugural list of Meetings Trendsetters, and in 2020, Connect Magazine named Roger to their inaugural Class of 15 over 50 influencers. Roger is a BIG man at 6'8”, a BIG thinker, and he has BIG ideas for helping you succeed with advocacy. He is casually known as the BIG GUY with a BOW TIE. Roger's history Roger started his career in security. He started working in hotels for a private security firm contracted to those hotels. His job was to learn how to deal with things discreetly and diffuse them. That later rolled into a job where he got professionally trained to be a bodyguard as well. Getting to know the meetings industry Working in different positions in hotels, Roger came to know and understand the meetings industry. Eventually, he owned a DMC (Distillation Management Company) in the industry. After selling that, he went on to work for a national organization that did high-end corporate incentive programs. Advocacy as a result of the meetings industry The advocacy pillar of Roger's experience came into place as a result of the meetings industry. A boycott in Arizona in the 1990s, around whether or not the government was willing to celebrate the Martin Luther King Day holiday, cost the state of Arizona a tremendous amount of meetings business. That was the first time that meetings ever got used as a tool to get back at the government for their actions. Getting involved with Meeting Professionals International After that, Roger got involved with Meeting Professionals International. He sat for some time on their Government Affairs Committee and eventually led the committee. Creating programs to teach people how to be better advocates That led him to create programs to teach people how to be better advocates to help them speak out when they felt that issues of government or other groups were affecting their ability to be leaders in their business. That led Roger to where he is at today. Roger Rickard's advocacy Roger Rickard is involved with advocacy towards everything related to government and public affairs. He is also involved with the advocacy of demonstrating that people are leaders in their field, regardless of the industry in which they are. Roger Rickard's advocacy myth-busting In one of Roger Rickard's programs, he does a segment of myth-busting about advocacy because advocacy is about your ability to speak in favor of a cause or an issue. There are seven branches of myth-busting. They are: Public affairs Media Public service Brands and Industry Cause Wounded warriors Business leaders and people who advocate for things Advocacy leadership If your prospects are uncomfortable, they are not going to keep on being your customers. If your employees are unhappy with the way they get treated, and you don't stand up as a business leader and defend and protect them, that cog of the business will not run as well as it should. You also need to stand up for your vendors and suppliers and defend them, plead for them, work with them, and share the responsibility, or they will not be there for you when you need them. The definition of an advocate An advocate is a person who pleads the cause of another person. The advocacy role of business owners in our industry Small businesses, which make up a high majority of the people in the meetings and events industry, have the incredible power to tell their personal stories. Roger wrote a pocket guidebook called 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates to explain how business owners and entrepreneurs can be the most important advocates in the mix. One of the best advocacy actions they can perform is to tell their story. Having a huge impact Anybody can reach out to get other stakeholders. You don't need to change your lifestyle to have an impact. All you need to do is use your personal story as the vehicle to tell a bigger story. Meetings Mean Business and Global Meetings Day If you feel you cannot reach out to other stakeholders, join Meetings Mean Business, or be a part of the Global Meetings Day on April the 8th 2021, to find out how business gets done and how people advance their businesses through education and training. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Roger On Website Or email him at roger@voicesinadvocacy.com
Mike speaks with Roger on Exhibitions Day 2020 held virtually on June 3. Recaps the asks to Congress and Senate and looks ahead at the future for Trade Shows, Events, Tourism and the reopening of the economy.
EACA's Executive Director Jim Wurm talks about recent and upcoming Webinars on Industry Reopening and Voices in Advocacy's Roger Rickard recaps the 2020 Exhibitions Day Virtual event from this week. TheDonAndMikeShow.net and ExhibitCityNews.com
Meetings and hospitality veterans Joan Eisenstodt and Roger Rickard—no strangers to entering the fray when it comes to addressing hot-button issues and promoting industry advocacy and awareness—discuss the rather unenthusiastic current state of industry advocacy and how we can all get more involved to champion issues that directly impact our profession. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Time Stamps for this week's show: 0:25 - 1:03 = SMT EXPO 1:04 - 2:34 = ExhibitCityNews.com Newsblast 2:56 - 4:10 = EACA News 4:11 - 5:56 = EDPA News 5:57 - 7:01 = ESCA News 7:02 - 8:08 = Randy Smith Memorial Updates 8:09 - 10:01 = IAEE News 10:02 - 16:47 = Don and Mike talk about poll results, upcoming conferences, Fathers Day and more 16:48 - 17:17 = YourEventAudio.com 17:18 - 17:50 = Tradeshow Calender at TheDonAndMikeShow.net 17:51 - 38:44 = Interview with Iggy Rosenberg / Lightswitch.net 38:45 - 39:25 = SMT EXPO 39:26 - 58:46 = Roger Rickard from Voices In Advocacy and Micole Bowman, VP of Marketing and Communications at IAEE interview 59:23 - 1:06:00 = Don and Mike wrap up
Roger Rickard interviews Sam Daley-Harris the Founder of the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation. Sam Daley-Harris founded the anti-poverty lobby RESULTS in 1980 and co-founded the Microcredit Summit Campaign in 1995 with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus and FINCA founder John Hatch. Sam wrote Reclaiming Our Democracy: Healing the Break Between People and Government, which, according to President Jimmy Carter “provides a road map for global involvement in planning a better future.” In 2012 Sam launched the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation to help organizations more deeply engage their supporters and create champions in Congress and the media for their cause. Websites: Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation: www.citizenempowermentandtransformation.org The book: Reclaiming Our Democracy: www.reclaimingourdemocracy.org RESULTS: www.results.org Citizens Climate Lobby: www.citizensclimatelobby.org Friends Committee on National Legislation: www.fcnl.org American Promise: www.americanpromise.net Generation 180: www.generation180.org (Keep it Cool campaign) American Wind Energy Association: www.awea.org Advertisers are: www.TrekkerLeather.com and www.RokitSEO.com
Roger Rickard interviews the 'Accidental Advocate on the importance of using your talents to advocate with elected officals. Also, listen for the Advocacy Tip of the week - Congressional Town Halls - pt.2. For more information on Jon Trask and his company go to: StrategicMeetingTech.com Advertisers are: TrekkerLeather.com and RokitSEO.com
Roger Rickard talks with David DuBois, CEO of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) on the importance of association advocacy for his organization and membership. Also, listen for the Advocacy Tip of the week - Get on the Record. For more information on IAEE go to: IAEE.com For more information on Exhibitions Mean Business go to: Exhibitionsmeanbusiness.org Advertisers are: TrekkerLeather.com and RokitSEO.com
Hello and welcome to the very 1st episode of the Voices in Advocacy Podcast. I am Roger Rickard and this is THE podcast dedicated to the art of becoming a more influential advocate. This podcast is for the people that work and engage in advocacy efforts: be they associations, trade organizations, and non-profit cause groups. Our goal is to help you by educating, engaging, and activating you to become a champion for the causes you care about the with enthusiasm, while providing you with powerful lifelong habits enabling YOU to become a superior advocate. In today's episode, I discuss... who I am, where I began that makes me what I am today. I will also share some of my first thoughts post inauguration. Welocme to the Voices in Advocacy Podcast.
We recently caught up with Roger Rickard of Voices in Advocacy during the IMEX America show in Las Vegas. We talked at length about voting and it's importance to the nation as well as to our industry. Roger publishes a great blog about politics and advocacy, as well as being a terrific meetings industry advocate and supporter. His website and blog can be found here: Roger Rickard And here's a direct link to the blog post that we are discussing on the show: American’s have a Big Decision on Election Day (and it’s not for president) It's an important message, and it reaches far beyond just our industry. So it's vital that we all exercise our right to vote in the upcoming election. Make sure your voice is heard, not just on the top of the ticket, but all the way down to the local offices that can have significant impact on our business, schools and city governments.
Roger Rickard is a speaker, trainer and consultant that helps businesses, non-profits and associations find their voice in advocacy. About Roger Roger has been an advocate for citizen involvement since the age of 13. He was elected to public office as a young man, later served as a legislative staffer for the Pennsylvania State Legislature, and has worked on many local, regional and state campaigns as well as numerous Presidential campaigns. His work spans a cross-section of local, regional, national and international organizations. In 2011, Roger authored The DMO Advocacy Toolkit for Destination Marketing Association International. In 2013, Voices in Advocacy® built a grassroots meetings industry advocacy platform for the Convention Industry Council called the CIC AdvocacyHub™. In 2013, Smart Meetings Magazine did a cover story on Roger, entitled Passion & Purpose, Roger Rickard’s Call to Action. Also in 2013, Successful Meetings Magazine named Roger one of the Six People Worth Watching in the Meetings Industry. In 2014, Meetings Focus Magazine named him to their inaugural list of Meetings Trendsetters. Roger majored in Political Science at Pennsylvania State University and is still a proud Nittany Lion. His education, experience and enthusiasm enlighten audiences on key issues and relationships that turn passion into action. Listen to episode 207 of the podcast to hear Roger's entrepreneurial journey and his advice for those who want to join the ranks of entrepreneur.
On this weeks podcast we catch up with Roger Rickard, professional speaker and advocacy consultant to the meetings and exhibitions industry. He's the founder of "Voices in Advocacy", and you can learn much more about his work with industry groups via his website: RogerRickard.com We talked in depth about an industry initiative headed by IAEE (the International Association of Exhibitions and Events). They've created a broad coalition of exhibition industry supporters to advocate for the industry via the website: Exhibitions Mean Business. Since launching in 2011 they've generated over 750 million impressions, 2600 media impressions and a total of over 70 million dollars in publicity. For the past three years they've sponsored an annual Exhibitions Day where industry members can meet with their representatives in Washington DC to advocate for the industry. They've also created an Advocacy Center to provide information on pending legislation and convenient ways to reach out to your elected representatives. On the podcast, Roger provides a wealth of information about current issues that can affect the meetings industry and all of us.