The Great Return Participants returned in person and en masse to the nation’s capital for SNA’s 50th Legislative Action Conference. SNA President Beth Wallace, MBA, SNS V Veterans of SNA’s Legislative Action Conference (LAC) will never forget the March 2020 gathering. COVID headlines were picking up in frequency and urgency. Many attendees opted for elbow bumps instead of hugs and handshakes. Meeting rooms buzzed with conversation about how to manage if schools and offi ces had to close for a few weeks. No one imagined that it would be two years before they would gather again in Washington, D.C. The in-person return to LAC 2022 was joyful, albeit tinged with concerns about the business at hand, especially once ADVOCACY IN ACTION 2022 SNA Legislative Action Conference coalition led by Senator Mitch McConnell. But #LAC22 was the perfect venue for state teams to rally, calling on members in D.C. and at home to rev up their grassroots advocacy. The program agenda was packed with other timely topics, including an insider’s view of the mid-term election environment from Keynote Speaker Amy Walters; a recorded address by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack; breakout sessions on CEP, building a bipartisan advocacy program and maximizing Hill visits; exchange sessions for industry and state agency representatives; panel discussions on SNA’s 2022 Position Paper, USDA’s transitional rule on nutrition standards and other agency updates, best practices for managing supply chain and labor shortage challenges and predictions for the year ahead; plus a much-needed presentation on maintaining well-being during stressful times. Dinner, drinks and dancing were on tap at the School Nutrition Foundation Together Again Gala to close out offi cial events. word broke that an exten-sion of child nu-trition waivers into SY2022-23 had been ® School Nutrition MARCH 6–8, 2022 J.W. Marriott | Washington, D.C. A NEW ERA IN blocked by a SNA President Beth Wallace (left) and SNA CEO Patricia Montague (right) congratulated Staff Vice President of Government Affairs and Media Relations Cathy Schuchart (center) for being named a Leading Lobbyist in the association community. PHOTOS BY RICK BRADY FOR SNA 30 | eSN | May 2022
School Nutrition Association May 2022: Page 30
