As we prepare to welcome Senator Maggie Hassan to ArborTech next week for a congressional site visit, I found myself looking back through some old files and came across a copy of the September 2012 edition of The Educator, the member newspaper published by NEA-New Hampshire. At the time, I was serving as the publication’s editor. The cover story featured NEA-NH’s endorsement of Maggie Hassan in the Democratic primary for governor. The cover photo brought back a flood of memories and is featured as the header of this post.

I remember that week well. I was part of the team that helped move her recommendation forward, I made the call to her campaign manager to share the news and coordinated the announcement event at NEA-NH headquarters. Reporters gathered, cameras rolled, and political observers commented on the impact our endorsement might have on the race. That sunny August afternoon felt like a significant moment at the time.

What surprised me the most on my trip down memory lane wasn’t reliving the endorsement; it was realizing what tied together nearly every story in that issue of The Educator: relationships.

At first glance, the publication seemed to cover a collection of unrelated topics. There was the endorsement announcement, a charity golf tournament benefiting students facing hardships, communication tools for members, and a conference designed to bring educators together to learn and share ideas. There was even a feature about a teacher friend of mine who had the opportunity to introduce President Obama during a campaign stop in New Hampshire that summer.

All these items were also connected by the same underlying philosophy. At NEA-New Hampshire, we evaluated opportunities using a simple question: Will this help kids? If the answer was yes, we invested our time, energy, and resources. If the answer was no, we moved on.

Looking back, what strikes me is how often our efforts involved building connections and relationships. We built relationships with educators. We built relationships with lawmakers. We built relationships with community leaders, parents, local associations, the media, sponsors, volunteers, and advocates. We organized events that brought people together. We provided tools to help members communicate more effectively. We created opportunities for people to connect around our shared mission.

All those efforts weren’t separate from the mission; they were the mission.

We believed relationships were one of the most effective ways to improve outcomes for New Hampshire’s students. And over time, many of those relationships paid dividends in ways we never could have predicted.

Preparing for Senator Hassan’s upcoming visit to ArborTech, I’ve been reminded again of the importance of building relationships. Even if they don’t always produce immediate results. In fact, they rarely do. You build relationships because they’re important today. You maintain them because they help advance your mission tomorrow. And sometimes they come back to you in ways you never anticipated.

The lawmaker you meet as a candidate becomes a governor and later a United States Senator. The conference attendee you worked with becomes a community leader. The member you helped navigate through CTSP enrollment becomes tomorrow’s leader. Conversations we have now can open doors years later. You rarely know which interaction will prove most important and that’s precisely why all of them matter.

The formula is simple: Relationships create understanding. Understanding creates trust. Trust creates opportunities. And opportunities create change.

Today, at TCIA, we’re guided by a different mission than I was in 2012. Instead of asking how we can best support New Hampshire students, we’re asking how we can best support our members; the tree care companies, arborists, and communities they serve.

While the mission is different, the underlying philosophy hasn’t changed: relationships still matter. They matter with policymakers and regulators. They especially matter with members and coalition partners. And they matter with the communities we serve. Because meaningful advocacy is rarely built on a single meeting, a single phone call, or a single event. It is built over time.

Fourteen years ago, I was helping coordinate a primary endorsement announcement involving state senator Maggie Hassan. Next week, I’ll help welcome former NH Governor and current US Senator Maggie Hassan to ArborTech, where she’ll hear directly from tree care professionals about workforce development, safety, and the important role our industry plays in communities throughout the state. Proving once again that the relationships we invest in today often become the opportunities we have tomorrow. And sometimes, if we’re fortunate, they come full circle in ways we never expected.

My old copy of The Educator serves as a valuable reminder: Relationships are not a byproduct of advocacy, they are the foundation of it. In 2012 one of those relationships helped connect a candidate for governor with a community of educators. Next week, new connections will introduce now Senator Hassan with the tree care professionals who keep our communities safe, healthy, and resilient.

I’ll share more about the senator’s visit to ArborTech in next week’s Friday Post.

Have a great weekend!