NFIB

NFIB Members Take Main Street Message to Presidential Forum
10/01/2002

Twelve NFIB members delivered the Main Street message in person to President Bush at a presidential economic forum in Waco, Texas, late this summer, demonstrating the growing clout small business carries in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals.

"This White House recognizes that small business owners are the driving force behind our nation's economy," says Dan Danner, NFIB's Senior Vice President. "It's only fitting they'd call on NFIB members when it's time to discuss economic growth."

After attending the forum, NFIB member Linda Aerni of Columbus, Neb., was convinced her efforts made a difference.

"As a small business owner, you sometimes feel like you're the leg of an ant," says Aerni, owner of Community Internet Solutions. "That's why I appreciate the group strength of NFIB's voice."

NFIB Ohio Leadership Council member Curtis McGuire agrees. "NFIB gives me a voice I wouldn't otherwise have," says McGuire, owner of RedLegs Inc. in Columbus, Ohio.

McGuire, who has been an NFIB member for six years, participated in the preliminary panel held during the opening session at the economic forum.

"We should be out there telling our stories, because as business owners, we're the ones who live with these issues every day," he says.

Mike Nobis of JK Creative Printers in Quincy, Ill., started telling his story through NFIB when the Superfund reform battle hit his business.

"There's not much you can do alone as a small business owner," says Nobis. "We have a bigger, better voice when we band together."

The Bush administration hears small business owners speaking at forums like the Waco meeting and the NFIB National Small Business Summit last June.

At the economic forum, Bush voiced his support of small business: "We want to have an environment and where people feel comfortable by starting their own business. We want the Curtis McGuires of the world to flourish."