Chat - Lee Mannering

I had the opportunity to visit with Lee Mannering, government relations manager of PMA, on March 6. I asked him about his beginnings with PMA and asked about the issues he has been working on of late.

2:59PM Lee Thanks for being part of another Fresh Talk chat

First question.. tell us a little about where you grew up and your education background..

3:01 PM Lee: I grew up in Middletown, Delaware, which is about 25 minutes south of the PMA headquarters. It was your typical small town but has grown a lot since I was a kid. As for my education background, I received my BA in English from the University of Delaware in 1994.

3:02 PM me: Was PMA your first job after college? Had you heard of the association before you started work there?

3:05 PM Lee: PMA was my first job right out of college. I've been with the association for 15 years. I hadn't heard of PMA until I sat down to talk to the professor who coordinated internships and, after looking at my prior work experience, she thought PMA might be a good place for me to intern - which was a requirement for my degree.

3:06 PM me: You must have impressed the PMA brass. Did you flow right into PMA with a full time job from your internship? What were your first job duties with PMA and how does that compare with what you do now?

3:12 PM Lee: Well, timing is everything and just before my internship began, PMA's staff writer left. By the time my internship ended, I interviewed for the job and accepted the full-time position. My first job duties including writing PMA's newsletters, press releases, and related materials. Then over time, that job evolved into more of a media/public relations role with some Web site responsibilities. Now, working directly with Kathy Means again, I am in government relations and public affairs. Kathy is the person who interviewed me when I began my internship.

3:14 PM me: Lee, I appreciated your insights on the fruit and vegetable advisory committee meeting last week. How often do you find your self in Washington and would you describe yourself as a lobbyist at this point?

3:15 PM Lee: Sure, I was glad to fill you in on the USDA meeting last week. I am usually in Washington a couple times a month for meetings. As far as being a lobbyist, I have to track my time spent on lobbying so I guess that would qualify me as one.

3:16 PM me: What issues are you working on for PMA, or does it vary from month to monht?

3:19 PM Lee: The issues usually vary from month to month. Right now, I am working on ways to share PMA's economic impact study with key offices on the Hill. We just added last month's recording of the virtual press conference announcing the study to the PMA Web site at http://www.pma.com/economic-impact

3:20 PM Also, sustainability is another issue I am working on right now. The sustainability pages on PMA.com are updated (we recently added our industry research on sustainability, as well as original consumer research). We’re also collecting sustainability success stories from our members and posting them to the Web site.

me: That study should be a great placeholder for future discussions about the impact of the industry.

3:22 PM As far as the issue of sustainability - this is probably a matter of conjecture - do you think the recession will slow the industry's enthusiasm for moving ahead with investments and resources to make it a priority?

3:27 PM Lee: PMA's industry research (which was conducted in the fall of 2008 when the economy really began to take a turn) found that sustainability is a priority for their organizations. Many respondents said that reducing costs and other business benefits - like increasing productivity and energy efficiency - are the main reasons for implementing sustainable practices.

3:29 PM me: True enough... I was thinking about how PMA offers so many educational opportunities for its members and the industry. Is it a similar environment for staff at PMA headquarters? And- what do you enjoy about your work with PMA the most?

7 minutes

3:37 PM Lee: PMA offers staff a variety of training options, depending on what the educational need may be. You know, it would be hard for me to narrow down what I enjoy most about working at PMA. One thing would giving members the information they need, when they need it. That could be providing an answer to a question about a regulation or a bill. Even more so with this economy, I want to be sure members see PMA as a valuable investment of their time and dues (which didn't increase this year). Another aspect is being able to get to know members and peers at other industry associations and work with them on issues.

3:39 PM me: Thanks for your time Lee. I've kept you over 30 minutes, which I don't like to do. One more question though, what are your passions outside of work? What do you like to do with a free weekend?

3:41 PM Lee: I like to run with my dog, play tennis or softball, or get outside and do something. As of late, my weekends have involved getting my house ready for show (my wife and I are trying to sell because we're going to need the extra space come mid September) as well as going to open houses. We've have quite a few showings but no serious offers yet.

3:42 PM me: Good luck on all counts. Thanks again for your time.

Lee: Anytime, Tom.