Join NAMM Members in Washington D.C. for Advocacy Fly-In 2011 Via Live Webcast for Issues and Advocacy Briefing on May 10

NAMM today announced details for its 2011 Fly-In Briefing Day Live Webcast to be held on May 10, enabling its Members, associates, SupportMusic affiliates and concerned citizens the opportunity to participate in issue briefing activities that are part of NAMM’s Washington D.C. advocacy efforts on behalf of music education.

This year’s briefing day will address the reauthorization of the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and issues concerning access to music and arts education together with Intellectual Property and Counterfeiting policies and Intellectual Property (IP) enforcement. An early afternoon keynote address will be introduced by former Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton Richard Riley and feature Vice Chairman of Public Affairs for Edelman Steve Schmidt who will provide an overview of the current national political climate and outlook for 2012.

The day-long event will feature prominent policy leaders and experts including Chris Finnerty, partner at Nelson Mullins law office; William Coston, partner-charge at Venable law offices; Richard Halverson, chief for outreach and training at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Steven Tepp, senior director of Internet counterfeiting and piracy at the Global IP Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Jim D’Addario, chairman and CEO of D’Addario & Company, Inc.; Maria Worthen, majority staff, U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; Brad Thomas, House Majority, education and workforce committee; and a representative from the U.S. Department of Education.

Participants can log in for the entire webcast or just listen in on the topics that interest them the most. The link to the webcast will be posted at www.namm.org on May 10.

“NAMM’s annual Washington advocacy event engages NAMM Members in education and information about the legislative process around its central advocacy effort—music education— and for this year, we expand to include a serious issue for the music products industry, intellectual property regulation and enforcement,” said Mary Luehrsen, director of public affairs and government relations at NAMM. “With the webcast, we can share this forum with a vast audience, and we encourage participation from all.”

View the agenda for the May 10 briefing. NAMM Members can ask questions during the webcast by sending an e-mail to VADquestions@namm.org or through Twitter by replying to twitter.com/namm.

About NAMM
NAMM is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $17 billion international musical instruments and products industry. NAMM’s activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM or the proven benefits of making music, interested parties can visit www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).