‘I Can Do More Here.”

I’ve been traveling for four weeks straight – mostly for work, a little for family. Six hotel rooms, 5,000 miles, three annual meetings, an award and a keynote presentation later, I can fairly say I’m glad to be home.

I’m spent.

But I can also point to some wonderful moments that were incredibly meaningful to me in the past few weeks – few more so than the chance to reconnect with a fellow Marine officer.

My graduating class of Marine Officers is incredible. We have folks from our ranks who’ve gone on to just about every type of profession out there – and so many are crushing it. But for a few years now, I’ve been watching from afar as one, in particular, sunk his teeth into serving beyond the uniform. And during these recent travels, we had just an hour available, when we were both in the same city, to catch up. And let me tell you, this fellow jarhead is as inspiring today as he ever was in training and uniform.

Since leaving active duty, Jamal Sowell has gone on to become a Pat Tillman Scholar, Chief of Staff at Port Tampa Bay, and served as the Florida Secretary of Commerce and CEO of Enterprise Florida – the principle economic development organization for the state of Florida. And none of those career milestones is even remotely surprising to those of us who’ve crossed his path. To say Jamal is charismatic may be one of the great understatements one could ever make. He has an infectious energy, and the humility we search to find in so many would-be leaders.

A conversation with Jamal is powerful, but grounded; high-minded, but measured. He holds firm beliefs, and makes thoughtful decisions in challenging situations that would cause others to shy away. But as we chatted that evening, one comment stood out to me in our brief time together – Jamal’s take on why he about-faced, and went back to Florida despite having an opportunity to work in DC.

“I Can Do More Here.”

DC is a tough town. It’s a transactional town. Yes you can accomplish something of significance there. But does that significance align with the purpose you want to serve in life?

When he was in the DC environment, Jamal said, there was a moment when he realized he could have a more direct impact back in his home community. He could do more back in Florida – working with community groups to effect localized change faster. Despite all that he could accomplish if he stuck it out, he just knew there was work to be done back home.

Then he went and did it. And continues to do it. Showing up day after day for the moments that matter. For me, moments like this reaffirm what I’ve told aspiring advocates for many years now: don’t forget just how much we can do back home.

Leveraging the Home District

A while back, I shared a piece on the importance of working with Congressional District Offices. These are the home offices, the local staff of members of Congress that help those members maintain a local footprint. Those offices often focus on constituent services and community engagement – learning from real people about the real problems they face. These are the people who work adjacent to DC politics, but keep themselves grounded in the effects that DC policy actions can cause.

For members of Congress, these district offices will often be where the rubber meets the road.

When Jamal and I were talking, I couldn’t help but be transported back to the many years I spent in one of these district offices – and just how accomplished I could feel at the end of a good day’s work. What’s more, I remembered the real advocates who moved the needles on their issues by building credibility through those district offices. I think Jamal’s words would resonate clearly with all of them. They knew they could “do more here.”

As advocates, there is certainly a time for any cause when it’s imperative we go to the halls of power. But too often we ignore the open doors available to us right here at home. Those doors are accessible – regardless of so many of the barriers that may prevent someone from traveling to Washington or their own state capital.

I want to challenge you today to think about how you could more thoughtfully engage in your own backyard. If you care about a federal issue, have you ever gone to a local district office? Have you met with the constituent services staff to learn just where your representative stands on an issue? Have you tried to build that near field relationship?

If not, I want you to think about people like Jamal – people in the thick of it who recognize the real power of being on the ground, where complex issues meet real people. Could you do more there?