30 Apr FDRA Honors 2013 Congressional “Friends of Footwear” During FDRA’s Washington Summit
WASHINGTON, DC — The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) held its annual Washington Footwear Summit April 22-23rd. Footwear executives participated in meetings with Senators and Members of Congress, asking them to support the Affordable Footwear Act (AFA) and efforts to lower footwear costs via the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
“FDRA really does deliver when it comes to making the footwear industry’s voice heard in Washington. We had a lot of high level meetings and I think we made a clear case that lowering footwear duties will help consumers and strengthen our industry,” said Rick Muskat, Executive Vice President and Principal of Deer Stags Concepts Inc.
During the meetings on Capitol Hill, FDRA distributed its “Friends of the Footwear Industry” Awards for 2013 to Senators and Members of Congress who have fought to lower footwear costs for consumers and the industry. This year’s recipients were:
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL)
Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
who ran for Senate with the tagline of “a mom in tennis shoes”
“Each year we recognize congressional leaders who work tirelessly to help lower footwear costs,” said FDRA President Matt Priest. “This year’s awards went to those Members and Senators who stood out and stood up for the industry, and we greatly appreciate their efforts and dedication to our causes.”
Overall, FDRA’s members visited with over 50 Senators and Members of Congress and their staffs during the summit. Companies represented included Wolverine Worldwide, Nike, JC Penney, Payless ShoeSource, The Topline Corporation, RG Barry, Deer Stags Concepts, Fortune Footwear, Saxon Shoes and LaCrosse Footwear.
