NATO
Goes To
Washington!
By the time you read this, we will
have opened our new office on Capitol Hill in Washington,
D.C. Those who
enjoy reading this magazine from cover to cover already
know this from the story on page 14. If you number among
such readers, you were probably thinking, “But
I thought NATO already had a Washington office!” Well,
we did. Sort of.
For the past four years, the NATO Washington
Office has been located in the basement of my house in
the D.C. suburb of Alexandria, Va. I have divided my time
between Washington and Los Angeles (in addition to all
those meetings and conventions in other states and countries).
At its last meeting in November, the NATO board of directors
approved the opening of a real office in the nation’s
capital. And we opened shop on Jan. 5.
The issues confronting our industry require
substantial activity both in Los Angeles and Washington.
The “industry
relations” issues, including all of our work with
the studios and other components of the industry, are centered
in California. The “government relations” issues
demand a presence in Washington. The comprehensive NATO
member survey conducted last year indicated that you place
a high priority on both sets of issues.
Exhibition confronts important regulatory
challenges under the ADA; ratings enforcement investigations
from the Federal
Trade Commission; international trade policy from the Bush
administration and the Congress; and congressional legislation
on issues as varied as health care coverage, minimum wages,
ratings codification and piracy, to name but a few. Simply
put, I needed staff support on location to address these
important issues.
Our new office is right on Capitol Hill,
just a few blocks walk from the Senate and House of Representatives
office
buildings. We are also located next to Union Station, with
the city’s train and subway hub. Let us know when
you’re planning a trip to Washington. We can set
you up for meetings with your representatives, or simply
spend some time with you in our new space!
As many of you know, the stars are aligned
for NATO in another way. NATO’s vice president and executive
director, Mary Ann Grasso, conveniently agreed to marry
NATO board member J. Wayne Anderson and move to Maryland
where she can commute to our new office. (One heck of a
deal both for Wayne and for NATO!) As you know, Mary Ann
is the best manager of any trade association in the country,
and I’m delighted she’s staying on.
Meanwhile, our office in Los Angeles continues to hum with
activity. The publications department remains in our North
Hollywood office, headed by our very talented editor-in-chief
Jim Kozak. And I will continue to divide my time as before
between the two locations.
We appreciate your understanding during
the past weeks as we made this important and involved move.
Our response
time on a few matters may have slipped a bit! But now we
are back to normal with expanded capabilities. Watch out
Washington – NATO has landed! 
