By Mike Manzo
If you know anything about Triad Strategies, you know that we pride ourselves on our team approach to public affairs. It is part of our DNA, and a true differentiator in our marketplace. We say that when you hire Triad, you don’t have one or two professionals invested in your success, you have seventeen of us.
But as I approach the start of my eighteenth year at Triad, rarely have I seen an issue that touched every professional at our firm in some way, shape or form. Amending Pennsylvania’s workers compensation law to permit first responders to file claims for PTSI injuries was the top priority for the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association. First responders were denied this right by a Supreme Court decision back in the 1990’s, where the high court ruled that horrific events seen by these heroes day in and day out were not “abnormal working conditions.”
Fast forward to today, where our first responders are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. Read that sentence again.
The General Assembly has been wrestling with this issue for the better part of a decade, going back to then-House Veterans Affairs Chairman Steve Barrar (R-Delaware.) But for the last two sessions, new champions emerged, and Team Triad got to work. Toiling side-by-side with House Democrat Rep. Jennifer O’Mara (D-Delaware), whose father, a thirty-year veteran firefighter from Philadelphia, tragically took his own life, and Senate Republican Camera Bartolotta (R- Washington), we watched with more than a few tears on Wednesday, October 23rd when the House concurred in Senate amendments to SB 365 by a vote of 201-1 and sent the solution off to the desk of Governor Josh Shapiro. On October 29th, it officially became Act 121 of 2024 when the governor affixed his signature.
We sometimes talk about “avatar clients,” those who utilize every tool in our Triad toolbox on the way to victory. The PPFFA is that avatar client. From direct advocacy and lobbying to media relations, PAC strategy to coalition building, both sides of the Triad house (Government Affairs and Advocacy + Communications) had their fingerprints all over this victory. Working in tandem, with clear lines of communication and a deep understanding of the tactics along the way, it was with unceasing pride that I watched that victory unfold.
Along the way, there were times when we began to lose hope. Through House and Senate Committee hearings, stakeholder meetings, negotiations that spanned nights and weekends, meetings with the Governor’s staff, social media calls to action, conference calls, press events, vote counting, House and Senate floor strategy, and a simply indescribable amount of old-fashioned, on-the-Hill legwork, the PPFFA and Triad ran through the tape.
There are moments in this business where one can become jaded, and I admit that I can be that person sometimes. But there was a moment last week that I realized that the efforts of seventeen extraordinary people helped to ensure that maybe, just maybe, fewer lives will be lost, fewer families will know that unspeakable pain, and more and more first responders will seek the help they need to deal with PTSI. And it felt amazing.
Along the way I watched Team Leader Olivia’s maddening attention to detail (maddening because I lack that skill) keep us all rowing straight. On some days, it was Doug, Jennifer, Brandi, Megan, and Sakura’s relentless message development and delivery that carried the ball forward. Week in and week out, Savannah, Noah, and Todd wore out shoe leather and sent hundreds of texts and e-mails, making our case to everyone and anyone who mattered. Through it all, Andrea, Cheryl and Jan attended to every detail. Finally, our partners Mike Acker and Roy Wells provided every tool we needed in this fight, including accompanying my walks around the rooftop where I vented my spleen on more than one occasion.
In the end, this was a true Team Triad Production. And I personally cannot wait to do it again.