TAKE ACTION - WRITE YOUR LEGISLATOR

We need to show all the support we can to prove to the legislators that this is important to you, our community, and our livelihood. Please take a few minutes to write your legislator and express how important this is.

Below are guidelines to keep in mind, along with relevant program facts, and linked here is a sample letter our written by Dave Drummond, Location Manager wrote for reference.

Please take the time to write your legislator today!

FIND YOUR LEGISLATOR:

Go to: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/default.aspx

HOW TO WRITE A LETTER:

A short, to the point email signals that you care enough about an issue to take the time to write about it.

Here are a few tips that will help get your message across:

• Write in your own words and style.
• Get to the point in the first sentence or two, and mention House Bill 1554 and Senate Bill 5539, which addresses Washington Filmworks and the Motion Picture Competitiveness Program.
• Incorporate key program successes: Immediate Job Creation, Family Wage Jobs, and without the incentive the businesses wouldn't come.
• If you can cite a particular instance in which Washington Filmworks has been helpful to you and others mention it.
• Make certain you tell the legislator that he or she represents you. If you have met the legislator or been a political supporter in the past, mention it in passing.
• Always end by asking the legislator for a response to let you know where he or she stands on the issue.
• If the legislator has helped you in the past or done something recently that you approve of, add a compliment about it.
• If the legislator responds with a message of strong support for your request, say thank-you in a short reply. If the legislator says no, it's sometimes helpful to respond by saying you are disappointed and that you hope that he or she will reconsider later or find other ways to help.

FACTS ABOUT WASHINGTON FILMWORKS FOR REFERENCE:

Since launching the program in February 2007, a total of 59 projects have completed principal photography including 23 feature films, 4 movies of the week for television and 32 commercials.

These 59 projects have spent an estimated $55M in our statewide economy.

Citing a nationally recognized economic development model, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) suggests that film industry spending has a multiplier of 1.99, meaning that the program has generated more than $109M in economic activity over the past four years.

As WF has committed $14.3M in funding assistance and brought in $109M in economic activity - that represents a 7:1 return on investment (ROI).

Washington Filmworks creates immediate jobs for Washington workers. Once a project is approved for funding assistance, they typically go into production within 30 days.

Washington State is the only program in the country that requires a production to provide health and retirement benefits for all positions typically covered by a collective bargaining agreement.