March 6, Jacki Burleson and Toni Dallison returned to Southeast Texas from an Austin visit and encounter with local Representative Christian Manuel Hayes.
“We joined 70 other volunteers in talking to our state legislators about our American Cancer Society- Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Texas priorities for 2023,” Burleson reported to The Examiner on her return. “We are working on funding for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, breast and cervical cancer services, tobacco control and prevention, and insurance coverage for biomarker testing.”
Burleson et al weren’t alone in their trek to the state Capitol. Golden Triangle Days in Austin 2023, chaired by the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce with support from the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce, and other Southeast Texas chambers such as Vidor Chamber of Commerce, Bridge City Chamber, and Nederland Chamber of Commerce, resulted in the influx of over 350 delegates attending educational sessions about Southeast Texas Legislative priorities and hear from locally elected officials. Among the representatives making themselves available to constituents were Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, Senator Brandon Creighton, Senator Robert Nichols, and Hayes.