Most people today know March Madness as the few weeks that begin in March every year when 68 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s and women’s college basketball teams compete to be crowned the national champions. The first March Madness technically took place in 1939. The phrase was tied to the game that year by Henry V. Porter, an Illinois high school official. But March Madness wasn’t officially tied to the NCAA tournament until CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger used it during the 1982 tournament.
There are even older historical references to March Madness, including in the 1900s to the weather and in the 1500s to the aggressive annual breeding behavior of hares during that month. You can also circle back to Lewis Carroll’s 1865 English children’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with the March Hare and Mad Hatter characters.
But for those working in the public policy advocacy and government affairs arenas, there is another March Madness—that time of year when our federal Congress and dozens of state legislatures are in session and hard at work considering new legislative proposals.
That can make any seasoned government affairs professional go a little “mad” in March— and at other times during the year! Just ask our state and federal lobbying consultants who, as you can read further in this issue of FlexPack VOICE®, are monitoring and responding to numerous legislative and regulatory issues on our behalf. You could also ask John Richard, director of government relations at the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA). Later this month, he could be testifying before a state legislature somewhere in the United States. I may have even gone a little mad this month a year ago when I was preparing to speak before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on extended producer responsibility for consumer packaging.
But in all seriousness, we love the government affairs work we do for FPA and the flexible packaging industry. It is critical to protect our industry from onerous requirements and restrictions and to ensure that you, our members, can continue to market and sell your products and grow our industry. And we, of course, appreciate and welcome your participation in these advocacy efforts whenever you can join us.
Stay tuned for more on those opportunities. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you this month at the 2025 Annual Meeting at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa in Aventura, Florida, where we will also be kicking off FPA’s 75th anniversary. We won’t be mad, but we will be sad if you’re not there.
Dan Felton
President & CEO
Flexible Packaging Association