TRA Kicks Off Second Annual Texas Tour Highlighting Legislative Wins That Benefit Texas Restaurants
Emily and Kelsey’s Texas Tour: Celebrating 70 Wins in 70 Days gives restaurant operators a chance to learn how the TRA’s unprecedented success during Texas’ 88th legislative session will impact their business and shape future priorities.
AUSTIN, TX (July 24, 2023) – Beginning in August and continuing through the fall, Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) leadership will embark on Emily and Kelsey’s Texas Tour: Celebrating 70 Wins in 70 Days, with in-person and virtual town halls scheduled throughout the state. Each town hall is complimentary and open to all foodservice industry members, providing an opportunity for the entire industry to come together to learn about our recent accomplishments and set new advocacy goals. The 70 wins in 70 days theme reflects the TRA’s recent work during Texas’ 88th legislative session, when our collaborative and bipartisan work delivered an historic 25 offensive and 45 defensive wins to benefit the foodservice industry.
Emily and Kelsey’s Texas Tour is becoming a tradition for the TRA, after launching the initiative in 2022 to visit with all 23 TRA chapters and amplify COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts. The 2022 Texas Tour featured dozens of events that connected restaurant operators with TRA leadership and their local elected officials. Not only did these visits create lasting relationships, but the TRA used the feedback they received directly from operators to create the agenda for Texas’ 88th legislative session.
“Now that the regular and initial special sessions for the 88th Texas Legislature have concluded, it’s the perfect time for us to hit the road to share with our members all of the wins that we were able to deliver as a direct result of their ideas, support, and engagement,” said Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D., President & CEO of the TRA. “Even for those restaurant operators who haven’t been engaged with the TRA before, I strongly encourage them to visit with us during the Texas Tour so we can share what we’ve accomplished, what it means to them and their business, and we can learn first-hand how we can better serve the industry we love.”
Kelsey Erickson Streufert, Chief Public Affairs Officer for the TRA, added: “In a state as large and diverse as Texas — with upwards of 55,000 restaurant locations across 268,000 square miles — going out to visit with restaurant operators in their communities is indispensable to our work representing the entire foodservice industry. We’re proud to share the results we’ve achieved for our members as a result of the previous Texas Tour and legislative sessions, and we know that this new tradition will continue to help us deliver wins for restaurants across the state.”
For more information, including a detailed schedule and RSVP links, visit www.txrestaurant.org/TexasTour.
Save the Dates:
- Aug. 4 – East Texas
- Aug. 8 – Lubbock
- Aug. 16 – El Paso
- Sep. 6 – Coastal Bend
- Sep. 27, 9:30-11 am – Virtual, Statewide
- Sep. 22 – DFW
- Oct. 30 – Austin
- Oct. 31 – San Antonio
- Nov. 7 – Houston
- Nov. 9, 2-3:30 pm – Virtual, Statewide
Credentialed media are welcome to all town halls. Please send a note to
[email protected] to sign up.
MEDIA CONTACT
Kelsey Erickson Streufert (Chief Public Affairs Officer)
[email protected]
ABOUT THE TEXAS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION
Formed in 1937, the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) serves as the advocate and indispensable resource for the foodservice industry in Texas. As a leading business association, the TRA represents the state’s $95 billion restaurant industry, which encompasses upwards of 55,000 locations and a workforce of over 1.4 million employees. Along with the Texas Restaurant Foundation, the workforce development arm of the TRA, the association proudly continues to protect, advance, and educate a growing industry as the TRA celebrates its 86th anniversary year. For more information, please visit
www.txrestaurant.org.