Adam Parks (00:06)
Hello, everybody. Adam Parks here with another episode of receivables podcast. Today I'm here with two of my favorite people, Mr. Tim Haag and Jennifer Whipple joining me from ACA to talk about the Washington insights event that's coming up in early June. I'm very excited to be attending this one. It's been a number of years since I've had an opportunity to go to Washington to meet with Congress and do all the fun things.
But before we jump into it, Tim, starting with you, could you tell everyone a little bit about yourself and how you get to the seat that you're in today?
Tim Haag (00:38)
Sure, and thanks for having us, Adam. yeah, Tim Haig, President and CEO of State Collection Service out of Madison, Wisconsin, 100 % health care, and also serving this year as ACA President. And it's been a wild ride, a lot going on. And I'm really looking forward and we'll dive into Washington Insights. But how did I get where I'm at today? Well, third generation debt collector, didn't have a choice.
The company was founded by my grandfather in 1949. Then my father, Tom, ran the business for about 57 years. And I came in 16 years ago. And that's that.
Adam Parks (01:19)
Fantastic. I love a good generational story. Jennifer, could you tell everyone a little bit about yourself and how you got to the seat you're in today?
Jennifer Whipple (01:26)
Yeah, thanks Adam. Jennifer Whipple, Collection Bureau Services in Missoula, Montana. Very similar to Tim. I'm a third generation debt collector. My grandfather started us in 1976, so we're a little bit younger than Tim's family's company. My dad ran it for about 30 years and retired in 2008, or sorry, 2018. So I've been running it for about six years and it's been a fun ride.
one great year before COVID and we're still here in Kitkin, which is exciting. But I'm excited to talk to everybody about Washington Insights. It's a super important topic.
Adam Parks (01:59)
I think this is one of those types of events. I don't wanna call it a conference, I'm gonna call it an event because it's kind of special in the way in which you get to interact here. So talk to me a little bit about the main event for the Washington Insights.
Jennifer Whipple (02:13)
So the main event I would say is the Hill visits. You're really getting an opportunity to meet with people of Congress, whether that's in the Senate or the House. But you're really going and meeting with them, meeting with their team, letting them know who you are, what's important to you, who you employ in their state, and why we do what we do.
Adam Parks (02:31)
So I know that there's two different pieces to this. There's kind of like the main event and then there's the Hill visits as well, which is kind of an additional available option, which I highly suggest as someone who's done this in the past, not with ACA, but had an opportunity to go to Congress a number of times. I highly suggest that everybody take this opportunity to get engaged. This type of grassroots effort, I think, is one of the most important things that we can be doing as an industry and building those relationships.
Talk to me a little bit about what I should expect as an attendee at this event.
Tim Haag (03:02)
Yeah, so I'll jump in here, Jennifer, and you can add to anything I missed. we kick off with a reception the first evening, and typically we'll have one, two, maybe even three members of Congress come to that reception. They'll say a few words. You get a chance to meet with them, talk with them. I think the difference is nowadays is I don't know how many times I've been, let's say this is probably about
my sixth or seventh, but years ago when we'd go, it was really, they would come in with a canned speech and they wouldn't know anything about us. Now they walk in, they're like, how's it going Tim? How's it going Jen? And like, we've been, we've built these relationships over years and it takes a long time to build them, but they get us, they understand us. When ACA International is mentioned in DC, people know who we are and that's important.
Tim Haag (03:54)
And a lot of our members probably don't even realize that we have an office, a townhome, that's only about two blocks from the Capitol. And so that's an important thing. We've had that for, I think 15 years now, and it's utilized very, very well. But then the second day, it's at the Sonesta Hotel, a beautiful hotel, real close to the hill. And we'll have members of Congress come in, speak.
And it's, interesting because you have an agenda, but you never know what their agenda is because they're casting votes and having meetings. So some of them get canceled. Some of them get postponed. it's kind of just juggling waiting for somebody to show up. And, but last year I'd say we probably had at least seven, eight, nine people come in. Then the afternoon, if you choose to go and do the Hill visits ACA.
And along with our lobbyist firm, Brownstein, will help set up and coordinate those. Sometimes you're meeting with a staffer, sometimes you're meeting with the actual member of Congress or the Senate. And a lot of people think that it's really, really scary. I'm just going to tell you, it's not scary. They're just people just like you and I are. It's a conversation like the three of us are having right now. And you don't have to get in the details.
Tim Haag (05:08)
A lot of these people are current business owners or former business owners. And to Jen's point, we employ a lot of the people that live in their areas. So they're always interested in hearing from us. And then from there, we wrap up and in the evening times, go out on your own, have some dinners. Many of us have friends in Congress that will text and either have dinner with them or...
Sometimes it's maybe a late night cocktail because their schedules are very busy, but that's when the work really starts.
Adam Parks (05:39)
People build relationships through a shared experience. And however you can create that shared experience, whether it's breaking bread, having a late night drink or whatever the case may be, that's that opportunity to really get past the superficial discussions and kind of really get to know the person on the other side of the table. And look, I remember my first lobbying meeting in DC and I was nervous as can be.
And I was lucky enough to have a veteran who came with me and kind of opened the door to the conversation and set the stage for me that made me really comfortable to start having an open discussion about our industry where we stood. And I always like to lean back on how we protect the availability of credit. We keep interest rates low. I mean, those are some really important things in a credit-based economy. And considering what we're seeing in terms of trending for charge-offs, I think it's even more important
regardless of who's in the White House or which administration is controlling which house of Congress, it's important now for us to develop those relationships because you have no credibility in a time of conflict, but you can build a lot of credibility in a time of calm by providing education, helping them to understand the unintended consequences of some of the things that may be happening in regulatory agencies or even from a legislative perspective.
Tim Haag (06:59)
And I think members have to remember, these people work for us. And so you don't have to treat them differently. I mean, that is their job. They want to hear from us. That's what they do all day, every day. So the other thing that...
Adam Parks (07:02)
.
Tim Haag (07:14)
we've done in the past, which is probably one of my favorite is when we set up meetings at the Capitol Hill Club and you walk in there and you run into a lot of different people. And, but it's just a fun, relaxed kind of more of a relaxed setting. And again, it's right across the street from most all their offices and about two blocks from the Capitol. So a lot happens there. Last year I walked outside to take a phone call and there was just a ton
Tim Haag (07:41)
of media and everybody's like snapping pictures of me and I'm like, I'm a nobody. But I was trying to figure out like who's here. Was Trump in the building? Was Elon in the building? Anything else like that. But I didn't run into either one of them. So it's all right.
Adam Parks (07:45)
Yeah.
That's pretty funny. as a member, what should I do to prepare for this event?
Jennifer Whipple (08:02)
I think that's a great question, Adam. So to prepare for the event, if you sign up for Hill visits, I always recommend that people study your representative ahead of time. So Google, look at recent news, look at their website. It'll talk about what they're working on. They might be working on something under Veterans Affairs or they might be on the Senate Banking Committee. So look at what they're working on right now and tailor some ideas of what you could discuss that
that connects to what they're working on. I think that that's really helpful to make connections. Look them up if they live in your state like Montana. We don't have that many people that live here, so the odds are I know someone who knows them. And so try and find a connection. I love the state of Washington. If their local legislation, there's a person who...
loves to wear funny socks every day. So when they go visit her, they wear funny socks and they show her the socks like, hey, look at our socks today. And so little things, it could be something that you pick up in their office, something that you see, but do a little research ahead of time to find out, know, maybe they recently had a child or a grandchild, that's a connection you can make with them. Maybe they love dogs, I love dogs too. And so looking ahead of time, finding small connections that you can bring up and try and think about
what topic you want to address. You talked about your first time, Adam, and how nervous you are. I was very nervous my first time, but the point that I wanted to address my first visit to the Hill was the funding of the CFPB, which is kind of a really big topic and maybe not the one that you should bring your very first time going to the Hill in DC, but that's what I really wanted to talk about. So that's what I talked about. And looking back, maybe I would have picked maybe a little bit of a smaller topic to start with.
Adam Parks (09:38)
Me too.
Jennifer Whipple (09:46)
So think about what you want to start with, whether you want to start talking with financial literacy, whether you want to talk about the funding of the CFPB, decide what you want to talk about ahead of time.
Tim Haag (09:57)
When you mentioned the funny socks, I think it was three years ago, maybe four years ago, we held a fundraiser for, at the time, was the chairman of House Financial Services, Patrick McHenry, and he's a bow tie guy. So I think it was Scott Purcell, that's about three years ago. He went out and bought a bunch of bow ties and handed them out. So as the congressman walks into the room,
Tim Haag (10:18)
We all have bow ties on. He was dressed down for like the first time we've ever seen him dressed down. So he got a kick out of it. But I mean, it's those types of things. The other thing I'll say on this, I'm always amazed on how good their memories are. At that same dinner with Patrick McHenry, we had had lunch with him like a year prior. And I mentioned.
Tim Haag (10:42)
something from that lunch and he, mean, just spot on remembered it like it was yesterday. And that's how a lot of these, and so like Jen said, yes, do your research. They also do their research on us.
and they have good staffers that take really good notes and they'll go back to see what that conversation was about and so they come prepared and I think that's the difference today compared to like I mentioned five, six, seven years ago where it was like we're just going to go talk to some debt collectors but now they know who we are and that's all the work that we've done and many members. The other thing I'll say about this event
Last year at Committee 100, we went around the room and asked everybody, what is your favorite conference? And yeah, a lot of people said Committee 100, beautiful place. A lot of people said convention, but majority of the room said Washington Insights because when you leave there, you feel like you made a difference. And this industry, we need it more now than ever. And I think we always do because no matter what, there's always something new coming, popping up.
Tim Haag (11:48)
And so it's important to get out to DC and it's a lot of fun.
Adam Parks (11:51)
into those congressional offices for the first time might be intimidating, but you definitely walk out of there with feeling empowered. Because you don't feel you feel like you can take some level of control, I guess, over your industry and how it's viewed from the outside, I think for you and your generational. So going back, you know, years even looking late 90s early 2000s, it felt more like a adversarial relationship.
Tim Haag (11:58)
in
Adam Parks (12:19)
between legislators and the debt collection industry. And I feel like through the education process over the last 20 years, it's really changed. Now it's a much more open conversation, whether you're meeting with a Democrat or a Republican, everybody's willing to listen . And it feels like the conversations are less superficial and more substantive.
Is there anything that I should be thinking about besides the idea of kind of pre planning? But what else can I do to ready myself to be an effective member of ACA at this event?
Jennifer Whipple (12:53)
I think it's important to do your research of what's going on in the industry. I know we've got the credit reporting rule that has dropped. It's been postponed. So that's probably going to change before we go on June 3rd to DC. So knowing exactly where that stands is important because the staffer or your representative could be asking you about that. They could be asking you what your thoughts are on that.
So getting a little update, is what we generally start with on Wednesday morning at the Hill, or sorry, before we go do the Hill visits when we're at the Sonesta, we'll usually start with, here's the updates, here's what's going on. That way if it comes up in conversation, our members know exactly where things stand before they go meet with their folks up on the Hill.
Tim Haag (13:37)
I think the other thing I would remind people, and I think this is good advice, don't go in and start complaining. Don't go in and start bitching. Excuse my language, I don't know if that's allowed on your podcast. You can always edit it out. come in with a positive attitude. And when you mention going into one of their offices, the simple thing that I like to do too is...
Adam Parks (13:45)
You're good.
Tim Haag (14:00)
Their offices are decorated with a lot of things from their home state. Pictures, memorabilia, point out something and start the conversation that way. And get them to tell you why they're doing what they're doing. People, especially people in a level like that, they love to talk about their story. And if you let them tell their story, guess what? They're gonna flip the script and ask, what's your story?
Tim Haag (14:27)
And so it doesn't have to be just all about finance and debt collection and financial literacy. Again, it's building that relationship. And I think that's the important.
Adam Parks (14:37)
Relationships are built on a shared experience. And being able to point at something in the room and to bring a shared experience to the table in that discussion , I think is mission critical. What an incredible way to take the conversation off guard, especially if you're on opposite sides of the political spectrum, because it can be a mutually respected discussion, regardless of people's points of view, especially if you can start with something that
Tim Haag (14:40)
Yeah.
Adam Parks (15:04)
shows common ground between the two areas because they immediately assume, you know, regardless of what side you're meeting with, Tim, but I really like your approach to make it personal right out the gate. Do something to make it a personal conversation, demonstrate that it's two people having a discussion.
Adam Parks (15:20)
and it's a mutually respectful discussion.
Tim Haag (15:23)
Yeah, and I think it's important to respect their time. You'll get to, I mean, you read people, we all read people well. You can tell when they're in a hurry, respect that. And, if they really start digging in and asking questions, great. But again, if you can get five, 10 minutes with a member, that's great. I won't name the person, but a funny story is,
Adam Parks (15:25)
when it's time to go.
Tim Haag (15:49)
I mentioned those late night, maybe cocktail hours. I think it was a year or two years ago. We had one, it was about 10, 1030 at night. The Congressman was running late. He came in and here it is 1030. I asked him, you know, got himself something to drink. And one of our members just went, started digging in, digging in, digging in. And I looked and I said, shut up.
Tim Haag (16:11)
It's 1030 at night. This is what he's been doing all day long. And he had so much respect. He started laughing. He's like, thank you, Tim. And yes, I will answer your question, unnamed person. But after that, you know, there's a basketball game on right now. Let's watch this. Let's do this. And then start talking about his family and things like the things that he does outside of when he's not on the Hill. So I think that's important.
Adam Parks (16:39)
Not everything has to happen in one discussion. Relationships are not built in five minutes. They're built in a series of discussions. And so I think it's important that you understand that like this is if it's your first time on the hill, like this is your first step, like we don't all get to, you know, interpersonal relationship level on our first attempt. Sometimes it takes, you know, multiple opportunities of getting to know someone similar to you don't walk up to somebody at a conference and just blurt out your whole life, right? It starts with a
Adam Parks (17:08)
hey, how you doing? Let's talk about our businesses. And the next time you see them, it expands. And the next time you see them, it expands. And the next thing you know, we're all friends. So I think it's a very worthwhile, you guys are providing some really good advice. I hope everybody that's going to the Washington Insights event in June takes the 20 minutes or so watches this podcast and gets a little preparation, I'll say, for such an insightful event.
You know, with all of this going on in Washington, is there anything else that we want to share with our audience today to help them prepare or to encourage them to come and participate in the event?
Jennifer Whipple (17:41)
I always like to tell people, don't be scared. If you're nervous about going on the hill visits, you're worried about being by yourself, don't be. My first time, again, being from Montana, not many collection agencies come to the Washington Fly-In. If you're watching this and you're from Montana, please come. I would love to have a friend. But if you're from another state similar to Montana and you're
You know you're going to be the only one from your state. Reach out to ACA. Reach out to me directly. I'd be happy to go with you to your Hill visit. ACA was kind enough to send Andy Madden with me on my first Hill visit, which is like, you know, getting the biggest celebrity that you can get with you on your Hill visit. So I was quite fortunate. But you just have to ask. You have to let ACA know, hey, I'm coming by myself and I would love to have somebody come show me the ropes. This is my first time. And they will make sure.
that you have somebody. So don't be, don't let that be your barrier to coming. Don't be too scared to come because you know you'll be by yourself. We will support you. I would go with you. I know Tim would go with you. ACA has support staff that would go with you as well.
Adam Parks (18:45)
So I'm really looking forward to being there and participating and being part of the discussion.
Tim Haag (18:50)
Yeah, there's a number of veterans that have done this multiple times and any member that's done it before is always going to be willing to. And the other thing is just partner up and say, Hey, I'll go to your Hill visits. You come to my Hill visits and it works out really well. remember I think it's two years ago. I took, took somebody with me for the first time. was, mean, it was their first time.
Jennifer Whipple (18:50)
Thanks Adam.
Tim Haag (19:11)
And he was also from Wisconsin. So we met with somebody and it was actually his representative. And we go in and I'll just say it was one of the most awkward like meetings because the guy was not really all that nice, even though this individual employed like over 300 people in his, in his area. But so we walked out and he looked at me and he goes, damn, are these always like this? I said,
Tim Haag (19:39)
No, like that guy was like straight rude. But that's again, reading the room, we spent maybe three, four minutes with them and I was like, all right, let's just, yep, let's just get out of here. That's it.
Adam Parks (19:50)
enough time. so look, sometimes you got to know when it's time to go. I was lucky enough
that my first meeting was Mick Mulvaney, when he was still a congressman from South Carolina before he became the director of the CFPB. So it was a much more, let's say, open conversation for my first one. My second one was a little different. So I can understand both perspectives of the congressional leader that you're meeting with, or the staff that you're meeting with. And I would also say that
Tim Haag (19:57)
Go.
Adam Parks (20:16)
If you're not meeting directly with the Congress person, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just kind of the way that Washington works. And some of those staffers always have the ear of that person. you can't be in too many places at once. And I think all of us have somebody in our office who's helping us on the regular. And they do too, because their calendars make ours look simple. So it's a little bit of an opportunity there as well.
I really do appreciate you guys coming on and chatting with me today, sharing all of these incredible insights. You got me all amped up for this event. I'm really excited to be going back to Washington.
Jennifer Whipple (20:54)
Awesome, I'm excited to see you Adam and everyone else who's coming. I think it's going to be a great event this year.
Tim Haag (21:00)
I'll just wrap up with one thought. this is what I've been, you my good friend David Williams was president of ACA last year. His overall message was, you know, kind of post COVID, like let's all come back together. And because the virtual world got old and like to see people in person, and this is a great opportunity for that. But taking another step this year, my message has been, okay, now we're back together.
Let's get involved. And I continue to talk to the ACA board about this and other members, but I feel there's so many members out there that just rely on that group of 30, 40, 50 people that really do get involved. And it was like, should I do it? They'll do it for me. But the other nice thing is, you know, we have a strong pack, ACPAC, and we just got back from.
Tim Haag (21:55)
know, two months ago from Hawaii for Committee 100, we raised a lot of money. We hit our goal already this year. But it's really nice to see where that money goes and to see your money working. So it's not that we're asking you to come out and write a check. Yes, that would be great. But I think after you do this and you see where that money goes,
Tim Haag (22:17)
you'll want to get more involved and it's great. So Adam, I really appreciate you hosting us today. Look forward and I'm so excited to hear you're going to be out in DC and it'll be a lot of fun.
Adam Parks (22:28)
I think we're gonna have some fun. We're gonna have to do a selfie post or something to show everybody, know, what is actually happening while we're out there. For those of you that are watching, if you have additional questions you'd like to ask, you can leave those in the comments below on LinkedIn and YouTube and we'll be responding to those. Or if you have additional topics you'd like to see us discuss, well then come see us in Washington and come spend some time with us in person. But until next time everybody, I really do appreciate all of your insights. This has been an incredible conversation and thank you everybody for watching. We'll see y'all again soon. Bye.
Tim Haag (22:31)
course.
Thank you. See you in Washington.
