Why I keep coming back to the NAMA Fly-In — and why you should join me this June
If you run a vending or micro market business and you’re not paying attention to what’s happening in Washington, D.C., you’re going to feel it on your routes before you see it in the headlines.
That’s why I block off two days in June for the NAMA Fly-In. Every year, I come home convinced it’s one of the most important things I do for my business.
This year, three issues will dominate our meetings on Capitol Hill:
- Consumer payments
- Camera surveillance
- Affordability
Read that list again and tell me any of those don’t hit your P&L.
Consider cash acceptance proposals. A cash mandate in a micro market means retrofitting bill validators into locations designed to run cashless, taking on theft risk, and adding collection and reconciliation cost to every route — all to serve a payment method a shrinking share of customers actually use.
Camera surveillance rules will shape what’s possible in mitigating shrink for the next decade.
And affordability isn’t an abstract policy debate: It’s something we navigate with every customer who looks at a price tag and pauses.
These are our industry’s issues. If we don’t show up to talk about them, somebody else’s version of the story is the one that gets told.
I get the temptation to fire off an email to Congressional staff when it’s an emergency and call it a day. I’ve done it. But here’s what I’ve learned: you can write Congress over and over and over again — and your email will be one of thousands. Congressional staff are being inundated with voices on every issue, from pharmaceutical costs to regulating autonomous cars and renaming landmarks. Sending that email is needed, but attaching a name and a face to the email ensures the message rises to the top of the stack.
When you’re sitting in a Congressional office and describing, in your own terms, what a policy would mean for your locations, your routes, your people and your customers, the conversation changes. Congress is much more likely to take action. Because there’s a story behind it. There’s a face. That’s the moment policy stops being theoretical and becomes about a person.
That’s what draws me back every single year.
NAMA has put real thought into making this trip worth your time. The first half-day is education — genuine prep so that when you walk into a Congressional office, you know the issues and can speak to them with confidence. You’ll be ready, and you’ll feel ready.
There are also sessions on emerging technologies, and I’d argue those are some of the most useful conversations you’ll have all year. The pace of change in our industry is dramatic. Getting in a room with operators who are wrestling with the same questions you are — AI use, payment innovations, labeling requirements — is one of those things you can’t replicate over Zoom.
And then there’s the Congressional Baseball Game. It’s one of the rare moments in D.C. where politics is set aside and relaxed, real conversations turn into relationships. It’s quality time to network with industry peers and friends.
The biggest thing standing between our industry and stronger outcomes on the Hill is simply more operators in the room. More voices. More stories. More PAC engagement. The math isn’t complicated — when more of us show up, more gets done — our way.
Block the dates June 10 and 11. I’ll see you there.
About the Author
Louis Baresh
Louis Baresh is a leader at Executive Refreshments, a Texas-based convenience services company serving workplaces with vending, micro markets and office coffee service. In 2026, he serves on the board of directors for the National Automatic Merchandising Association and is an active advocate for the convenience services industry on issues affecting operators nationwide.