Cigar Rights of America announced the opening of their new office in Washington D.C,, citing that the time had come for the organization to have a permanent presence on Captiol Hill.

“In Washington, if you’re out of sight, you are definitely out of mind,” said Glynn Loope, Executive Director of Cigar Rights of America. “You have to be there, to be consistently pounding the pavement to get our message across to the staff and membership in the House and Senate.”

The new office is located near the U.S. Captiol, at 300 New Jersey Avenue NW, Suite 900. It will be staffed by Mike Copperman, legislative director for Cigar Rights of America.

Brian Berman, Director of Membership for CRA, said that “opening an office in Washington D.C. is a necessary and logical step. From day one, Cigar Rights of America has had a presence in Washington D.C. from our Virginia-based office, however given the urgency of the FDA regulation of tobacco, and the need to spend even more time on Capitol Hill, the timing couldn’t be more important in taking this step.”

CRA is planning on asking its members to contact their elected officials with greater frequency in 2012 in order to preserve cigar rights, and will be offering assistance in getting those meetings arranged both in Washington and in all 50 states.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.