As everyone prepares to celebrate the New Year, I would like to take this opportunity to offer a note of thanks. State and Federal Communications has had an exciting year and we look forward to a bright 2012.

We wish you a beautiful New Year.

Elizabeth Bartz
President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, Inc.

First, get past the fact both conferences are in Florida. The Council keeps us busy enough that we rarely get more than a few hours to mill around.

Second, what you need to know is the Council makes sure it has the top-of-the-line speakers for the programs and the sessions are mixed in with people in the field who are doing great things in both grassroots advocacy and PAC recruitment.

Finally, and most important, you will find State and Federal Communications involved with the conferences. We have been involved with the advisory board for each conference, sending a number of staff, and we are included in the Market Resource Program.

You can obtain more information about these conferences at www.pac.org.

Until next month, continue to plan for your professional development. There is nothing like developing the important skills for your organization.

Executive Sourcebook on Lobbying Laws:

1. We are separating the penalties so you will see what they are for registration, reporting, and gift violations.

2. Does the jurisdiction have a document retention policy?

3. Is gift splitting allowed?

4. We are also separating the gift restrictions for lobbyists and non-lobbyists.

Executive’s Sourcebook on Political Contributions:

1. What is the jurisdiction’s document retention policy?

2. What restrictions are there on fundraising, as applied both to corporations attending a political event and as applied to corporations holding its own fundraiser?

Executive’s Sourcebook on Procurement Lobbying:

1. Restrictions on pre-RFP communications between a bidder and the procurement department?

2. Are there any post-RFP “cone of silence” restrictions?

3. Difference between “bidder” and “contractor.”

It continues to be our goal to be your #1 online resource for lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Until next month, let your fingers do the walking at www.stateandfed.com and see the amount of information available to you and your organization.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO

In fact, it was so fabulous, I sent apologies to all of our previous interns for not spending time with them.

Earlier this summer I told you about Emily Kesler from Northwestern, Cristina Dickos from The Ohio State University, and Zachary Koozer from the University of Akron. They were each hired for a specific job:

Emily assisted Joe May, Social Media Coordinator, to review sites and wrote some excellent posts for our blog.

Cristina worked directly for me to manage my overwhelming American Express bill and to help with many administrative duties. I have to say Cristina was amazing. She was far more professional than four temps we had in that same position over the last 12 months.

Zachary helped Ken Kelewae update our computers in the office to Microsoft 7. He also learned that many of us use our keyboard as a placemat. He cleaned out all of our keyboards.

In addition, they joined me at meetings for the United Way of Summit County Board, Social Services Advisory Board, and the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce. They met Mayor Don Plusquellic at a great event at Firestone Country Club before the Bridgestone Tournament. The Chamber had small group meetings to discuss internships in the city and my team joined the presidents of Akron hospitals, banks, and companies to share their experiences.

They also helped with some local service programs. We worked with Good Samaritans to help distribute food to 150 families. One day this summer, they joined several on staff in the United Way Day of Action cleaning and painting the Edgerton House in Akron.

And, we also had fun. One field trip was to a building where the owner keeps antique cars, many of them used in local parades, in his basement.

Yes, it was a great summer. It was also very financially beneficial to them. Each worked more than 300 hours and received a bonus of $3 for every hour worked. We ended the summer with our annual United Way campaign kickoff lunch and wished them all well when they go to school.

Until next month, think about an internship program at your organization. Give me a call if you have any questions.

I do have a manual typewriter. I will not throw it away because I used to type a lot of articles.

I wanted to bring out that manual typewriter today after I heard John Dean speak at the Watergate CLE for the Ohio State Bar Association today. And, HBO recently showed All the President’s Men where we could see Woodward and Bernstein hammering on their Washington Post Royal typewriters. Today, I am opting to just use the courier font on my laptop!

John Dean was disbarred because of his involvement in Watergate and he has never considered requesting reinstatement. However, he is teaching continuing legal education courses on a lawyer’s obligations when a client engages in crime.

I am a product of Watergate having been a journalism student in the 70s and State and Federal Communications owes its existence to what happened at that time.

Dean pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice for his role in the Watergate cover-up and believes his experience is instructive.

I did get a chance to ask him if Watergate was an albatross around his neck. He had been an investment banker and retired when he was 60. (He is now 72.) He said he did not spend his life wallowing in Watergate. He returned to business school and had a lucrative career as an investment banker. He has written a number of books, including:

1. Blind Ambition—now autographed and on my bookshelf;

2. Warren G. Harding;

3. Conservatives without Conscience; and

4. Worse than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush.

John Dean was born in Akron, Ohio and holds a BA from the College of Wooster. He is still married to Maureen “Mo” Dean and lives in Beverly Hills, California.

Today’s program was amazing. We met a man who affected history and wanted to share with us the ultimate ethical dilemma. He is going on the road with this four-hour program, which basically focuses on June 16, 17, and 18, 1972.

Have you made your reservation for NCSL Legislative Summit 2011? I hope so. State and Federal Communications, Inc. will be there in full strength and ready to meet you!

This is our (lucky) 13^th year attending this annual meeting of legislators and government affairs executives. The exhibit booth has been packed and is ready for the trek to San Antonio along with our computers, brochures, and our fabulous lanyards that we are resurrecting after a two-year hiatus.

This year we have six people from the company joining us. Stop by Booth 217 to see Nola Werren, John Chames, Ren Koozer, Rebecca South, Joe May, and yours truly!

Where else will you see us? Name it. We are attending the Women’s Legislative Network Executive Board meeting, Foundation for State Legislatures Board of Directors Meeting, Executive Meeting, Foundation events, and every event sponsored by State Government Affairs Council (SGAC). We will be all over San Antonio…And, you will be able to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and on our blog, www.lobbycomply.com. Joe May, our social media coordinator, is joining us this year to keep you up-to-date on the speakers (Jim Collins author of Good to Great is set to speak). Joe will also cover events and while we will miss the tour of the Alamo, we will attend the armadillo race. (Now, I assure you that is something we do not have in Akron, Ohio. Feel free to ask me about our Soap Box Derby.)

NCSL is not for the weak because we are up at the crack of dawn for a hearty breakfast and then off to meetings and booth duty. By Thursday night, we will all be ready for a fabulous dinner as we unwind from a busy week…And, thinking of what we will do in Chicago in 2012!

By Labor Day, our clients will find 36 additional municipalities included on our website. As they are completed, we will update our postings so you can check out the additional resources.

Right now, we have provided information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for Alexandria, Virginia (my former home) and Tacoma, Washington.

In the future look for additional cities in New York, Arizona, and Michigan.

We did not have any interns last year because our budget tightened just as did everyone else’s. We missed having them in the office.

You should know we have a great program. First, we pay our interns, which the students love. Second, we pay a bonus at the end of the summer based on the number of hours they work, which their parents love.

Christina Dickos is working with me on business issues in the office. Christina will begin college this September studying English at The Ohio State University.

Emily Kesler is working with Joe May on our social media program. Emily is a junior at Northwestern majoring in Political Science and Psychology.

Zachary Koozer is assisting Ken Kelewae with computer upgrades and updates. Zachary will begin college this September at the University of Akron.

We welcome our summer interns and look forward to a great summer!

Once again, we had the pleasure of honoring a colleague who has been with State and Federal Communications, Inc. for 10 years.  Nicolette Koozer is the in-house graphic designer who makes sure everything we create looks like it came from the same parents.  As it happens, she and I do; Nicolette is my kid sister.

She is a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.  She came to us after spending 18 years in the D.C. area doing technical illustration and graphic design work for the military.  In fact, she was also the freelance designer with our predecessor company, State and Federal Associates, Inc. She has been at State and Federal Communications, Inc. since 2001 creating our corporate identity, conference prep, marketing pieces, and maintaining our intranet.

In acknowledging her history with the company, Nicolette shared her joy of working for a company where she appreciated having the privileged of working part-time and being active in her son’s school district in PTA and Music Boosters.

I love that our employees maintain their active life in their own school communities as well as being a part of my outstanding staff.

Congratulations to Nicolette as she joins our previous 10 year achievers–Nola Werren, Ren Koozer, and Jim Sedor.

Here is a video we made to celebrate Nicolette’s anniversary:

State and Federal Communications, Inc. is overseeing the planning of Ohio Night at Biga on the Bank, next to the Westin on the Riverwalk. We will have a great space with a fabulous view to interact with the Ohio legislators attending the event. My assistant with this event is none other than Former Ohio Senate President Finan, now with Calfee Halter.

The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, August 10 at Biga on the Bank. If you are interested in joining, please complete the form, and we will include you in our austere group of sponsors.  [Click here for Ohio Night form.]

For more information about the NCSL Legislative Summit 2011, go to their website for details.

Until next month, check out the meetings being held all over the country and plan on joining us at the event of the summer, Ohio Night at NCSL.

While attending the 35^th Annual Public Affairs Council PAC Conference in Miami last week, there were many questions about the impact of Citizens United in the states.

Last year, State and Federal Communications prepared a report, and we continue to update it, for our clients to understand how it has been applied.

Follow this link for the report. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to send an email to our Research Manager John Cozine.

In 1998, State and Federal Communications worked with Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic’s blue ribbon committee reviewing campaign contribution limits. Unfortunately, city voters approved very low contribution limits and it has taken 12+ years for a charter change to increase them.

On Monday, city council approved legislation increasing the limits for contributions from individuals for mayoral and at-large council candidates from $300 to $450 and ward council candidates from $100 to $200.

The city will continue to study other potential changes to Akron’s campaign finance guidelines.

Those attending Amy Showalter’s Innovate to Motivate conference in San Antonio had the fortune to hear Herman Cain this morning. His program, Being CEO of Self, is exactly the professional development we expect from I2M.

He started by talking about the dreams/goals his parents had to change their lives and that of future generations. Cain emphasized that CEOs, who are successful, have dream and goals—and those two things are not the same. A goal he had was to graduate from college. The dream of his grandparents was to see him graduate from college. Faith connects goals and dreams.

And, following up on happiness, it is the key to success and not the other way around. Happiness is:

1.      Something to do;

2.      Someone to love; and

3.      Something to hope for.

Learn more about Herman Cain at www.hermancain.com. On top of his successes in the business and association industries, he is now exploring the possibility of running for president in 2012.