State and Federal Communications President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz received the PLEN (Public Leadership Education Network) Mentor Award in Washington, D.C., in a recent ceremony honoring exemplary leaders committed to education.

Ms. Bartz was recognized for her outstanding commitment to mentoring the next generation of women leaders in public policy careers. PLEN is the only national organization with the sole focus of preparing college women for leadership in the public policy arena.

Along with Ms. Bartz, other prestigious women receiving PLEN awards included Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03); Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21); Ms. Anne DeSeta DarConte, Principal, Beyond K Street, LLC and Co-Founder, Professional Women in Advocacy Conference; and Ms. Jen Stange, Program Coordinator, 21st Century Blueprint Committee, SEIU. PLEN selected these honorees for prioritizing the importance of women helping other women in their daily actions.

Ms. Ellie Shaw, Director of Federal Government Affairs, at American Express, nominated Ms. Bartz for the award. Ms. Bartz says, “Ellie has been involved with PLEN for years and is a great representative of how we need to offer a hand up to our future leaders.” She adds that PLEN’s mission is to increase the number of women in top leadership positions influencing all aspects of the public policy process by introducing college women to role models, career paths, and skills trainings before they enter the workforce.

Each year, PLEN brings hundreds of women students from colleges and universities across the country to Washington, D.C. where they can experience first-hand how public policy is shaped and implemented at the national level. Students meet with and learn from women leaders making and influencing public policy at the highest levels in Congress, the courts, federal agencies, the private sector, policy research and advocacy organizations, and the media. These women leaders serve as teachers as well as mentors.

According to PLEN officials, Ms. Bartz has shown commitment to mentoring college women and preparing them in the public policy arena. Ms. Bartz echoes this by commenting, “It is so important to help all students, both men and women, with career advice, resume reviews, and connecting with people who can provide their first jobs. Providing this assistance is something students remember and carry forward to help others. I am proud to support PLEN.”

PLEN is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be a sponsor of the Women in Government Relations IMPACT 2016: PACs, Politics, and Grassroots Conference today in Washington, D.C.

President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz, Federal Compliance Associate Rebecca South and Federal Compliance Assistant Gamble Hayden are attending. If you’ll be there, be sure to say hello to our team!

State and Federal Communications held a Brown Bag Lunch Day on March 15 to raise money for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank’s 2016 Harvest for Hunger campaign. Employees offered donations to the cause, shared their lunch time, and the company matched those donations. “We were thrilled to help this vital program. Let’s eliminate hunger in our community!” said President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz.

The Foodbank’s President and CEO Dan Flowers dropped by to visit the office and to say thanks.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be one of the sponsors of The Ohio Society of Washington D.C.’s 2016 Ohio Birthday Celebration!

The grand event will take place tonight in the Montpelier Room of the James Madison Building at the Library of Congress.

Elizabeth Bartz, the company’s President and CEO, will be in attendance.

I always felt Super Tuesday needed a mascot. And, that is my first point of clarification. I am talking about the primary election day…nothing to do with the ESPN television series.

We first heard the term in 1984 when Walter Mondale and Gary Hart vied for the nomination. In fact, we had three of them that year. I won’t go into the detail about what each candidate said. Sufficient to say in the end, Walter Mondale only won the electoral votes that November in Minnesota and in DC. [Please note Wikipedia states the term was really used in 1976.]

So what is it? Super Tuesday refers to the day in a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to the national conventions.

• 1984—five states were involved which helped bring the nomination to Democrat Walter Mondale;
• 1988 – nine states held primary elections on March 8, 1988 and the votes were split between Democrats Dick Gephardt, Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, and Michael Dukakis with the latter eventually being nominated;
• 1992 – The March 10, 1992 election brought Democrat Bill Clinton into the national spotlight;
• 1996 – March 12, 1996 included nine states and secured Republican Bob Dole’s bid;
• 2000 – 16 states participated in the March 7, 2000 election;
• 2004 – Fewer states participated on February 3, 2004, and there were only five states with primaries and two caucuses;
• 2008 – Only four states held primary elections on March 4, 2008, but 24 had moved their own primary election up to February 5, 2008 so it ended up being called Super Duper Tuesday;
• 2012 – 10 states held primary elections on March 6, 2012; and
• 2016 – We will have 13 states involved in the March 1, 2016 date.

This column is not going to support any candidates. However, it is going to emphasize the importance of voting whenever your state has scheduled those dates. All those election dates are on our website, www.stateandfed.com.

On Tuesday, March 15 the staff of State and Federal Communications are offered one hour at the beginning of the day to vote before arriving to work. Until next month, remember to VOTE, plan for it so you do not forget or end up out of town, and encourage friends and family to do so.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz

President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

I rarely take this column to speak about my health. It could be better, but there was a year it was worse. In 2006, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and it was a tough year. And, that is probably the nicest word to use for it.

Women usually hear if you can feel a pain, then it isn’t cancer.  Well, I had a pain and after two mammograms, an ultrasound, a MRI, and a biopsy, I was diagnosed with cancer, and it had gone to my lymph nodes. My surgeon, Dr. Julian Kim from the Cleveland Clinic (now at University Hospital) said cancer was the least of my problems … chemotherapy and radiation would take a lot out of me.

I took to cancer like I do a lot of things. Attacked it. Surgery was done within a month of the diagnosis. Chemotherapy, managed by my Cleveland Clinic oncologist, was done from March to June of 2006, along with losing all of my hair and wearing a wig, steroids prescribed for pain associated with Taxol, and sleeping a lot. Radiation was most of July 2006, which included a huge burn at the end of it all.

And, then it was all over. Cancer free. I still hold my breath a lot when I have mammograms, and I do have mammograms done annually. There is no magic wand to avoid a reoccurrence, but the possibility goes down after 10 years.

Everyone has issues and we do not know what people are dealing with in their lives. I bring this up to give you hope if you are dealing with health issues. Attack it. Don’t let it affect your spirit, the thing that makes you YOU. Please know in the last 10 years I have also spoken to a number of women in government affairs who have had breast cancer. It’s a club…one that we didn’t want to be a member of, but we are, and we need to be there for each other.

So now, 10 years later, I can cheer a little louder about being cancer free and celebrating with a short holiday in Punta Cana—just reflecting on how wonderful life has been.

Until next month, celebrate your life, enjoy your family and friends, and be YOU.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz

President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

Now, that is one sexy topic for a conference session!! To be honest, it is a session at the 2016 Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference in Miami, Florida and yours truly is one of the session leaders along with our good friend Jennifer Spall, senior director of political programs at Wal-Mart.

Here is my #1 comment about 2016—If you are not involved with making political contributions, you might as well hibernate. It will be a huge campaign season—from city, county, state, and president. Our office is already vetting contributions for 2018 elections.

Register for the conference at www.pac.org and hear many of our contributions colleagues around the country speak about how important it is to manage and organize how, when, and why contributions are made.

And, if that isn’t enough of an enticement…Plan on joining the State and Federal Communications team on Wednesday, March 9th for lunch. We want to give you the opportunity to take a tour of our website and see the important information we provide to thousands of your counterparts in corporate and trade association government affairs firms.

There is a lot to know about campaign finance and making political contributions. And, whether you care about reform or not (as published by Doug Pinkham’s December 22nd blog), you do need to know there are things to keep track of to protect your organization. This is the week to promote to your professional development.

Until next month, remember it is impossible to have 50 state political contributions laws in your head…Join us in Miami and find out how you can be the expert at your organization.

Thank you.
Happy New Year.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz

President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

Well the weather outside is frightful…

That is how this column started but the weather has been unusually fabulous. So I re-wrote my column and am not going to discuss the weather…but something we all know more about.

Registrations and reports you have due in January could be frightening so we encourage you to find a delightful fire this month along with some corn for popping. Turn the lights way down low…And, let State and Federal Communications take care of your compliance needs.

The State and Federal Communications website—www.stateandfed.com—is complete with the important 2016 dates you need to know. Our offices are open and staffed in December, with the exception of being closed on December 24th, December 25th, December 31st, and January 1st.

You just cannot miss when State and Federal Communications is on your side.

On behalf of this great team, we wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy New Year.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz

President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

State and Federal Communications is proud to be a sponsor of the Professional Women in Advocacy Conference on November 16-17, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

We are also excited to announce Elizabeth Bartz will be moderating the Tuesday lunch discussion panel Been There, Done That: Words of Wisdom and Experience.

The amazing panel lineup includes Gloria Dittus, chairman of Story Partners; Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP; and Ambassador Connie Morella.

The Association of Government Relations Professionals is pleased to announce the following individuals will be recognized at the AGRP Annual Meeting (November 12) for their contributions to the profession and the organization.

Volunteer of the Year – Elizabeth Bartz of State and Federal Communications, Inc.
This award recognizes a volunteer member who has gone beyond the call of duty voluntarily in offering exemplary service on behalf of the Association of Government Relations Professionals — its mission, membership, and the profession.

AGRP established this annual award to appropriately recognize an individual who has displayed vision, support, and leadership toward improving the lobbying profession and unselfishly supporting the work of the association’s board of directors

Elizabeth Bartz is the founder, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, Inc. from Akron, Ohio. She is the lead planner annually for the State Lobbying LCP program and regularly supports her staff in earning their Professional Lobbying Certificate. Ms. Bartz is also a supporter of AGRP’s initiative to recruit more state and local members and is sponsoring a new state lobbying series in 2016. Through her work in the states and outside-the-beltway, she has raised AGRP’s profile to this important audience. Since 2008, 11 staff from State and Federal Communications have completed the year-long Lobbying Certificate Program.

AGRP will also recognize Patrick Cooney from the DC-based The Federal Group as Government Relations Professional of the Year and Jim Clarke, from the American Society of Association Executives is receiving the Career Achievement Award.

About the Association of Government Relations Professionals
Originally established in 1979 as the American League of Lobbyists (ALL) – now re-named the Association of Government Relations Professionals (AGRP) – the association is the national professional society dedicated exclusively to government relations, public policy and lobbying. AGRP’s mission is to enhance the development of the profession, competence, and high ethical standards for advocates in the public policy arena; and to collectively address the challenges affecting the First Amendment right to “petition the Government for redress of grievances.” The goal is to contribute to openness, transparency, effectiveness, and ethical conduct in the pursuit of “good government” practices. For more information, visit http://grprofessionals.org

State and Federal Communications, Inc. announces Jennifer Jaketic as a new compliance assistant.

She assists in the company’s Corporate Contribution Compliance department, also known as C³, which monitors the rules associated with corporations making political contributions.

“I like obliging by the rules and the ethical considerations of campaign finance,” Jaketic added. ”I enjoy working with numbers and the compliance aspect of it, which is why my position at State and Federal is such a valuable experience.”

“We started vetting contributions for our clients in 2008 and it is a piece of business which has grown. Nola Werren, Esq. from our staff has the experience needed with Jennifer to keep the work in progress for our clients,” said President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz.

Jaketic has more than 12 years of experience in campaign finance. Immediately following graduation from George Washington University with a bachelor’s in political science, Jaketic worked for the Federal Election Commission in its Reports and Analysis division, where she reviewed campaign finance reports of Political Action Committees. Jaketic is currently pursuing a master’s degree in accounting at Cleveland State University.

State and Federal Communications started its 16th United Way campaign this week. This is a great opportunity for everyone on staff to help those less fortunate. And, I will say I pride myself on achieving 100 percent participation most years—even though we missed that mark for the current campaign.

I bring this up because many people in government relations are chosen by their own management to supervise United Way campaigns. This is all about sharing so please let me know what works for you.

How does that happen? One hundred percent participation is hard to achieve. Well, as our staff is donating to help those less fortunate, I donate back to them. I save up all those fabulous American Express Membership Rewards and use them for gift cards as premiums to the staff. I am not sure if anyone else receives emails from Regal Cinemas, but I am also able to purchase discount movie tickets for the team.

Here is our program:

1. Once we reach 100 percent participation all employees will receive three (3) Flee @ 3 days in 2016. We are asking for a minimum pledge of $2.50 per paycheck.
2. If any one person increases his or her pledge from the current campaign, he or she will each receive movie tickets plus the opportunity to wear jeans for a month. [Our outside accounting firm said this was a big incentive for its staff.]
3. Fair Share + is something we picked up from the Red Cross and that is a $1 extra donation per paycheck. Everyone who pledges Fair Share + will have the costs of Imagination Library paid for by State and Federal Communications, three vouchers to the great summer lunches at the John S. Knight Center, and qualification to our Charitable Service Program, which allows employees to use 24 hours of time to assist a charitable organization. Many of the staff are on board in the region and this always helps those organizations who would otherwise flounder without time and treasure.
4. We also provide incentives for those who reach United Way Leadership Levels.
   • Crystal pledges ($500-$999)—receive a $150 gift card plus four (4) movie tickets;
   • Bronze pledges ($1,000-$1,499)—receive a $200 gift card plus six (6) movie tickets;
   • Copper pledges ($1,500-$2,499)—receive a $250 gift card and eight (8) movie tickets; and
   • Silver pledges ($2,500-$5,000)—receive a $300 gift card and 10 movie tickets.

We will have a Trifecta drawing for everyone who pledges Fair Share +, at one of the above Leadership Levels, and commits to participating and blogging in our Charitable Service Program. Stay tuned to see what those prizes will be … and, we will do everything possible to utilize all of those American Express Membership Rewards points.

Here is what I think the best thing about our commitment to United Way is—State and Federal Communications matches dollar for dollar every pledge made. That match stays local to help United Way, making our campaign one of the top 50 campaigns in Summit County.

So what do you do to help those less fortunate in your community? Let’s share our stories and make this a great way to help our regions.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

AKRON­, Ohio— Project GRAD Akron honored Elizabeth Z. Bartz and State and Federal Communications, Inc., with 2015 Community Service Awards at the Ninth Annual Achieving Dreams Celebration on Oct. 1.  The award honors those who have shown exceptional service in the community and a commitment to Project GRAD. Also receiving the award was Judi Hill, retired educator and administrator from the Akron Public Schools.

Dr. Beverly Warren, president of Kent State University, and Honorary Chairperson for the event presented the awards. Bartz has served on the Achieving Dreams Steering Committees and chaired the Silent Auction Committee. The staff of State and Federal Communications also donated their time with administrative, technical and communications support for Project GRAD.

Project GRAD Akron is a non-profit organization that provides educational programming and support for students in Akron Public Schools. Proceeds raised from the Achieving Dreams Celebration are used to support Project GRAD Akron’s programs, services, and scholarship fund.