Here is our May/June calendar. If you are attending any of the coming events, please stop by and say hello!

May 10   Go Red for Women Luncheon, Akron, OH

May 18   WGR Spring Reception, Washington, DC

May 19   Akron Roundtable – Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, Akron, OH

May 19   PAC PALS Spring Reception, Washington, DC

May 19-21   NCSL Executive Committee Spring Meeting, Minneapolis, MN

May 30   Memorial Day, Office Closed, Akron, OH

May 31 – June 2   PLI’s Corporate Compliance and Ethics Institute, New York City, NY

June 6-9   2016 BIO International Convention, San Francisco, CA

June 13-15   US Chamber’s America’s Small Business Summit, Washington, DC

June 20-22   Public Affairs Council National Grassroots Conference, Alexandria, VA

June 23   Public Affairs Council Digital Media and Advocacy Summit, Alexandria, VA

June 24-27   U.S. Conference of Mayors 84th Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN

Here is our March calendar:

March 2   Ohio Birthday Celebration, Washington, DC

March 7-10   National PAC Conference, Miami Beach, Florida

March 9   NCSL Foundation Luncheon, Washington, DC

March 10   Women’s Endowment Fund Annual Dinner, Akron, OH

March 16   PLEN Mentor Awards, Washington, DC

March 17   Akron Roundtable, Akron, OH

March 20-22   NASPO: How to Market to State Governments Meeting, Atlanta, GA

March 30-April 2   ACES National Conference, Portland, OR

March 31, 2016   Akron Press Club hosts State of Summit County Speech, Akron, OH

February 10   CATO Institute Policy Forum: Intellectual Property and First Principles, Washington, DC

February 11   Montgomery County African Affairs Advisory Group, Silver Spring, Maryland

February 17   Lobbying Compliance at the State Level Webinar, Akron, Ohio

February 19-22   National Governors Association Winter Meeting, Washington, DC

March 2   Ohio Birthday Celebration, Washington, DC

March 7-10   Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference, Miami Beach, Florida

What grassroots activities are you involved in? Did you know that reporting your grassroots activities in one state or municipality doesn’t mean that you are required to do so in another? Failure to report if it is required could cause major problems for you and your company. Are you registered as a lobbyist? Could your activities trigger registration and reporting? These are just a few of the items that require your attention when it comes to your government compliance.

Take the opportunity to sit down during the 2016 PAC Grassroots Conference and come have lunch on us! State and Federal Communications is hosting a luncheon on Wednesday, January 27th where you can discuss government compliance and more.

All attendees will be entered into a drawing to win a Fitbit Surge for attending. Seats are limited and are going fast, so check out our video for luncheon details and R.S.V.P. here!

See you in Orlando!

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

Here is our January calendar:

January 7-9   NCSL Executive Winter Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah

January 8-10   Women in Government State Directors’ Conference, Tampa, Florida

January 10-14   PAC Institute, Laguna Beach, California

January 12   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

January 20-22   United States Conference of Mayors, Washington, DC

January 25-28   PAC Grassroots Conference, Orlando, Florida

Here is our November/December calendar. If you are attending any of the coming events, please stop by and say hello!

November 10   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

November 12   AGRP Annual Meeting, Washington, DC

November 16-17   Professional Women in Advocacy, Washington, DC

November 21-24   SGAC Leaders’ Policy Conference, Washington, DC

November 23   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

December 6-9   COGEL Conference, Boston, Massachusetts

December 8-11   NCSL Capitol Forum, Washington, DC

December 11   Advocacy Leaders Network – Creating a Mobile Advocacy Toolkit,
Washington, DC

December 14   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

Enjoy these photos from recent events!

Here is our October calendar. If you are attending any of the coming events, please stop by and say hello!

October 8   African Affairs Advisory Group Meeting, Silver Spring, Maryland

October 13   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

October 19   AGRP State Lobbying LCP Program, Washington, DC

October 23   National Press Club Lunch with Kevin Costner, Washington, DC

October 27   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

October 28-30   Public Affairs Council Fall Board Meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona

State and Federal Communications, Inc. is a proud Silver Sponsor of the 2015 Public Affairs Council State & Local Government Relations Conference.  The event will take place September 23-25 in Alexandria, Virginia.  President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz and six team members are looking forward to lively discussions and high-quality content, and consider this a must-attend event for all state government affairs professionals.

Make sure to follow the conference on Twitter at #SLGR15.  We hope to see you there!

Many of you are working on your 2016 budgets, and I would suggest a few of the Public Affairs Council conferences be included to help with your government relations work.

If you have some funds left for 2015, attend the State and Local Government Relations conference from September 23-25 at the Hilton Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. This is the absolute best 101 program to learn about state and local government relations. We have used this as a stepping-stone to all first-year staff to learn more about the subject.

The premiere conferences offered by the Council are in 2016—National Grassroots Conference, January 25-28 in Orlando, and the National PAC Conference in Miami from March 7-10. Yes, it is winter, and yes, they are in Florida. However, set that aside and think about the sessions where discussions are held about:

1. Case studies involving grassroots programs;
2. Branding your grassroots program;
3. Educating the members of your grassroots or PAC programs;
4. Ethics, Gift Rules, and Legal Guidance (my favorite session);
5. Engaging Senior Executives;
6. Operating a Successful PAC;
7. Communicating Across Generations;
8. Hosting a Candidate Fundraiser;
9. Auditing and Assessing Your PAC; and
10. Setting a Course for Your Professional Development.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I serve on the PAC Board of Directors (but there are 160 of us, so no one really notices me) and I am on the Advisory Committee for both of the 2016 conferences…But, that should show my commitment to the Council and how much I treasure and value its contributions to the public affairs industry.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to give me a call. I would be happy to discuss the value and importance.

Until next month, remember professional development is something you should always push for to help you with your career.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz

President and CEO

Yesterday was my first time to attend a Public Affairs Council (PAC) conference. The Digital Media and Advocacy Summit was great!

I really enjoyed the sessions – they were timely and relevant, and I loved the variety of speakers. I also think it speaks volumes about the quality of the conferences organized by PAC, when you get to the last session of the day and the majority of attendees are still awake and present!

Take a look at the summit’s amazing agenda. I will definitely plan to attend future PAC Conferences.

Amber Fish Linke, Director of Client and Product Operations at State and Federal Communications, will be offering her expert advice for the Public Affairs Council webinar The Do’s and Don’ts of State-Level Compliance on May 7, at 2:00 p.m.

The program will cover how to remain compliant with pay-to-play, campaign finance, lobbying, PAC management, and procurement laws in the 50 states.

We are excited to be a Gold Sponsor of the Public Affairs Council Spring Executive Meeting 2015 this week in Washington, D.C.!