Lobby Comply will be taking a one-week break. We’ll be back on Friday, July 10, with our weekly News You Can Use Digest.

Enjoy your week!

Have a happy Fourth of July weekend from all of us here at State and Federal Communications.

July 3, 2015   Washington Nationals Game, Washington, DC

July 7-8, 2015   Wal-Mart Manufacturing Summit, Bentonville, Arkansas

July 12-15, 2015    CSG MLC Annual Meeting, Bismarck, North Dakota

July 13, 2015   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

July 23-26, 2015   NGA Summer Meeting, Greenbrier, West Virginia

July 27, 2015   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

August 4, 2015   Astellas National Women’s Executive Day, Akron, Ohio

August 3-7, 2015   NCSL Legislative Summit, Seattle, Washington

Enjoy these photos from recent June events.

BIO International Convention in Philadelphia, PA.

While at the BIO International Convention in Philadelphia, PA, Elizabeth Z Bartz connected with BIO President and
CEO Jim Greenwood[Top] and Sen. Linda Evans Parlette[Bottom] of Washington.

Akron Roundtable Luncheon with David Greene with reception afterwards at State and Federal Communications

On June 18, 2015, we invited David Greene[Top] of NPR’s Morning Edition to our office for a reception after an Akron Roundtable luncheon.  He generously spoke to many visitors from WKSU [our local NPR station] and friends of State and Federal Communications, Inc.

[photo left to right:  Amanda Rabinowitz, WKSU Reporter/Producer, and David Greene.]
[Photographs by Nikos Frazier, Social Media Intern]

State and Federal Communications employees acknowledged on their anniversary.

Elizabeth with Nola Werren, Esq., Client Specialist – 18 years.

Elizabeth with Nicolette Koozer, Sr. Graphics Coordinator – 14 years.

Elizabeth with Myra Cottrill, Esq. – 7 years.

Elizabeth with Lisa Kot, Research Assistant – 1 year.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. More than 96 percent of U.S. Chamber members are small businesses with 100 employees or fewer.

And State and Federal Communications, Inc. is one of those businesses. More important, this week we celebrate our 22^nd anniversary. In that time, we have grown from two employees to 40 employees. We are considered as one of the companies in NE Ohio providing good professional jobs to the community.

I believe I write about our anniversary every July because it is an important one not only for us but for you, our clients, who keep us motivated every day to continue to bring you updated information about lobbying, political contributions, and procurement issues in the states and now almost 300 municipalities.

We have grown to meet your needs in government relations and public affairs. And we are not going to stop.

1.     Our goal in 2015 is to provide a lobbying interface to help you keep track of your activities for federal reports. In fact, it is almost completed, and we will begin our testing. It is quite amazing, and you will find it easier to insure accurate filing of your LD-2 and LD-203 filings.
2.     Do you know how many times I show up in the Research Department and ask for them to add cities and counties… And they always find more to include. We know you are building facilities and offering services around the country, and these small cities and counties have ordinances affecting your activity. If you are missing one, let us know and we will look it up for you.
3.     And we are growing in more ways than one. In addition to staff, we have seven people expecting babies this quarter…Yes, you heard that right. Between July 5 and August 31, we will have six new State and Federal Communications babies. It is an exciting time for the staff.

There are times I truly miss researching updates, and I do miss preparing lobbying disclosure reports (even that pesky Wisconsin form), but I do love operating this company and making sure we are providing good benefits for the staff. I am excited when I see new cars in the parking lot or when new homes are purchased. I know they are deepening roots in the community and at State and Federal Communications. And, that, my friends is a WIN WIN for all of us.

Until next month, enjoy the holiday weekend, go to a baseball game, and enjoy the summer.

State and Federal Communications is marking 22 extraordinary years of serving our clients! Enjoy this fun video highlighting the year in review.

On June 30, State & Federal Communications attended United Way’s Thirteenth Annual Power of the Purse Luncheon.  Elizabeth Bartz, the company’s president and CEO, introduced Dr. Beverly Warren, president of Kent State University and the event’s keynote speaker.  Dr. Warren gave a talk about the importance of philanthropy and the impact that women have on their community.  She gave numerous examples of women philanthropists from Kent State and around Akron.

The recipient of the 2015 Barbara Matthews Woman Philanthropist of the Year Award was Dr. Deborah Plate, a Family Practice Physician at Akron General Hospital.  Her award was presented by the 2014 recipient, Wendy Bolas.

Employees and Interns of State and Federal Communications spent the day at the United Way Day of Action on June 19, 2015. Along with the team from Omnova Solutions, each volunteer had their hands in the dirt beginning at 9:00 am.

The flower beds around the Lake Anna YMCA building looked more beautiful by the minute, with new mulch surrounding each one. A handful of people planted flowers around the fence of the YMCA garden. Halfway through the day, the YMCA staff provided us with a delicious cookout lunch.

It was rewarding to help out an organization that does so much for the community.

Enjoy this video created by our intern Elizabeth Scozzaro.

Last week, State & Federal Communications attended the monthly Akron Roundtable luncheon at Quaker Square. Previously, Akron Roundtable welcomed Michael Morell, former Deputy Directory of the CIA to talk about his new book, The Great War of Our Time. This week, the host of NPR’s Morning Edition, David Greene talked about his experiences with NPR from his time as one of the White House Correspondents to hosting Morning Edition. After speaking at the luncheon, State and Federal Communications hosted a reception in the office for Greene and WKSU.

Enjoy more photos from this great event on our Facebook.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be a sponsor of The Ohio Society of Washington D.C. Summer Social this evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The event will be held at Tortilla Coast (Capitol Hill Location) on First Street SE.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. is pleased to announce it has become an inaugural partner with AGRP (Association of Government Relations Professionals) for the “Know the States” Educational Series focused on state government relations. As the exclusive sponsor of the series, the company will work in collaboration with AGRP in selection of speakers, content, and help moderate the events.

State and Federal Communications, the premier experts in government relationship compliance, has a long standing relationship of collaboration with AGRP. Many of the company’s staff members as well as President and CEO, Elizabeth Bartz, are members of AGRP.

This series is dedicated to best practices in state government relations. These courses will go beyond the basics to highlight the need-to-know knowledge for state and local lobbyists as well as national associations and firms looking to work in this area. The program will consist of webinars and an in-person event focused solely on state affairs.

According to Bartz, “We are working with Robert Hay, executive director of AGRP, to create a great program to educate its members on the goings on in the states and to make sure there are no assumptions as to using federal law when in the states.”

In our spare time this year, my husband and I said we would chair the Greek Festival at Annunciation Church in Akron this September. This requires a lot of workshops rolling phyllo filled with cheese, spinach, and custard. I have always sent the interns to the church to help out. They learn a lot about volunteering and the volunteers learn a lot about them. Now mind you the volunteers are usually more…mature folks from the church and relish the fact we have so many young people assisting.

Costa Janos–On Monday June 6^th, the interns went to Annunciation Greek Orthodox church to help out with the preparation for the Greek festival in September. Monday’s workshop was to assist the volunteers as they assembled the spinach filled hors d’oeuvres called spanakopita. My specific jobs were to melt the butter, bring the ladies what they needed (filo, spinach, butter, or empty trays), and package the spanakopita. The day seemed to go by very quickly as there was never a moment where we were not moving. The interns worked non-stop to help make the process go quickly and smoothly. At the end of the day, I feel as if this workshop was a success and I cannot wait to go back to the church for the next workshop.

David Trujillo—Spanakopita is a delicious, easy to make, Greek appetizer that is ubiquitously found in Greek homes, Greek restaurants, and Greek cultural festivals. In my experience, in the almost industrialized process of mass production of this tasty Mediterranean treat, I found the aspects of community and togetherness. While the production of 6,000 or so pieces of spanakopita is fast paced, one finds opportunities to exchange pleasantries with some of the friendliest strangers one could ever meet. One finds the people of the Greek Orthodox Church to be extremely pleasant to talk to. One finds themselves enjoying their anecdotes, their takes on different topics on life, even their instructions on how to roll a buttered spinach pie. Mass production of spanakopita brings with it more rewards than simply the knowledge of how to make spanakopita.

Sophia Avouris–My experience at the Annunciation’s Spanakopita Workshop was very fun. Despite the fact we were all working almost constantly, I found myself laughing a lot.  I felt it helped all of us to bond together working outside of the office.  I think bonding experience is important, because it is nice when the friends you make in a work setting are not confined to work, but are friends in other areas.  I really like the internship program here gives us the ability to do community service, as I believe becoming involved at a younger age makes you more likely to be involved as you get older.

Niko Frazier–Spanakopita, where do I begin? We went to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church yesterday and helped make spanakopita, a first for me. I grew up working at the festival and my church’s kitchen, but always with meats. I’ve missed out. I started out the day scooping the spinach filling onto sheets, eight rows of five. After about one hour, I got tired so I decided to go out and start rolling. The rolling was so relaxing and fun. I finished two trays and about six cups of coffee before I was reassigned to packing the frozen rolls into aluminum trays then into the boxes. I cannot wait for the festival so I can finally eat the fruit of my labors.

Elizabeth Scozzaro— On Monday Team Intern helped at the Spanakopita Workshop all day. I did not know what was in store for us because I did not realize there was a 6,000 spanakopita requirement! I began the day being a runner for butter, spinach, and anything else the rollers needed. The rollers were the women who rolled the spinach in the phyllo dough. Eventually, the rollers got behind and I jumped in to help. It was fun to learn how to make one of my favorite foods in the world! Everybody there was kind to us and took much interest in our lives at school and at State and Federal Communications.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. will host a reception for David Greene, host of NPR’s Morning Edition, on June 18. The reception in honor of the nationally renowned journalist and commentator will take place at the State and Federal Communications offices located at 80 South Summit Street, Suite 100 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Immediately prior to this event, Mr. Greene will address attendees of the Akron Roundtable Luncheon.

Since 2012, Mr. Greene has been host of NPR’s Morning Edition along with Steve Inskeep and Renee Mantagne. Prior to this role he was an invaluable NPR foreign correspondent based in Moscow covering the region from Ukraine and the Baltics, east to Siberia. During President George W. Bush’s second term he served as NPR’s White House correspondent, detailing White House visits across the globe.

Mr. Greene has proven himself to be an extraordinarily talented professional in his field, covering historic events such as the 2008 Presidential election, Hurricane Katrina, and the NATO bombing of Tripoli – just to name a few.  He has received the 2011 Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize from WBUR and Boston University for his coverage of the Arab Spring, and the White House Correspondents Association 2008 Merriman Smith award.

The number of municipalities and regional governments our research associates track continues to grow. We now cover almost 300 municipalities and local governments. This is part of a continuous effort to better serve the needs of our clients.

In that effort, we have recently added abridged jurisdictions to our website. These entries, condensed due to the limited number of relevant local laws, provide the core information our clients need for their government relations work.

The new jurisdictions are:

Fairbanks, Alaska

Roanoke, Virginia

San Luis Obispo County, California