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.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be a sponsor of the WKSU John Hockenberry event, which is coming to Akron and Kent on May 7! The award-winning journalist and host of The Takeaway will be appearing at WKSU for the morning broadcast of the radio program and at the Actors’ Summit in Akron at 7:30 p.m.

 

State and Federal Communications employees acknowledged on their anniversary.

 

 

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

April 27, 2015   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

May 6, 2015   WGR Spring Reception at the Willard Hotel, Washington, DC

May 7, 2015   State Legislative Leaders Foundation’s DC Dialogue: A Conversation about Ethics and Campaigns, Washington, DC

May 7, 2015   John Hockenberry at WKSU, Akron, Ohio

May 11, 2015   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

May 12, 2015   Go Red for Women, Akron, Ohio

May 14-16, 2015   Women in Government – Western Regional Conference, Denver, Colorado

June 4-6, 2015   NCSL Executive Committee Spring Meeting, Denver, Colorado

More than 26,000 Summit County (Ohio) residents and their families turn to the ADM (Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health) Board for treatment and support. The care runs through their lifespan: from services and programs for toddlers to older adults. ADM provides preventive and treatment services, housing support, employment assistance, transportation, respite, peer support, recreation, and education services.

How does State and Federal Communications, Inc. help ADM? We contribute annually to its ADM Recovery Challenge 5K. The campaign helps raise money for when ADM has to go to the ballot and ask the Summit County voters to vote to support the levy. The State of Ohio allows the County Board of Elections to charge the groups going on the ballots so ADM needs to raise even more money.

Why am I bringing this up? Because your county has some form of an ADM program helping those who cannot help themselves. The road to recovery is challenged by many obstacles. In recognizing the challenges of recovery, ADM provides this obstacle course for fun competition for athletes of all ages and abilities. The obstacles included in this race course metaphorically represent the challenges persons often face during the process of recovery from an addition or mental health condition.

There are always ways to help in your own community. Help those less fortunate. It is amazing how appreciative the group is towards your involvement. Until next month, make a change for yourself and for your community.

Thank you,
Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

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

 

It was a big day for the United Way of Summit County and State and Federal Communications had a big presence at the event. Many of our team were there to celebrate another record-breaking campaign. Elizabeth Bartz, our president and CEO was among the Board Members being honored as they finish their 6 years of amazing service, and she addressed the crowd on their behalf.

For the seventh year in a row, State and Federal Communications received an award for “Highest Per Employee Corporate Giving” in the category of 49 and fewer employees. We love the United Way of Summit County and look forward to more opportunities to Live United!

Here is our April-May calendar. State and Federal Communications will be attending these events. If you plan to be there as well, be sure to say hello!

April 13   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

April 14   Ohio Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Legislative Reception, Columbus, Ohio

April 22-23   Public Affairs Council Spring Executive Meeting, Washington, DC

April 27   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

April 30   DiversityBusiness.com Annual Program, New York City, NY

May 14-16   Women in Government – Western Regional Conference, Denver, Colorado

June 4-6   NCSL Executive Committee Spring Meeting, Denver, Colorado

Last month at the Public Affairs Council PAC Conference someone came up to me and was surprised our website could be viewed on an iPhone. Well, I guess we have not done a good job of getting the good word out.

In 2013, we updated our website and one of the fabulous benefits is the ability to view it on all devices…As pictured, I have it on my iPhone 6, iPhone 6+, iPad, and my new Surface. My Executive Director Ren Koozer has it on his Droid phone. You can bring it up everywhere you can bring up other websites.

There is nothing better than being able to answer someone’s questions wherever I am in the world … and I get a lot of questions everywhere. Now you do not need to know where I am as long as you have access to www.stateandfed.com and a subscription to our online guides on lobbying, campaign finance, and procurement.

We will continue to shout this from the rooftops because we know we have the #1 site to access the information you need to know for your government relations or procurement lobbying work.

You just cannot buy it at the iTunes store…But, you can contact us from your smart phone, and we can help set up your subscription. Well, I think I just gave you something other than Words with Friends to do on your phone!!

Until next month, stay connected with State and Federal Communications. We will always have the information you need, wherever you may be.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

Editors don’t have glamorous jobs. After all, how glamorous can you be with your fingers stained red by ink? But despite the lack of glitz, I am one of many editors lucky enough to work for a company that recognizes the important role I play in the organization.

Editors are vital to every company because we can be the last line of defense between an organization looking professional or becoming a late night joke. We work hard to make sure our company and colleagues look their best; thus, we continue to develop our skills and talents.

With these goals in mind, four of us attended the 19^th annual American Copy Editors Society conference at the end of March. We went to learn new tricks, brush up our skills, and discover new ways to help our company stay (grammar) compliant.

It was three days packed with grammar reviews, hints and tips on editing, and the ever important AP Style updated. It was also three days of meeting editors and talking shop between sessions. No one gets into a discussion about using a singular “they” and enjoys it as much as editors.

It was Comma-Con, as Katie Antonsson described in her ACES blog post. Pittsburgh was THE place to be for all those who love words and for whom editing is a calling, not just a job.

But, the fun hasn’t ended just because we are now back in Akron. Now we get to implement the ideas and techniques we learned about. I get to dig back into my stack of editing with renewed vigor. And I get to revel in a little bit of notoriety in the office as one of the copy editors featured in a little BuzzFeed piece called “30 Copy Editors Tell Us Their Pet Peeves.”

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and Federal Compliance Associate Rebecca South are attending the Advocacy Leaders Network – Reaching Capitol Hill: The Class of 2015 event today in Washington, D.C.

As leaders in government relations compliance, we value the opportunity to attend this forum!

 

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications offers her congratulations to Bob Kulinski, United Way of Summit County President and CEO as he wraps up 15 amazing years of service. Thank you, Bob for all you have done for Akron and Summit County!

For the second year in a row, State and Federal Communications is sending a team to the American Copy Editors Society (ACES) annual conference. This year the conference is being held March 26 – 28 in Pittsburgh. It is a great place for editors to brush up their skills and to keep up with changes in the field.

ACES annual conference also provides opportunities to learn new skills. There are sessions on the core editing skills, fact-checking, editing for social media, and getting the most out of style guides.

This conference is a great opportunity, as many of us put on the editor’s cap every day to ensure our information isn’t just factually correct, but also grammatically correct. We work to ensure everything is spelled and punctuated correctly because we agree with ACES President Teresa Schmedding: people care about good grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

And because we know you care, we are off to Pittsburgh to learn, to hone, and to ensure our skills are up to your standards.

To learn more about ACES and the important role of editors and copy editors, check out their website at www.copydesk.org.