The Public Affairs Council asked Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, why she and her staff attend the National Grassroots Conference.

The association is very excited about the approaching event. Their promotion states: “Trust us. You’ll want to be there. But don’t just take our word for it.”

Elizabeth was happy to step forward and here is her response:

State and Federal Communications is proud to be the sponsor for the Live Twitter Board during the event! Don’t miss out on what promises to be an exciting conference by the Public Affairs Council.

The State and Federal Communications Executive Source Guidebook – our annual compendium to our website – has been published and is going out today via USPS Media Mail. Those of you who are subscribing to our services will be receiving one on your doorstep soon!

Since this is the last week of the year, I wondered which blog posts received the most visits, so I ran a content report for the past year and I thought I would share with you what I found. Here are the most-read blog posts of 2012:

The top spot goes to …

1. Highlighted Site Of The Week – All The Presidents’ Money by Emily Kesler (for the second year)

followed by

2. Eye on the Races – Electoral Math: A Brief Primer on the Electoral College by Jon Spontarelli
3. Who Were the One Term Presidents? by Nicolette Koozer

4. Living Interns in Akron by Maria Varonis

5. Ask the Experts – Using Federal PAC Funds to Contribute to State Candidates by Nola Werren (for the second year)

Take a look at last year’s Top Blog Posts entry here.

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 2013.

We wish you a beautiful New Year.

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

January 29-30, 2013  GOVERNING’s Outlook in the States & Localities Conference 2013: The Power of States and Localities,
Washington, D.C.

February 5-8, 2013   Public Affairs Council National Grassroots Conference, Key West, Florida

February 22-25, 2013   National Governors Association Winter Meeting Washington, D.C.

We have many things for which we are thankful at State and Federal Communications. Before the day gets away from us, we would like to thank you for following Lobby Comply Blog.

We have had a great year and look forward to giving our very best service to our clients in 2013. Health and happiness to you and to your families.

From all of us at State and Federal Communications, we wish you Happy Holidays!

Thank you to our intern Zack Koozer for creating this video.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL) for a great conference in Columbus. Eleven of our staff from State and Federal Communications attended, and we had a terrific experience. There were so many information-packed sessions and it was nice to see old friends and make some new ones.

Here is a little video montage we made about our COGEL 2012 experience.  Enjoy!

This holiday season the staff of State and Federal Communications participated in a giving tree with bit of a different aim. We worked with Summit County Children Services and their Emancipating Youth Program to help outfit apartments for children who reach adult age and will no longer receive services from the agency.

The wish list we were filling were all practical things – the things anyone would need to run a house – pots and pans, towels, lamps, kitchen items, cleaning supplies, etc. Children who have been receiving help from Children Services often become a forgotten group as soon as they reach adult age. This program helps each one of them get some of the things they need to start running their own home.

Thank you, Summit County Children Services, for this crucial program. We felt it was a privilege to do our part to help!

Every year the staff of State and Federal Communications gathers for a holiday celebration. This year we had a delightful dinner at Luigi’s Restaurant, and then came back to the office for a cubicle decorating contest, a round of Name that Tune, plus laughing, visiting, and lots of eggnog and desserts.

As a special treat, we had the chance to have our caricature done by a wonderful local artist named Kari Fry. What a hoot!

The party was a treat and we would like to say thank you to Elizabeth Bartz for making it happen!

Each of them, as well as eight more of us from State and Federal Communications, attended the Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL) in Columbus, Ohio last week. Each of them presented at the conference and took the work they do every day and shared it with others.

Jim Sedor is our in-house rock star. He is Editor of News You Can Use our weekly news service we provide to all of our clients. We know now difficult it is to read 100 newspapers a week so we…I mean, Jim…helps you out by reviewing them for you. At COGEL, Jim spoke at one of the breakfast table topics on Monday, December 4th on How Do You Use the News.

John Cozine is the Research Manager and oversees a group of attorneys reviewing states, municipalities, and Canadian provinces and territories to make sure our website has all of the information our clients need for lobbying, political contributions, procurement lobbying, pay-to-play, gift laws, legislative sessions, and on and on and on. At COGEL he led a breakfast table topic on Monday about the Popular Vote vs. the Electoral College.

Joe May, Social Media Coordinator, had an encore performance of an earlier presentation—DIY Outreach and Education: e-Learning and Beyond.

Joe has taken State and Federal Communications and put us on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Lobby Comply blog, and even You Tube (State and Federal Communications TV). He has conducted presentations to federal government agency staff and at the Heartland Group (a regional part of COGEL) on how everything can work together to reach people using social media…and that includes a lot of people.

I love sharing my staff with others. They are in the trenches and making sure we are always providing our clients with up-to-the-minute news.

Until next month, we wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and a Happy New Year. We look forward to 2013 and know you will be extremely busy with every state’s legislature in session.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be one of the sponsors for the Women in Government Relations PACs, Politics and Grassroots Taskforce Annual Conference. Federal Compliance Associate Rebecca South will represent the company at the event and will be moderating a panel of experts discussing the impact of money in politics in the post-Citizens United, Super PAC world.

The conference will also feature Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report, as well as leading fundraising experts, top Congressional staff, representatives from Twitter, ASAE, the U.S. Chamber, the NCSL, grassroots leaders and more!

State and Federal Communications is excited to be sending 11 people to the Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL) 34th Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio. We are excited to have the conference in our home state capitol and we are helping every way we can – setting up, breakfast table topic leaders, a panelist for a breakout session, helping with social media, and more! It should be an exciting conference.

Maybe we’ll see you there?

Here is COGEL’s description of the conference:

JOIN US

COGEL and its Ohio Partners invite you to the 34th Annual Conference in COLUMBUS, Ohio! This thought provoking and educational conference is an opportunity to celebrate US — professionals in the fields of ethics, campaign finance, lobbying, elections and freedom of information.

FOCUS

With dynamic sessions, stimulating guest speakers, challenging discussions and endless opportunities for networking, this year’s COGEL Conference is not to be missed! The program includes elements of communicating your mission, understanding new technology, and catching up on legislation and litigation.

BONUS

There’s always something fun happening in Ohio’s capital city. With a lively arts scene, plenty of restaurants, shops, sports and entertainment venues, you don’t have to venture far to have a good time. This year’s Sunday evening reception will take place in the beautiful and historic Ohio Statehouse, directly across the street from the Sheraton Hotel at Capitol Square.