April 3-5, 2011 – NASPO, Boston, Massachusetts

April 14-16, 2011 – NCSL Spring Forum, Washington, D.C.

April 20, 2011 – DiversityBusiness.com Award, Washington, D.C.

May 5-6, 2011 – Ohio State Bar Association Annual Convention, Booth 5, Columbus, Ohio

May 5-7, 2011 – NCSL Spring Executive Committee Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and staff members attended Akron’s State of the City Address, which was presented by Mayor Don Plusquellic. The luncheon was held at the Tangier.

Mayor Plusquellic discussed the challenges Akron faces in the difficult economy amid state and federal budget cuts to local causes. He also praised the hard work of City of Akron employees, as well as the dedicated work of the police, the firefighters, and the school teachers.

Plusquellic spoke of balancing the city’s budget, of exciting economic opportunities with the development of Akron’s biomedical corridor, and of manufacturing initiatives such as $1 million in seed money from Medical Mutual to help establish small businesses.

You can read the full text of the address here.

Here are a few scenes from the Public Affairs National PAC Conference 2011 in Florida.  We have here the Monday reception and the Tuesday breakfast.

State and Federal Communications will be attending the Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference in Miami Beach, Florida from February 21-24.

Just as it always is with the Public Affairs Council conferences, the agenda looks rewarding. We are excited to be going – to see old friends and to meet new ones.

If you are planning to be there too, please come and say hello! If you’re not planning on attending the conference, fear not – you can follow the conversations on Twitter: @PACouncil #PAC11 and keep up on Facebook. These are definitely worth “following and friending”.

Maybe we’ll see you there!

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown spoke at the Akron Roundtable January Luncheon. State and Federal Communications had the honor of sponsoring the event and we were excited to be in attendance as well!

Senator Brown’s presentation topic was: “Made in Ohio: Why the U.S. Needs a National Manufacturing Strategy”. A great proponent of American manufacturing, Brown spoke about the need for students to be encouraged to study hard in math and engineering. He believes young students would be inspired by having tours of manufacturing plants to find out how things are made.

Brown recognized the economic challenges facing Ohio and the nation. But he pointed out that out of all the states, Ohio is ranked third in the nation in manufacturing and has a long tradition of hard work and innovation. He believes we have every reason to be optimistic about regaining a strong manufacturing future.

We are thankful for the Akron Roundtable for their 35 years of bringing a world of ideas to our town. A big thanks as well goes to Elizabeth Bartz for giving us the opportunity to meet Senator Brown and to hear his presentation.

Photo by Nicolette Koozer.

All of the legislatures, even those that do not meet every year, are in session in 2011.  Thus, it is important to know the registration obligations for your lobbyists in all of the jurisdictions in which they will be active.  The most important pieces of information you need to know are whether they will need to register and when the registration will need to be filed.  Many jurisdictions have a threshold, based on expenditures, salary, or time spent lobbying, that needs to be crossed before registration is required.  Depending on your situation, you may not need to register if your lobbying activities will be minimal.  Many other jurisdictions, however, have no threshold and will require registration before or within a certain amount of time of your lobbyist engaging in lobbying.

This brings up an important point:  it is crucial that you understand what activities comprise lobbying in the jurisdiction.  A lobbyist may meet the definition of “lobbyist” before contact is even made with an official.  And do not forget that once registered, you will have ongoing reporting requirements.  Illinois and Georgia, in particular, will have more frequent reporting than in past years. (more…)

Alexandra Constantinou, who worked as an intern with Jim Sedor on our News You Can Use™ publication, attended the 108th Charity Ball for Akron Children’s Hospital. The event took place on December 28th, with the festivities including the presentation of 35 debutantes. The aim of the ball was to raise $100,000 for the hospital.

Alexandra interned at State and Federal Communications during the summer of 2009 and is currently studying in the Honors College at The Ohio State University.

Here is an Akron Beacon Journal article featuring the event.

Photo of Alexandra Constantinou and her family.

As we bid goodbye to 2010, we are also saying goodbye to Research Associate David Dobo, Esq. He is leaving to work for newly elected Congressman Jim Renacci.

Congressman-elect Renacci won the seat from Congressman John Boccieri who only had it for two years after Congressman Ralph Regula retired in 2008.

David came to State and Federal Communications after working as a District Aide for Congressman Regula. He is returning as a Constituent Service Representative for the 16^th District. His past 15 months at the company have helped us increase the information posted on our website.

We will miss his knowledge on government history.  We wish him all the best as he returns to a role that is in his DNA and that is helping people in Ohio.

State and Federal currently offers coverage for 187 municipalities, in addition to the 50 U.S. states, other U.S. jurisdictions, and Canada.

We have added six new jurisdictions for which our online clients will find comprehensive, timely, and accurate information that includes: complete calendar of reporting deadlines; critical statutory citations; extensive directories of contact information; summaries of each state law; detailed reference charts on goods and services contributions; highlights of every statute; copies of all required forms; and much more.

The new jurisdictions are:

• Bridgeport, CT
• Huntsville, AL
• Provo, UT
• Rockford, IL
• West Valley City, UT
• Winston-Salem, NC

The image of North America by Bosonic dressing on Wikipedia.

As we looked into the new year, we noticed we have a busy schedule in the next few months! Here is a list of the future events where State and Federal Communications will be attending and/or speaking regarding compliance issues. If you are attending any of these conferences, please come and say hello. We would love to see you!

January 9-13, 2011                  PAC Public Affairs Institute, Laguna Beach, California

January 13, 2011                      WASRG Welcome Reception, Washington, D.C.

January 25-28, 2011               PAC Grassroots Conference, Key West, Florida

February 1-2, 2011                   Governing Outlook in the States, Washington, D.C.

February 8-10, 2011                 Innovate to Motivate, San Antonio, Texas

February 22-25, 2011              PAC PAC Conference, Miami, Florida

March 30-April 1, 2011            SGAC Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas

April 3-5, 2011                            NASPO, Boston, Massachusetts

Here at State and Federal Communications, we have many things for which we are thankful. As we begin to wrap up the day and go home, we would like to thank you for following Lobby Comply. We have had a great year and look forward to giving our very best service in 2011.

Health and happiness to you and your families in 2011.

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

Photo of the wreath by Kevin Kahle on Wikipedia.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. had a month-long gift wrapping fundraiser to benefit the United Way of Summit County.  Promoted as “giving YOU the gift of time” employees in the building brought their unwrapped gifts to be expertly wrapped and returned ready to be put under the tree.

Packages of all sizes and shapes came through the doors and the elves tackled each corner to impress.  Participants of the fundraiser made personal donations to the United Way.  All donations were matched by State and Federal Communications and were forwarded to United Way.

Happy Holidays.