On June 14, I had the privilege of joining Finance Administrative Assistant Emone Smith and her parents, Stewart and Ethel Satterwhite at a meeting with the Summit Metro Parks at the Himelright Lodge on Cuyahoga Street in Akron. This was an amazing moment of connection, family history, and a glimpse into an important part of Akron’s history.

It all began on April 21, when Emone attended the Akron Roundtable presentation “Summit Metro Parks: Embarking on Our Second Century” by Lisa King, Executive Director, Summit Metro Parks.

Lisa King talked about an important archaeological find on the grounds of the Cascade Valley Metro Park. They found the remains of a house that George C. and Willie Mae Prather built on Honeywell Drive, an unpaved street off Cuyahoga Street. It was one of the homes making up a forgotten, but historically important neighborhood of African Americans in Akron. Eventually, the neighborhood was taken over by a golf course and then by the Metro Parks.

The Cultural Resources Group, made up of archaeologists and historians gathered basic facts and material culture about the neighborhood, but knew very little about the residents’ lives: “We have the dates they were born, when they were married and when they died. George passed away in 1975 and Willie Mae followed in 1983. We know that George worked for Goodyear and at one point Willie Mae worked as a maid. Beyond that, however, we know next to nothing about their lives.” wrote Charlotte Gintert in The Devil Strip 2018.

This is where Emone entered the story. At the Roundtable, she recognized her great aunt Willie Mae’s obituary being shown in the presentation and saw her own address listed! Emone confirmed with her mom that this was in fact her own family and spoke to Lisa King, which led to a set of interviews with Ethel Satterwhite, Emone’s mom.

Ethel and Stewart were able to tell the amazing story of George and Willie Mae Prather, about their lives, their neighborhood, and their church. This was exactly what the park’s archaeological team needed to fill out the story. They couldn’t have gotten this information anywhere else and it is all thanks to Emone attending Akron Roundtable.

During the event at Himelright Lodge, Ethel, Stewart, and Emone had the chance to see some of the 6000 archaeological artifacts, including foundation stones, nails, bed springs, cooking pans, even bits of a phonograph LP! They rode golf carts deep into the park, where the Honeywell Drive neighborhood used to be and saw the archaeological dig at the foundation of Uncle George and Aunt Willie Mae’s house. Ethel Satterwhite teared up when she saw it and said she was grateful to see the place again.

View some photos from this amazing afternoon in the carousel below:

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See us in person! Are you attending any of these events in May? Make sure you say hi to someone from State and Federal!

May 10-13 NCSL Executive Committee Meeting, Denver, CO

May 11 NILE Program on State Lobbying, Washington, D.C.

May 16 Bloomberg Government’s Next Infrastructure, Washington, D.C.

May 17 GPN Infrastructure Week Rooftop Reception, Washington, D.C.

May 17 Akron Roundtable, Akron, OH

May 22 Akron Urban League — Akron Talks, Akron, OH

State and Federal Communications is hitting the ground running in 2018! Catch us at one of these events in January:

January 8-12 PAC: Public Affairs Institute, Laguna Beach, CA

January 9-13 PLEN Women in Public Policy, Washington, D.C.

January 15 Akron Urban League; Remember Dr. King’s Legacy Breakfast, Akron, OH

January 18 Akron Roundtable, Akron, OH

January 24 Akron Press Club, Akron, OH

January 24-27 US Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting, Washington, D.C.

January 26-27 NCSL Executive Committee Meeting, Charleston, S.C.

Attending any of these events in July? State and Federal Communications will see you there!

July 10 Akron Community Foundation’s 62nd Annual Meeting, Akron, OH

July 11 NABPAC Rap Luncheon, Washington, D.C.

July 13-16 National Governors Association 2017 Annual Meeting, Providence, RI

June 20 Akron Roundtable, Akron, OH

Here is our October/November calendar. If you are attending any of these events, please say hello!

October 3   Akron Roundtable 40th Anniversary Celebration Dinner, Akron, Ohio

October 19-21   Public Affairs Council Fall Board Meeting, Laguna Beach, California

October 20   Akron Roundtable, Akron, Ohio

November 10   Professional Women in Advocacy Conference, Washington, DC

November 16-18   NABPAC Biennial Post-Election Conference, Breakers Palm Beach, Florida

November 19-22   SGAC Leaders’ Policy Conference, Dana Point, California

Here is our September/October calendar. If you are attending any of these events, please say hello!

September 8-9   Practising Law Institute, Corporate Political Activities Seminar, Washington, DC

September 15   Akron Roundtable, Akron, OH

September 26-28   PAC State and Local Government Relations Conference, Alexandria, VA

October 3   Akron Roundtable 40th Anniversary Celebration Dinner, Akron, Ohio

October 19-21   Public Affairs Council Fall Board Meeting, Laguna Beach, California

October 20   Akron Roundtable, Akron, Ohio

Here is our August/September calendar. If you are attending any of these events, please say hello!

August 8-11   NCSL 2016 Legislative Summit, Chicago, IL

August 18   Akron Roundtable, Akron, OH

September 7-9   Practising Law Institute, Corporate Political Activities Seminar, Washington, DC

September 15   Akron Roundtable, Akron, OH

September 26-28   PAC State and Local Government Relations Conference, Alexandria, VA

On July 21, Akron, Ohio, welcomed Patrick J. Kennedy as the keynote speaker at Akron Roundtable. Kennedy is a former U.S. congressman and a powerful voice in recognizing mental illness and addiction as a serious concern.

Kennedy spent his 16-year eventful career in Congress fighting to stop the discrimination against mental illness and change societal opinions about those diseases. The fight for change eventually led to Kennedy being the lead sponsor for the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.

“The youngest congressman from the smallest state was the lead sponsor of that act,” said Kennedy. “The other congressman didn’t want their names associated with mental illness.”

Kennedy wrote an inspiring book about his struggle with addiction and how he overcame it. He made it a point to explain that the book broke the “Kennedy silence” and destroyed his relationship with his brother, but being open about his addiction was crucial to his recovery.

Kennedy also spoke about his frustration with the lack of philanthropy for mental illness. “Philanthropists are fine donating a wing at the local hospital around cancer,” said Kennedy. “But when it comes to mental illness, a disease that often affects their family more than anything else, they aren’t ready to put their money behind it.”

The point that mental illness is overlooked and pushed aside was very powerful coming from a former addict. As an audience member sitting in a packed ballroom at the John S. Knight Center, I could feel his passion toward ending the medical discrimination of mental illness. I saw the anger he feels toward nonprofits that could care less about mental illness research. In the end, I could feel the respect he has for someone with a mental illness and his mission to help them recover.

Akron Roundtable has been bringing the world to Akron, Ohio, for forty years and has hosted countless prominent speakers that educate, inspire, and excite the diverse audiences.

Photos by Elysabethe Anderson.

Patrick Kennedy is coming to the John S. Knight Center for Akron Roundtable on Thursday, July 21 at 12:00 p.m.! He will be signing his new book, A Common Struggle, and we are ready!

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

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.

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 very active in our community. I serve on the Board of the Akron Roundtable, a community lunch program who has a mission of “Bringing the World to Akron.” Today, a special program was held featuring Michael Morell, former interim CIA Director, who happens to be from Northeast Ohio. I have asked Team Intern to submit a paragraph about the program.

1. Costa Janos—Sophomore at The Ohio State University—Michael Morell is a local hero to all of us living in Akron, Ohio. He went to Cuyahoga Falls High School and also attended the University of Akron where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Economics. From what he remembers serving as the director of the CIA on September 11, 2001, was very intense as he was briefing President Bush. According to Morell, his list of challengers to the United States are 1) China; 2) Russia; and 3) Middle East. His list of threats to the US are made up of Al–Qaeda and ISIS. The reason he wrote the book was to share with us the amount of time and sacrifice the CIA puts in to help keep our country secure.
2. Sophia Avouris—Freshman at Kent State University–Mr. Morell answered a lot of the questions I had in regards to what exactly was being changed by the Freedom Act and its implications in the surveillance field.  I learned while phone records are available to the government, they are kept by the phone companies and a court order is required for the government to access them.  I was also not aware Al–Qaeda was still considered the biggest threat, as I was under the impression they had lost a lot of their power and their spheres of influence were being taken up by other organizations.  In addition, Morell’s opinion that Snowden was motivated by hubris to be very interesting, and an opinion I have not heard widely discussed in his more recent broadcasts.
3. Nikolas Frazier—Junior at Kent State University—Michael Morell, former CIA Deputy Director, spoke at today’s Akron Roundtable luncheon about his book, The Great War of Our Time. Not only focusing on his book, Morell spoke candidly about his time in the CIA and more specifically, speaking about working as President George W. Bush’s daily briefer and his memory of September 11, 2001. His talk went quickly but all the while was very interesting. I would have liked more time of him especially on his views on North Korea and Iran. Morell also talked about Edward Snowden and attributed his leaking of classified documents as “the greatest loss of secrets in the history of the country.” I look forward to reading the rest of his book.
4. Elizabeth Scozzaro—Junior at Baldwin Wallace—I enjoyed Michael Morell’s words on current events happening in the world. He was a part of the commission that proposed to President Obama to leave monitoring phone calls to the phone companies only. The government can only get phone call data if they have an important reason to ask a phone company for it. Morell also talked about how the TSA recently failed to detect weapons in a passenger screening. He let the audience know the TSA has taken this very seriously and will make improvements. Another current piece of information he shared was mentioning the importance of critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills required from younger people who wish to join the CIA in the future.
5. David Jones—Sophomore at Stark State– Michael Morell former C.I.A Deputy Director was the speaker today. The speaker format was question and answer with Brouse McDowell Partner David Hunter interviewing. When Morell was asked what he considered the biggest threat to national security was he replied, “Al–Qaeda”. Which really surprised me considering the media attention on ISIS. He spoke on how the biggest issue concerning ISIS was instability in the Middle East, but the bigger threat to national security was Al–Qaeda because of its resources and connections. He also hauntingly said if Al–Qaeda were to bring down a plane in the US tomorrow it would not surprise him. He spoke at great length on many topics from cyber security to Snowden, and I will be eagerly listening to it again on June 11^th when it airs on WKSU (wksu.org).
6. David Trujillo—Sophomore at the University of Akron—Michael Morell is an informative and magnetic personality. I have absolutely nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the service he has offered to our country. National Security is a hot button topic with myself and many other service people and to listen to Morell’s take on the state of our national security as well as myriad security threats and challenges are both fascinating and at the same time motivating to get involved in the process of protecting the Homeland. He speaks sternly about serious issues but it is not without his own sense of humor. I have enjoyed reading his book so far and would like to extend my gratitude for allowing me to attend this event today.

I think it is important to hear what our young professionals think about issues affecting us. I travel to DC a lot and am always concerned about these issues.

Thank you for taking the time to read about the Akron Roundtable program. Stay tuned, on June 18^th, we will have NPR Morning Edition Host David Greene in Akron.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz

@elizabethbartz

Photo of Michael Morell by Nikolas Frazier.

The October Akron Roundtable luncheon featured Kent State University President Dr. Beverly Warren. Dr. Warren adjusted her scheduled presentation “Reflections from a New Northeast Ohioan” to address the dramatic events of the past 24 hours revolving around the Ebola crisis. She discussed the university’s crucial role in providing health professionals who are on the front lines meeting the health needs of the community and offered her vision for the future of Kent State University.

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is Vice President of the Kent State University Alumni Board of Directors and enjoyed a visit with Dr. Warren at Akron Roundtable.