On the third Thursday of each month, State and Federal Communications attends the Akron Roundtable luncheons. However, July 17th was a special day for us. The luncheon featured keynote speaker Diane Laney Fitzpatrick, author of the book Home Sweet Homes: How Bundt Cakes, Bubble Wrap, and My Accent Helped Me Survive Nine Moves.
 Our President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz, a dear friend and fellow Kent State alum of Fitzpatrick, introduced the Ohio native at the Roundtable to talk about how “The Journey of a Thousand Miles… is for Amateurs” and just how she has redefined the meaning of “stay-at-home-mom.” The entire audience was often thrown into spells of laughter as Fitzpatrick comically recalled the eight lessons she learned through her 7,000 mile journey across the states.

Immediately following the program, State and Federal Communications hosted a reception for the speaker, held on the second floor of our building. A large portion of the crowd from the Roundtable luncheon attended the gathering and enjoyed the refreshments as well as a second opportunity to talk with Fitzpatrick. Towards the end of the reception, Elizabeth presented the speaker a Greater Akron book with a spread featuring State and Federal Communications. It was the perfect gift for Fitzpatrick to keep Akron in the back of her mind just in case she ever wants to return!

State and Federal Communications proudly sponsored today’s Akron Roundtable luncheon at the Quaker Station in Akron, Ohio. “Bringing the World to Akron” is the motto of this crucial speaker series and today’s event was one of the best.

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of the company, introduced the distinguished speakers, Ohio State Senator Frank LaRose and former State Representative Ted Celeste. Their topic was timely and well-needed: “Building Trust Through Civil Discourse.”

The discussion was amazing. You can listen to the Akron Roundtable broadcast this evening on 89.7 WKSU at 8:00 p.m.

State and Federal Communications is a big fan of the Akron Roundtable and we attend their speaker series luncheon each month. “Bringing the World to Akron” is the Roundtable’s motto, and for us this is especially true this month.

We are very proud to sponsor this month’s speaker, David Adkins, who is the Executive Director and CEO of the Council of State Governments (CSG). Mr. Adkins will be speaking on “The State of the States” with insight and perspectives you can find nowhere else!

CSG is the only nonpartisan, nonprofit organization serving all three branches of government.

Following the Akron Roundtable luncheon, State and Federal Communications will be offering a warm Akron reception honoring Mr. Adkins. The reception will take place from 1:15 to 3:30 at our office located across the street from the Quaker Station at 80 South Summit Street, Suite 100, Akron.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Alexis Pope at 330-761-9960.

Getting dressed in the morning for a fashion designer is one of the harder things I’ve done. I did know one thing: I couldn’t wear a button-up shirt.

On March 21, Rochelle Behrens, Founder and CEO of The Shirt by Rochelle Behrens, flew in from Washington, D.C. to pay the city of Akron, and State and Federal Communications, a visit.

Our Founder and CEO, Elizabeth Bartz, met Rochelle while in Washington and, impressed with her story, invited Ms. Behrens to speak at Akron Roundtable—the city’s formative speaker series, held downtown at Quaker Square.

So she came. Rochelle spoke to a full room dining on beef tips and tofu and discussed how she utilized one particular struggle she faced as a lobbyist in Washington, and turned it into her new career: a designer and an innovator in the fashion world. “I wore every day what I thought was the perfect uniform: a button-down shirt. Turns out, that one item was undermining my credibility and doing everything but promoting me as a young professional,” she said. In other words, the old standby: “was gaping open in all the wrong places.”

From here, Rochelle created The Shirt. And it won’t gap, or gape, at all. Her patented Dual Button Technology™ got her to Oprah, who named this product her “Must Have Fashion Item of the Year.” The Shirt was featured on The Today Show and in The New York Times, and Rochelle was listed as one of Inc. magazine’s “30 under 30: America’s Coolest Entrepreneurs.” That’s pretty cool.

After Roundtable, Ms. Behrens joined us at our offices across the street for a reception where she spoke to our staff, our guests, and fashion students from Kent State University and the University of Akron. She offered insight and tips about her successful plight as a young woman into the world of business. “It’s not just about fashion,” she said, citing confidence in clothing as key to self-assurance in the workplace. “It really is about female empowerment.”

Video created by Maria Varonis.

One of the first events I attended when I moved to Akron in 1993 was Akron Roundtable. It was a bargain at $6 for a great lunch, great speaker, and we even had a silent prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. I lived in the DC area for 12 years and never started a program with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now, 20 years later I serve on this great board. Akron Roundtable was started in 1976 as a community forum to encourage and bring bold, creative, and new ideas to the region. To date, more than 400 major corporate executives, writers, government officials, artists, and civic leaders from around the country have addressed the Akron Roundtable audience.

And, on April 18th, we will have David Adkins, Executive Director of the Council of State Governments, as our speaker. CSG is the country’s only organization serving all three branches of state government. It is a region-based forum, which fosters the exchange of insight and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. David is a former Kansas state senator and served as vice chancellor for External Affairs at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Many of us know David from our work with State Government Affairs Council and being a CSG Associate. This is the first time CSG has been represented at Akron Roundtable.

State and Federal Communications will hold a reception for David Adkins and the CSG family after the Akron Roundtable program. Its offices are across the street from the event. For more information about attending the program go to www.akronroundtable.org.

Until next month, make your reservations to be in Akron on April 18th. It will be a great day with David in town. And, if you have to spend the night—and who wouldn’t want to—John Lithgow is part of the University of Akron’s speaker series that evening at EJ Thomas Hall. If we can be of assistance in planning your day, please do not hesitate to contact me at ebartz@stateandfed.com.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Bartz

President and CEO, State and Federal Communications

Eric Nuzum, Vice President for Programming at National Public Radio, spoke today at The Akron Roundtable. In his presentation – “Dare to Listen” – Nuzum gave the audience a bit of his background from his days attending Kent State University and working at WKSU before heading to Washington D.C. to work for NPR. He also spoke about the importance and resilience of radio at a time of great changes in media.

As public and political discourse has often become polarizing, extreme, and perhaps even uncivil, Eric Nuzum stressed the need for each of us listen to each other and especially to listen to those who may have a different perspective than our own.

Thank you Eric and thank you Akron Roundtable for offering us such an energizing and uplifting talk!

The presentation will be broadcast tonight at 7:00 PM on 89.7 WKSU.

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.