Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is speaking today in Washington, D.C. at the American League of Lobbyists State Lobbying Educational Seminar. The event is part of the group’s Lobbying Certificate Program.

According to the event details on the American League of Lobbyists website, this is the aim of the session:

“For many in D.C., lobbying starts with what goes on in the Beltway. But it doesn’t end there. No organization or corporation seeking to fulfill their entire legislative agenda can rely solely on federal lobbying. State-level lobbying, however, comes with an entirely new set of regulations and compliance landmines than federal lobbying. Did you know that ‘lobbying activities’ has a different definition depending where you are and to correctly filing disclosure forms takes a whole new process? Plus, even if you simply want to monitor what’s going on at the state level, you’ve got to coordinate effectively with different in-house or entirely new outside government relations teams.”

The United Way of Summit County held their 2012 Annual Meeting at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio on Wednesday, April 25. After a very successful 2011 campaign, State and Federal Communications received two awards in recognition of its efforts.

Along with nine other organizations, the company was given the Campaign Chair Award. According to the United Way, this award was “presented to organizations for extraordinary achievement, outstanding increases and successful first-time campaigns.”

State and Federal Communications also received the “Highest Per Employee Corporate Giving Award” in the category of a company with 49 or fewer employees.

Thank you United Way of Summit County. We are thrilled to be a part of the amazing work you do each year. And thank you to everyone here at State and Federal Communications for their generous effort to make our campaign a success!

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, was a presenter at the National Summit on Strategic Communications in Washington, D.C. yesterday.

The session was “Lobbying and Advocacy: Winning Strategies for Changing Times.” According to the conference agenda, the discussion consisted of the following:

“Thousands of political players, representing various causes, lobby on issues through diverse and fluid factions. Some research suggests that these factions often cancel each other out and prevent disruptive swings in public policy. Yet, this is no reason for organizations to step away from political involvement. As agencies and governments struggle with growing needs for services and large budget cuts, companies will be expected to play an even greater role in addressing society’s problems and advocating for solutions.”

The panel featured Elizabeth Bartz and Story Partners Chairperson Gloria Story Dittus, and was moderated by Tim Flaherty, Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, appears in the April 2012 issue of Akron Life magazine. The publication is featuring a special supplement honoring the American Heart Association’s ninth Go Red for Women campaign.

What is Go Red for Women, you ask?

According to their site, “Cardiovascular disease claimed the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year, yet women were not paying attention. In fact, many even dismissed it as an ‘older man’s disease.’ To dispel the myths and raise awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women, the American Heart Association created Go Red For Women – a passionate, emotional, social initiative designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health.”

Elizabeth Bartz is one of the Circle of Red Members – women who are leaders in their community, each offering resources, time, and influence to find a cure for heart disease. She is quoted, “I go red for my mom, my sisters, my daughter, my aunts, my cousins, and all of my friends.”

For those of you in Northeast Ohio, find a copy of Akron Life magazine. The Go Red for Women feature will inspire you!

William Pound, the President of the National Conference of State Legislatures, wrote a letter to the editor in The New York Times. It is a response to a recent editorial “The States Get a Poor Report Card,” which disparages the ethics oversight of the states and their ability to perform other vital government functions. The editorial comes after the Center for Public Integrity gave many states a poor or failing grade in the area of ethics.

Pound responds: “In the tradition of our founding fathers, most state lawmakers are citizen-legislators. You cite a study that graded states poorly on ethics issues, yet you did not acknowledge that the overwhelming majority of the 7,382 state legislators are honorable public servants.”

Pound also compares the record of ethics agencies in state governments with the public’s current lack of trust regarding the performance of the U.S. Congress. Be sure to read the full letter here.

Thank you to Elizabeth Bartz for bringing this article to our attention.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is attending the State Government Affairs Council’s (SGAC) Annual Meeting. Bartz is the president of the Board of Directors of SGAC, the national association for multi-state government affairs professionals.

The event runs from March 21-23 and is being held in Boston, Massachusetts.

You can follow the Twitter conversations from the conference with the hashtag #SGACAnnualMtg12.

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.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, joined other business leaders from Ohio in a public statement of support for U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

According to a press release:

Business leaders from across Ohio announced their support of Senator Sherrod Brown today in a statement citing his strong record of fighting for Ohio jobs and businesses. The announcement highlights Sen. Brown’s efforts to fight China’s illegal currency manipulation and cut down on outsourcing, both of which costs Ohio jobs.

The public statement opens with the following:

“As business leaders in Ohio we know that Senator Sherrod Brown is a champion for Ohio’s business community and is fighting everyday for Ohio jobs and businesses. We urge Ohioans across the state not to believe third-party attack ads that say otherwise. Sherrod Brown has consistently demonstrated that Ohio jobs are his top priority and his commitment to strengthening Ohio employers will not waver. When it comes to Ohio’s business community, Senator Sherrod Brown is ready and willing to help.“

To read the full text and see the other supporters in the statement, you can find the press release at this link.

Amol Naik from Google, Elizabeth Bartz of State and Federal Communications, Ken Gross from Skadden Arps, and Michael Toner from Wiley Rein will be making up the Compliance Dream Team.

Bring your compliance concerns. This is your opportunity to unleash all those difficult questions regarding compliance issues.

Don’t miss the Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference. See you there!

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is attending today’s NCSL Foundation Bi-Annual Luncheon.

NCSL Executive Director Bill Pound will be talking about top issues this legislative session.

Appearing one time only at the Public Affair Council National PAC Conference is the Compliance Dream Team! I am extremely excited and honored to pair up with The Extra Honorable Ken Gross, The Mighty Honorable Michael Toner, and New Kid on The Block Amol Naik from Google to hear your confessions and questions.

This session will present a series of complicated and pertinent compliance questions to the panel for our expert response. There will also be an opportunity to submit anonymous compliance missteps for us to hear and provide corrective action.

This is bigger than Broadway…Larger than Hollywood. And, it will only happen on Tuesday, February 28^th at Portofino Bay, Orlando, Florida. Join us at the Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference.

Looking forward to seeing you out and about!

Elizabeth Bartz

President and CEO, State and Federal Communications, Inc.