State and Federal Communications is proud to be a sponsor of the Professional Women in Advocacy Conference on November 16-17, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

We are also excited to announce Elizabeth Bartz will be moderating the Tuesday lunch discussion panel Been There, Done That: Words of Wisdom and Experience.

The amazing panel lineup includes Gloria Dittus, chairman of Story Partners; Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP; and Ambassador Connie Morella.

The Association of Government Relations Professionals is pleased to announce the following individuals will be recognized at the AGRP Annual Meeting (November 12) for their contributions to the profession and the organization.

Volunteer of the Year – Elizabeth Bartz of State and Federal Communications, Inc.
This award recognizes a volunteer member who has gone beyond the call of duty voluntarily in offering exemplary service on behalf of the Association of Government Relations Professionals — its mission, membership, and the profession.

AGRP established this annual award to appropriately recognize an individual who has displayed vision, support, and leadership toward improving the lobbying profession and unselfishly supporting the work of the association’s board of directors

Elizabeth Bartz is the founder, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, Inc. from Akron, Ohio. She is the lead planner annually for the State Lobbying LCP program and regularly supports her staff in earning their Professional Lobbying Certificate. Ms. Bartz is also a supporter of AGRP’s initiative to recruit more state and local members and is sponsoring a new state lobbying series in 2016. Through her work in the states and outside-the-beltway, she has raised AGRP’s profile to this important audience. Since 2008, 11 staff from State and Federal Communications have completed the year-long Lobbying Certificate Program.

AGRP will also recognize Patrick Cooney from the DC-based The Federal Group as Government Relations Professional of the Year and Jim Clarke, from the American Society of Association Executives is receiving the Career Achievement Award.

About the Association of Government Relations Professionals
Originally established in 1979 as the American League of Lobbyists (ALL) – now re-named the Association of Government Relations Professionals (AGRP) – the association is the national professional society dedicated exclusively to government relations, public policy and lobbying. AGRP’s mission is to enhance the development of the profession, competence, and high ethical standards for advocates in the public policy arena; and to collectively address the challenges affecting the First Amendment right to “petition the Government for redress of grievances.” The goal is to contribute to openness, transparency, effectiveness, and ethical conduct in the pursuit of “good government” practices. For more information, visit http://grprofessionals.org

AKRON­, Ohio— Project GRAD Akron honored Elizabeth Z. Bartz and State and Federal Communications, Inc., with 2015 Community Service Awards at the Ninth Annual Achieving Dreams Celebration on Oct. 1.  The award honors those who have shown exceptional service in the community and a commitment to Project GRAD. Also receiving the award was Judi Hill, retired educator and administrator from the Akron Public Schools.

Dr. Beverly Warren, president of Kent State University, and Honorary Chairperson for the event presented the awards. Bartz has served on the Achieving Dreams Steering Committees and chaired the Silent Auction Committee. The staff of State and Federal Communications also donated their time with administrative, technical and communications support for Project GRAD.

Project GRAD Akron is a non-profit organization that provides educational programming and support for students in Akron Public Schools. Proceeds raised from the Achieving Dreams Celebration are used to support Project GRAD Akron’s programs, services, and scholarship fund.

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, has a full schedule this week in Washington, D.C.

A leading expert in government relations compliance, Bartz was featured in the “Successful State Lobbying Today” session of the Association of Government Relations Professionals State Lobbying LCP program on Monday, October 19.

On Tuesday, October 20, Bartz presented a webinar for the State Government Affairs Council (SGAC). She was joined by Gerard Dehrmann of Walmart Stores and SGAC President 2015-2016.

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, Inc., was invited to close out the last session for students in a five-week public affairs class at Kent State University. Bartz led a discussion of why it is so important to understand state and federal laws when assisting clients and how it may affect decision-making. She encouraged the students to stay true to themselves and remember to remain ethical during those tough decisions.

The class is for students in The School of Journalism and Mass Communications (JMC) who have an interest in government relations. JMC Director Thor Wasbotten also had a chance to stop by.

President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz has been featured in the milestone section of Crain’s Cleveland Business – Akron News.

Her dedication and hard work for the past 22 years has established State and Federal Communications, Inc. as the Compliance Standard in government affairs as it relates to state and federal laws and regulations.

You’ll find the feature article here.

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications is excited to stand with the Akron community in celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Akron Urban League. The Urban League held its 90th Anniversary Gala event on Friday, August 21, 2015. Our company was proud to be a Gold Sponsor.

Bartz took to the stage to help with the event’s live auction. She serves as a member of the Urban League’s Board of Directors as well as on the 90th Anniversary Gala Committee.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. More than 96 percent of U.S. Chamber members are small businesses with 100 employees or fewer.

And State and Federal Communications, Inc. is one of those businesses. More important, this week we celebrate our 22^nd anniversary. In that time, we have grown from two employees to 40 employees. We are considered as one of the companies in NE Ohio providing good professional jobs to the community.

I believe I write about our anniversary every July because it is an important one not only for us but for you, our clients, who keep us motivated every day to continue to bring you updated information about lobbying, political contributions, and procurement issues in the states and now almost 300 municipalities.

We have grown to meet your needs in government relations and public affairs. And we are not going to stop.

1.     Our goal in 2015 is to provide a lobbying interface to help you keep track of your activities for federal reports. In fact, it is almost completed, and we will begin our testing. It is quite amazing, and you will find it easier to insure accurate filing of your LD-2 and LD-203 filings.
2.     Do you know how many times I show up in the Research Department and ask for them to add cities and counties… And they always find more to include. We know you are building facilities and offering services around the country, and these small cities and counties have ordinances affecting your activity. If you are missing one, let us know and we will look it up for you.
3.     And we are growing in more ways than one. In addition to staff, we have seven people expecting babies this quarter…Yes, you heard that right. Between July 5 and August 31, we will have six new State and Federal Communications babies. It is an exciting time for the staff.

There are times I truly miss researching updates, and I do miss preparing lobbying disclosure reports (even that pesky Wisconsin form), but I do love operating this company and making sure we are providing good benefits for the staff. I am excited when I see new cars in the parking lot or when new homes are purchased. I know they are deepening roots in the community and at State and Federal Communications. And, that, my friends is a WIN WIN for all of us.

Until next month, enjoy the holiday weekend, go to a baseball game, and enjoy the summer.

On June 30, State & Federal Communications attended United Way’s Thirteenth Annual Power of the Purse Luncheon.  Elizabeth Bartz, the company’s president and CEO, introduced Dr. Beverly Warren, president of Kent State University and the event’s keynote speaker.  Dr. Warren gave a talk about the importance of philanthropy and the impact that women have on their community.  She gave numerous examples of women philanthropists from Kent State and around Akron.

The recipient of the 2015 Barbara Matthews Woman Philanthropist of the Year Award was Dr. Deborah Plate, a Family Practice Physician at Akron General Hospital.  Her award was presented by the 2014 recipient, Wendy Bolas.

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.

We were excited to see Laura Brelin from United Way of Summit County this morning. Laura dropped by to present a framed “Campaign Excellence Award” to State and Federal Communications.

The awards are presented to those organizations whose employees demonstrate outstanding excellence with at least 75% participation and either $100 per capita in giving or a 35% increase over last year’s campaign. We can proudly say our company had a $724 per capita giving in 2014!

State and Federal Communications is a proud supporter of United Way of Summit County. Aside from working hard each year on our annual campaign, we have had staff participation in the Board of Directors, the Corporate Volunteer Council, Day of Action, and the Corporate Derby Challenge.

Thank you, United Way! We look forward to many years of partnership.

State and Federal Communications is excited to be a sponsor of the Women In Government 18th Annual Western Regional Conference on May 14-16, 2015, in Denver, Colorado.

Take a look at the amazing agenda here.

It was a big day for the United Way of Summit County and State and Federal Communications had a big presence at the event. Many of our team were there to celebrate another record-breaking campaign. Elizabeth Bartz, our president and CEO was among the Board Members being honored as they finish their 6 years of amazing service, and she addressed the crowd on their behalf.

For the seventh year in a row, State and Federal Communications received an award for “Highest Per Employee Corporate Giving” in the category of 49 and fewer employees. We love the United Way of Summit County and look forward to more opportunities to Live United!