We have an exciting announcement. Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, will be the guest speaker at the Kent State University Trumbull Campus 2014 spring commencement ceremony. The event will take place on Friday, May 9, 2014.

Bartz is featured in a news release on the KSU Trumbull news page. According to the release, “Bartz, a former Trumbull County resident, is a Howland High School graduate, and attended classes at Kent State Trumbull (1976-78) before receiving a bachelor’s degree in journalism (‘80) and a master’s degree in political science (‘82) from Kent State University. Bartz currently serves on Kent State’s National Alumni Association Board; the Community Advisory Council for the university’s National Public Radio affiliate, WKSU; and serves on the Journalism Professional Advisory Board.”

Congratulations, Elizabeth!

For the sixth time, State and Federal Communications, Inc., under the leadership of President and CEO Elizabeth Z. Bartz, has been selected as one of the top women-owned businesses in Ohio, and is the only company recognized from Summit County.

The “Top Businesses in America” program award from DiversityBusiness.com, a web-based publisher and business site, selected the Akron company due to its overall leadership and economic achievements, ranking it in the top 50 of women-owned businesses in Ohio in 2014.

This is a considerable accomplishment given the current business climate in Ohio. The state currently ranks 48th in the country in combined economic clout for women-owned companies – a measurement averaging the rankings in growth in number according to the fourth annual State of Women-Owned Businesses report, sponsored by American Express OPEN.

Bartz recognizes the trend and sees this award as an opportunity. “As a successful small business owner and a woman, I believe it is important to be an example to other women, to demonstrate to the community what women can achieve and the impact we can have.”

Bartz says hard work in both business and community, is how rising above the trend is possible. She has witnessed disparity firsthand throughout her professional career, and uses these experiences as a motivator to grow not only her company and mentor her staff, but to also mentor other women in the community.

Bartz believes the best advice she can give to other women is to encourage them to take on leadership roles and immerse themselves in the community. United Way of Summit County, Go Red for Women, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve, Susan G. Komen – Race for a Cure, the WKSU/Kent State University Foundation, and the Akron Urban League’s Speakers Series Platinum sponsorship only begin to chronicle the array of local organizations Bartz and her company support. She serves in a leadership role on multiple local and national boards, including Kent State University’s National Alumni Association Board, the State Government Affairs Council (SGAC), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Foundation, Council of State Governments (CSG) Associations, Public Affairs Council, and the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL).

“Keep growing and keep leading. This is how we create a counter-trend in Ohio,” said Bartz, who also encourages her staff to get involved. “Last year we celebrated our 20th anniversary, launched a new website, and increased our staff by nine percent. My staff gets all the credit for our achievements, but their dedication to the company is surpassed by their dedication to the community.”

This month, State and Federal Communications was also presented with an award for the highest per employee corporate giving for companies with less than 50 employees from the United Way of Summit County. Bartz believes the demonstration of their core values sets the company apart from other similar small businesses and are the ingredients needed to shift the direction Ohio is heading with diversity in the workplace.

The “Top Businesses in America” program is sponsored by major brands, including Apple, AT&T, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, Office Depot, Toyota, Cisco, and Verizon. The program offers one of the nation’s most coveted awards. More than 3,000 award recipients have been honored since the program’s inception. Bartz and the company also won the award in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

A team of experts from State and Federal Communications is presenting the Public Affairs Council’s Compliance on the State Level webinar this afternoon from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET. Join us for an hour full of compliance information you need right now.

1.  Director of Client and Product Operations Amber Fish Linke will start our program by talking about state and local lobbying laws and gift laws.

2.  Client Specialist Nola Werren will continue the conversation and discuss the pay-to-play laws, strategies for compliance, and how to avoid violations. She will follow that up with a discussion about state campaign finance laws and where you can make corporate contributions.

3.  President and CEO Elizabeth Z. Bartz will round out the discussion with what to watch for in the procurement process.

Riveting conversation for a Thursday afternoon … but so important to know in 2014. If you haven’t already, take the time to register now for the webinar by going to www.pac.org or contact Piper Evans, manager of the council’s Government Relations Practice, at 202-787-5978 or pevans@pac.org.

Your company’s reputation in its home state and where it has business operations depends on it. As we are preparing our program if you have a specific question to ask, please send me an e-mail at ebartz@stateandfed.com.

No surprise it is 2014 and there have been a lot of elections already. And there are more on the horizon. Is your organization ready to handle the requests for contributions from direct contributions, federal PACs, or state PACs? Are you even prepared to discuss how the procurement process affects your contribution decisions? And, how do the individual contributions from employees and their families affect the contracts you have in the states, cities, and counties?

On Thursday, April 3^rd, Amber Fish Linke, Nola Werren, and I will host the Public Affairs Council Compliance on the State Level webinar from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET. It is only an hour long but will be full of the information you need right now.

1. Amber Fish Linke will start our program by talking about state and local lobbying laws and gift laws.
2. Nola Werren will continue the conversation and discuss the pay-to-play laws, strategies for compliance, and how to avoid violations. She will follow that up with a discussion about state campaign finance laws and where you can make corporate contributions.
3. I will round out the discussion with what to watch for in the procurement process.

Riveting conversation for a Thursday afternoon … but so important to know in 2014. Take the time to register now for the webinar by going to www.pac.org or contact Piper Evans, Manager of the Council’s Government Relations Practice, at 202-787-5978 or pevans@pac.org.

Your company’s reputation in its home state and where it has business operations depends on it. As we are preparing our program if you have a specific question to ask, please send me an e-mail at ebartz@stateandfed.com.

Be the person your company can depend on to hit a home run by having this important information at your fingertips.

Until next month, batter up!

Thank you,

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

Along with their stunning new website, the Association of Government Relations Professionals has launched a member spotlight series. We are proud to say Elizabeth Bartz is the first member to be featured.

Take a look at “4 Questions with a Member: Elizabeth Bartz” and find out how she started in government relations, her professional philosophy, and her involvement in the community!

Congratulations, Elizabeth!

For those of you who read this column regularly, you know I like my music.

Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me any, any anytime
Call me (call me) I’ll arrive
You can call me any day or night
Call me!

In this instance, we want you to call Elliott Postlewait, our marketing assistant. He is the #1 person who can help you navigate through our website. Our goal is to make sure all of our subscribers have everyone on staff understand the value received from State and Federal Communications. We are not just Compliance Now, Lobby Comply, Summary of Changes, or News You Can Use. We do a lot more than just post on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Our website, www.stateandfed.com, is full of all of the information you need to handle compliance in your government relations or legal offices for lobbying, campaign finance, procurement, pay-to-play, and gift laws in the 50 states, District of Columbia, Federal, more than 250 municipalities, and Canada.

Give Elliott Postlewait a call at 330-761-9960 or e-mail him at epostlewait@stateandfed.com and set up a time for a call with your team. Call him, call him any anytime.

Until next month, take the time to take a drive through our website…Elliott will help you maneuver through our site.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

State and Federal Communications, Inc., nationally recognized for its government compliance resources, announces 2013 appointments and achievements, highlighting the company’s embodiment of leadership and ethical standards.

President and CEO, Elizabeth Bartz, has been selected to join the Board of Directors for the National Conference of State Legislatures Foundation and the Public Affairs Council. Serving on both boards, Bartz brings with her the values and principles she imparts on State and Federal Communications, Inc. She also brings years of knowledge and experience surrounding government compliance and her dedication to the public affairs industry.

The values demonstrated throughout the company’s 20-year history include a commitment to the public affairs industry as a whole and the overall community. Under Bartz’ leadership and foresight and with much hard work, State and Federal Communications also received recognition for its growth and involvement in the community. The company received a 2013 Weatherhead 100 award for being one of the fastest-growing companies in Northeast Ohio. Additionally, State and Federal Communications received the Private Sector Small Company 2013 Pinnacle Award of Summit County. This exclusive honor is given to those organizations serving the greater good of the community and continued efforts around corporate social responsibility.

The leadership exemplified by Bartz is inspiring and a reminder of the impact a small business can make. “I know many of my colleagues and clients are also in leadership roles and doing even more than State and Federal Communications, and I only hope we set an example for the next generation of leaders,” stated Bartz.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of
State and Federal Communications, is attending the National Council of State Legislatures’ Fall Forum from December 4-6 in Washington, D.C..

Bartz is a member NCSL’s Board of Directors.

According to organization’s website:

“The Fall Forum brings together legislators and staff to craft solutions to critical issues and network with colleagues from around the nation. Join fellow legislators at Lobby Day on Capitol Hill to advocate for the states. Attend exclusive briefings for legislative staff. And work on important state issues as part of NCSL’s standing committees.”

You can find out more about the event’s agenda here.

On Friday, November 1st, State and Federal Communications’ newly developed website was launched. It is important to know all of the compliance information previously included is still there. What’s new are the following:

• Personalized homepage;
• New bookmarking capabilities;
• Easier access to News You Can Use and LobbyComply.com Blog;
• Daily updates; and
• Viewable from any mobile device.

That last bullet is very important to me and I am sure it is to you, too. I am a walking IT department with my laptop, iPad, iPhone, Microsoft phone, and even my iPod.  Truly over connected at times, but I know I will always have access to www.stateandfed.com for important updates in the states, municipalities, federal, and Canadian governments.

State and Federal Communications is hosting a launch forum on November 12^th and November 13^th at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. If you are interested in learning more about our site from the folks who have put it all together, please give Elliott Postlewait a call at 330-761-9960 or e-mail him at epostlewait@stateandfed.com and set up a time for the program. We welcome you and your staff to our program.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. The same expertise, a new web experience!

Thank you,

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is presenting a webinar today for the Public Affairs Council along with Chris Badgley, Senior Director, Public Policy & Government Affairs at Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.

Bartz and Badgley will be applying their expertise to the topic “Methods for Tracking Lobbying Activities” at 2 p.m.

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is a featured speaker offering her expertise this morning at the Lobbying Certificate Program Session sponsored by the American League of Lobbyists and Lobbyists.info.

Bartz is joined by co-speaker Doreen Hope, Regional Manager from Washington Gas in a conference entitled State Lobbying & Navigating the Regulatory Process: Multiple Fronts, Multiple Challenges.

Here is the American League of Lobbyists’ description of the session:

For many in D.C., lobbying starts with what goes on inside 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.

Now you can learn how to add this state-level focus without running yourself ragged and without running afoul of an entirely new set of regulations.

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, was the emcee at the Summit County Social Services Advisory Board  Making a Difference Human Services Forum and Awards Presentation today. Bartz is a member of the Summit County Social Services Advisory Board and a Co-Chair of its Budget and Levy Committee.

The subject of the forum was “A Network of Safety – Partners You Don’t Know, Partners You Don’t Expect” and the panelists were Captain Sylvia Trundle of the Akron Police Department, Dr. Michael Holder of the Austen BioInnovation Institute, and SA Kenneth Westak, Jr. of the FBI Cleveland.

Elizabeth Bartz, our president and CEO, invited me to attend Project Grad’s Achieving Dreams Celebration along with a team from our company. This is the first time I have attended the dinner-fundraiser and I admit I was not familiar with Project Grad’s work in Akron. I certainly am familiar now.

Project Grad’s website describes their aim as follows: “The mission of the program is to ensure a quality public school education for all at-risk children in economically disadvantaged communities so that high school graduation rates increase; graduates are closing the achievement gap and preparing to enter and be successful in college.”

I was amazed by the work of this organization – since 2006, they have awarded $1,300,000 in scholarships to Buchtel High School graduating seniors. I heard compelling testimonies by award recipients and former students. I felt proud that our company, State and Federal Communications, is a part of this effort by contributing money and auction items. Elizabeth Bartz was also a member of the Achieving Dreams Steering Committee this year.

Enjoy this picture of John Chames and Elizabeth Bartz at the Achieving Dreams event last night.