They say it is good to know people in high places.

In 2009 my twin brother Ted and I decided to make a trip to Washington, DC and to take our dad, who had never visited the city before.  Ted and I have visited numerous times and so we got busy making up a list of our favorite places to visit and things that Dad really should see. Dad mentioned to some church friends all of us have known for many years that he was taking this trip with us. They offered to connect us with their son-in-law, an employee of the Office of Management and Budget, who might be able to take us on a tour of the White House.

It turns out that particular day the White House had already arranged for public tours of the grounds, so we could not tour the mansion itself. Our friends’ son-in-law graciously agreed to escort us around the grounds. At the appointed time the three of us, along with former State and Federal Communications, Inc. temporary employee Andrew Houk, who was completing a Master’s Degree at George Washington University at the time, met at the corner of 15^th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and began our tour. Our guide’s credentials enabled us to not wait in the extremely long line of people.

Our guide proved to be not only knowledgeable, but friendly, down-to-earth, and an all around great guy. In our conversation I found him very bright, engaging, articulate, ambitious, and hard working. He was awaiting Senate confirmation to the position of Comptroller of the Office of Management and Budget.  In short, I was very impressed.

Earlier this year he was named the point person at OMB to coordinate the agency spending cuts that are part of the federal sequestration. Not an enviable position. Today I read that he was appointed by President Obama to be the interim director of the Internal Revenue Service. Perhaps a less enviable position.

I have every confidence that Danny Werfel will do an outstanding job in his new role, and I plan to do some more name dropping as I engage in the many lively political debates that seem to go hand-in-hand with our business. And… I will triple check next year’s federal income tax return!

Congratulations Danny!

On April 1^st, we added Comptroller Jeff Roberts to the 10-Year Club. He is now our sixth member to this exclusive club. This is a huge recognition at State and Federal Communications.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 30 percent of employees had 10 year or more of tenure with their current employer. And, the median number of years with an employer is only 4.4 years.

Yesterday, we celebrated Jeff’s milestone and he mentioned so many things that have happened in 10 years.

• Staff increased from 13 to 36;
• Space increased from 8,200 sq feet to 16,000 sq feet;
• We published the updates to our Political Contributions and Lobbying Laws publications twice a year and now we update our website every day;
• We added the Procurement Lobbying and Canadian Lobbying to our suite of on-line services;
• Increased our consulting clients from 19 to 126; and
• The number of children from staff went from eight (8) to 32.

Jeff’s input into the operation of the company is not seen to the outside crowd, but he has been an amazing trusted employee making sure we are always ahead on bills and the IRS. And, as he mentioned at our program yesterday, has never worried as to whether he would be paid or whether benefits would be provided.

We live in a different society now. Tenure used to only be associated with academic careers. In the private sector, tenure is the faithful commitment to an employer who has proven there is worth to staying.

Thanks to Jeff Roberts for 10 years of faithful service.