State and Federal Communications is the proud sponsor of the closing session at the Professional Women in Advocacy Conference on December 10, 2013. The event, which is designed for people engaged in all forms of advocacy, will be held in Washington, D.C. from December 9-10, 2013.

According to the organization’s website: “To give us a strong close to our conference and leave participants with plenty of food for thought, State & Federal Communications will present a session called “Been There Done That.”  This discussion features Moderator Sam Bennett, President of the Women’s Campaign Fund, Former U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln and Former U.S. Representative Mary Bono. These accomplished women will discuss their path to leadership and their post public office success in the world of advocacy.  Tuesday, December 10th at 2:15pm.”

We are also excited to have another strong presence at this exciting conference. Federal Compliance Associate Rebecca South and Marketing Manager Melissa Coultas will be attending. Rebecca South will also be offering the presentation “Mentor Center: Public Speaking” on Tuesday, December 10.

State and Federal Communications has a team of eight leaving tomorrow to attend the 2013 Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL) Annual Conference! It will be held from December 8-11 in Quebec City.

We never miss a COGEL conference, and this one should prove to be exciting. It will be good to see many familiar faces.

Here is what the COGEL website says about this year’s event:

This year’s conference brings us to the majestic Le Chateau Frontenac, a National Historic Site of Canada. This picture-perfect hotel is nestled in Old Quebec City, an enchanting destination that will be decked out for the holidays in December. Quebec City itself is a UNESCO Heritage Site and its cobble-stoned streets will lead you to charming neighborhood bistros, quaint shops and delicious bakeries. You will be steps away from historical attractions, shopping and plenty of attractions for you and your family.

Whether you are a first-time attendee or a veteran, engaging and informative sessions await you, all directly related to your work. You will learn about the latest legal developments, share important tips and best practices with COGEL partners and capture new ideas to take back to your office.

The photo of Le Chateau Frontenac courtesy of AirBete on Wikimedia Commons.

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.

Click here or on the graphic below to register online.

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 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.

State and Federal Communications held its 4th Annual Halloween Donut and Cider Sale today in the lobby of our office. It was all for the good cause of helping our friends at United Way of Summit County.

We knew we couldn’t host a Halloween sale without a few wacky costumes, so our office party was “pay-to-play,” with a $10 entry to star in our costumes-of-choice.

Take a look at some of the office revelry:

 

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.

 

 

On Thursday, October 31, State and Federal Communications is hosting its fourth annual Halloween Donut and Apple Cider sale. All proceeds will benefit the United Way of Summit County.

Drop in and say hello from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. and enjoy a delicious treat. We’ll be in the lobby of 80 South Summit St. in Downtown Akron, across from Quaker Square.

The Krispy Kreme donuts are $1.00 per donut or $7.00 per dozen. The apple cider will be $1.00 per cup or $8.00 per gallon.

To reserve your donuts, you can email Joy Cosgrove at jcosgrove@stateandfed.com or Nicolette Koozer at nkoozer@stateandfed.com, or call us at 330-761-9960.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be the Keynote Speaker Sponsor at the Washington Area State Relations Group 2013 WASRG Summit today in Washington, D.C.

Our Federal Compliance Associate Rebecca South and Marketing Manager Melissa Coultas are attending the event.

They Keynote Speakers are Robert Blizzard, a Partner at Public Opinion Strategies and Drew Lieberman with Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Inc.

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.

We are proud to announce that Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is speaking at the Public Affairs Council’s State and Local Government Relations Conference in Washington, D.C. Bartz will be co-presenting the Executive Management session, “Setup for Success: Creating an Internal Compliance Process,” with Steven Tomasic from JPMorgan Chase. It will take place tomorrow, September 27, 2013, at 1:30 p.m.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of two more municipalities to its website. Naperville, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago with a population of 143,684, has been added to the Lobbying Laws, Political Contributions, and Procurement Lobbying publications. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada’s capital, becomes the second municipality in the Canadian Compliance publication.

Our clients will find comprehensive, timely, and accurate information that includes: complete calendars of reporting deadlines; critical statutory citations; extensive directories of contact information; summaries of the law; detailed reference charts on goods and services contributions; highlights of every statute; copies of all required forms; and much more.

The number of municipalities and regional governments our research associates track continues to grow. We now cover more than 230 municipalities and local governments. This is part of a continuous effort to better serve the needs of our clients.

State and Federal Communications was very honored this morning to be one of the recipients of the 2013 Pinnacle Awards of Summit County. The company received the award in the “Private Sector, Small Company” category.

According to the United Way of Summit County website, “The Pinnacle Awards of Summit County is Summit County’s exclusive opportunity to honor those individuals and organizations that are serving the greater good.”

The event was sponsored by Cohen & Company and Summa Health System and was hosted by Inside Business Magazine and United Way of Summit County at the Hilton Fairlawn.

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and all of the company’s staff would like to thank everyone for this honor. We are very pleased to live and work in such a great community, and we consider it a privilege to get out into the community and work for the greater good as best we can!