FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       

October 1, 2009

(Phoenix) – Ziemba Waid Public Affairs (ZWPA) has been recognized as a recipient of the 2009 Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch award, an honor presented by the Arizona Small Business Association, Comerica Bank and the Edward Lowe Foundation.

Thirty-seven companies from Arizona will receive their awards at an awards gala on November 6, 2009 at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel.

The Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch program recognizes rising stars in the business community.  The award goes to privately held second-stage companies based in Arizona that employ between 6 and 100 full-time equivalent employees and have between $750,000 and $100 million in annual revenue. Awardees are selected for demonstrating the intent and capacity to grow based on employee or sales growth, exceptional entrepreneurial leadership, sustainable competitive advantage or other notable strengths.

ZWPA is thrilled to be an award-winner.

Tom Ziemba and David Waid established ZWPA in 2006.  The company has grown at a rapid pace, expanding from a campaign consulting firm to a full service public affairs firm specializing in political consulting, government relations, and strategic communications. In just three years, ZWPA has built large coalitions and mobilized thousands of consumers on a variety of public policy issues and has become an innovator in deploying community relations, coalition-building, earned media and internet strategies into singularly focused campaigns. This ability to seamlessly and successfully combine various services and diverse public affairs tactics is what sets ZWPA apart from other public affairs firms.

“It has been a fabulous ride,” said David Waid, one of the firm’s founding partners and former Executive Director of the Arizona Democratic Party.  “The great part is that the ride really is just beginning.  We’ve grown to include entirely new sectors of business and I’m proud of where we’re headed.”

The other founding partner, Tom Ziemba, is a veteran of the Clinton Administration, AOL-Time/Warner, and dozens of other campaigns and projects.  He added, “This year has been especially good for us – we’ve opened a Federal practice in Washington, D.C., and that sector is expanding rapidly.  It is exhausting, but exhilarating.”  

Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch is presented by Arizona Small Business Association and Comerica Bank in collaboration with the Edward Lowe Foundation.

About second-stage businesses and Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch

Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch is unique for its focus on second-stage companies and the wide-ranging industries they represent. The impact of these companies on Arizona’s economy is immense: from 2005-2007, Arizona’s resident companies averaged about 28,600 second-stage establishments, employing more than 660,000 workers. By way of comparison,  from 1993 to 2007 only 11.6 percent of Arizona’s resident establishments were in the second-stage category, however, they generated 40 percent of net new jobs.

For more information: www.AZCompaniesToWatch.org and www.YourEconomy.org.

About the program presenters

About Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA): Since 1973, ASBA has been working hand-in-hand with Arizona businesses to help them achieve amAZing results that exceed expectations. Over 3,400 business members statewide representing over 300,000 employees count on ASBA to connect them to the right opportunities and resources, including affordable health and workers’ compensation insurance, up-to-date educational workshops and dynamic networking events. A membership fee of $125 provides access to the most cost-effective and comprehensive range of resources, support and services available to Arizona businesses today. For more information: www.ASBA.com. Join ASBA. Be amazed®.

About Comerica Bank in Arizona: Comerica Incorporated is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank has offices in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada, and Mexico. In Arizona, Comerica has grown from one office in 2004 to 13 locations, with plans to open another three banking centers by the end of 2009. Comerica Inc. reported total assets of $67.4 billion at March 31, 2009. For more information: www.comerica.com/newsalerts.

About the Edward Lowe Foundation: Based in Cassopolis, Mich., the Edward Lowe Foundation is the national presenter of Companies to Watch. The foundation created this awards program to recognize second-stage entrepreneurs and their companies. Established in 1985, the foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship through recognition, education and research with a focus on second-stage companies—those that have moved beyond the startup phase and seek significant, steady growth. The foundation also encourages economic gardening, an entrepreneur-centered strategy providing balance to the traditional approach of business recruitment. The foundation also presents Companies to Watch in Colorado, Indiana, Michigan and North Carolina. For more information: www.edwardlowe.org.

# # #

ZWPA helps secure $5.7 billion in potential investments to Arizona’s renewable energy industry in three months

eTec Secures $99.8 Million Grant With Support of ZWPA
With the support of Ziemba Waid Public Affairs, Phoenix-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec), a subsidiary of ECOtality, Inc. (OTCBB: ETLY), recently secured a $99.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the largest transportation electrification project in U.S. history. ECOtality, an established leader in the green energy field, worked with ZWPA to ensure its grant proposal was properly prepared before submitting it and that the grant evaluation process at the Department of Energy was fair and thorough. eTec’s proposal was chosen over dozens of other proposals, including a number submitted by Fortune 100 corporations.

The Project will install electric vehicle charging infrastructure and deploy 5,000 Nissan LEAF zero-emission electric vehicles in strategic markets in five states: Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington (up to 1,000 vehicles per market).

By 2012 it is anticipated that more than 750 new jobs will be generated by this Project. In addition, an estimated 5,500 new positions will be in place by 2017 to support the market launch of the Nissan electric vehicle as a direct result of the Project. Arizona will be home to more than 250 of those jobs.

ZWPA Works With Phoenix to Secure $1 Billion in Federal Funding
Phoenix has been one of the hardest hit cities by the economic downturn and is depending on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to help it recover. ZWPA is leading the City of Phoenix’s effort to secure nearly $1 billion in ARRA funding. We develop and execute strategies to ensure Phoenix maximizes its ability to capture significant ARRA funding in areas including transportation and infrastructure; alternative energy and green projects; education; law enforcement and social services. To date, ZWPA has helped Phoenix secure $250 million in ARRA funding and the City has nearly $600 million in ARRA applications submitted or in progress.

Key projects for the City of Phoenix include Green Phoenix Initiative, energy efficiency programs and green technology programs.

ZWPA Assists With Passage of GPEC’s SB 1403: “Quality Jobs Through Renewable Industries Program”
ZWPA’s state government relations team was retained by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) this legislative session to help pass Senate Bill 1403 – a bill sponsored by State Senator Barbara Leff to create a corporate income tax credit and real and personal property tax reductions for new renewable manufacturing businesses seeking to relocate to Arizona. ZWPA was instrumental in the bill’s passage, creating opportunities for Arizona to capture manufacturing and headquarter projects in renewable industries with an estimated $4.6 billion in capital investment and 4,600 potential new jobs.

Ziemba Waid Public Affairs’ first Brown Bag Lunch Session saw national pollster Lisa Grove speak to political and public affairs professionals from around the state about the importance of efficient and effective research and polling for modern campaigns and organizations. Grove, founder and Principal of Grove Insight, has over 20 years of experience in conducting polls and focus groups, and maintains an impeccable record for ballot measures at 58 wins and 8 losses.

The session, held on Friday April 10^th, was attended by over 30 Arizona professionals, ranging from State Legislators and labor union representatives, to staff from state and local political parties, private organizations and political campaigns.

Attendees heard about conducting effective focus groups, the necessary steps for efficient polling, and had the opportunity to ask the expert pollster questions. Effective research and polling enable modern campaigns and organizations to gauge the opinions and priorities of target audiences and informs a road map for planning and messaging, avoiding having to guess at successful strategy.

The Brown Bag Lunch Session was the first in a series of seminars ZWPA will be hosting to examine effective organizational and campaign strategies. To learn more about future seminars please visit Ziemba Waid’s homepage at www.zwpa.com, on contact Catherine Macpherson at catherine@zwpa.com.

Phoenix, New York, Washington, D.C. – Ziemba Waid Public Affairs and a-political today announced the creation of ZWPa-political a joint venture that will provide candidates, campaigns and public policy advocates with a complete media and strategy suite.

ZWPa-political, located in the Phoenix office of Ziemba Waid Public Affairs, will offer clients a complete consultancy: a full range of services, from strategic campaign planning and coalition building to earned media and political advertising.

“We are driven to deliver the best for our clients, and this partnership takes that capacity to an entirely new level,” said David Waid, founding partner of Ziemba Waid Public Affairs. “ZWPA’s relationships, deep knowledge of the Western and Washington, D.C. political landscape and real campaign experience, combined with a-political’s award-winning creativity and nationally-recognized ad production make a combination that is uniquely effective.”

“This is a perfect partnership,” said a-political’s Danny Levinson. “ZWPA and a-political were founded with a similar vision. We believe the most effective political message is a well-communicated one. The alliance of our two companies brings fresh political expertise together with fresh messaging abilities that have proven successful for the best marketers in America.  We are here to help our clients connect up emotionally with the voters, and we are uniquely qualified to do just that.”

The ZWPa-political partnership is based on the belief that in order to successfully represent political clients, an organization must appreciate the intersection of media, politics and government. ZWPa-political brings together experience in all three.

“To be successful in a multi-dimensional information age, lobbying alone is sometimes not enough,” said Tom Ziemba, also a ZWPA founding partner. “You need more options in your toolbox, including the capacity for coalition building, strategic earned media, and paid media campaigns that incorporate a strong online element. What we’re announcing today provides our clients with the very best of all these tools.”

“We’re incredibly excited to be working together,” said Jimmy Siegel, creative director and partner in a-political. “Both companies have a passion about what we do, and we each bring skill sets that complement and enhance each other. Together, I believe we offer clients something truly unique.”

a-political, born in 2006, brought together an Emmy nominated team with years of Madison Avenue experience to change the way politicians communicate. a-political represents progressive candidates and causes throughout the country. More information about the a-political team is available at www.a-political.com.

Tom Ziemba and David Waid – founding partners of Ziemba Waid Public Affairs – have a vast range of private, political and government experience. Ziemba is a veteran of the Clinton administration who has managed campaigns from the local level to battleground presidential states. Ziemba engineers his campaigns with a fully-integrated approach that used paid media, new media, direct mail, telephone outreach and canvassing. Waid has served as a senior staff member for the Speaker of the New York Assembly and, more recently, as Executive Director and Chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party. In that role, the led the way to historic victories in 2006 by out-fundraising the GOP by a 4-1 margin, re-electing the governor, winning the largest number of Congressional pick-ups since 1992 and the most state legislative pick-ups since 1994. More information about Ziemba Waid is available at www.zwpa.com.

For all press inquiries, please contact Ziemba Waid Director of Communications Jeanine L’Ecuyer at (602) 424-6612.