SGAC Celebrates 50 Years!

[00:00:11] Welcome back to another episode of The Political Life. This is Maggie Mick. My first episode coming back and out of legislative session season. We've still got a few states in, but hopefully the brunt of it is behind us. And I am so personally honored to welcome to the show a dear friend and colleague, Fred Saitugin.

[00:00:35] Today we're going to talk about all things SGAC, the State Government Affairs Council and their 50th anniversary year and some of the incredible work building community and some philanthropic efforts that Fred has been leading in his role as president for 2025. So welcome, Fred. Thank you.

[00:00:57] So before we dive in and give kind of a 101 on SGAC and everything that you've been up to this year, we always ask the first question is, how did you start your political life?

[00:01:07] So I started my political life while I was in law school. I came down to Washington, D.C. to work on a coalition, the Northeast Midwest Congressional Coalition for a summer while I was in law school.

[00:01:29] And I was working on a document that was kind of analyzing the reuse of old industrial facilities, which later turned into bills around RCRA and CERCLA, working with Congress, trying to figure out what these things looked like and how you can find it.

[00:01:59] And so I really enjoyed the summer and find solutions for them. And so I really enjoyed the summer that I was there and came back right after that. Nice. And so after that, you've had lots of different roles. You were with Pew. I think the Democratic governors are now in the private sector. But how did you first learn about SGAC?

[00:02:22] Well, I learned I think I first learned about SGAC while I was at Pew. My job there was outreach to the state groups like NCSL and NGA. And then I took a survey of all the groups that were out there. And, you know, and I called I called Beth and I said, I think we want to join. Can we join? And, you know, she calls me back a couple of days later and she's like, no, Pew can't join.

[00:02:47] So but but but I did work with, you know, so my job was to get people placed on, you know, as speakers for those events. And so that's where I first came in contact with SGAC, although I couldn't join at the time. Yeah, that is an important differentiation in the membership in that it is a corporate only membership organization.

[00:03:14] So kind of serves all industries and some multistate firms. But nonprofits, advocacy organizations currently cannot be members, correct? That's correct. Trade associations. Trade associations. And then in terms of kind of the start or the origin of SGAC, do you know how kind of it got its legs or or its history? I think the timing is always interesting to me because it coincides with the start of NCSL.

[00:03:43] But anything to that history? I wish I knew the answer to that. I think that's that's one for Beth. Right. You know, it's 50 years old, which is, you know, great for any organization to make it to that age. But right. You know, we're we're celebrating our 50 at the same year that NCSL is celebrating theirs. I know none of us were there, so we'll have to ask Beth. And then in terms of how you can get engaged with it, with.

[00:04:14] I said NCSL and I started to say CSG. SGAC. How do you, you know, get engaged? What are the different paths for folks to to get involved with the organization? Well, I mean, we have two primary meetings every year. One is a training meeting in the spring, you know, which is professional development.

[00:04:37] And then we have our leaders policy conference in the fall where we have, you know, between, you know, 80 and 100 legislative leaders that we pull from Senate presidents and speakers and majority and minority leaders. You know, attending those events, I think, is real important. But we also have all kinds of other meetings throughout the year. We partner with CSG. We partner with NGA and NCSL.

[00:05:05] So there are there are dozens of opportunities to participate. I think they're all valuable. I mean, I try to do as many as I can because that's where my colleagues show up. That's where my colleagues from other industries show up. That's how I get to know people. Right. And I think you this world is all about building relationships, building relationships with legislators, building relationships with your peers.

[00:05:30] And if you're doing all of those things as often as you can, you know people when you need information or when other people need information from you. So, I mean, I have, you know, a big Rolodex or a big LinkedIn account as if you want to modernize it. But and it's it's super helpful to me. And I'm talking to people all the time about all different types of things.

[00:05:59] You know, that's where you hear here where people move to. I mean, we're we're for the most part. We don't stay in our jobs for very long or we do. Some of us do. Some of us don't. But, you know, you just you learn where, you know, what's going on in your world. Yeah, I think both on the professional where you're sitting, it's helpful in the coalition build and the relationships on kind of getting out into the states. But then in a personal capacity, it is.

[00:06:26] There are a lot of people networking for their professional aspirations at these meetings as well. So it's good. It's good in both lanes. And you and I have actually talked about this because we were on the board for Washrag together, too. But I mean, I'm not going to disclose your age, but, you know, you're not a spring chicken anymore, nor am I.

[00:06:45] But you've stayed really involved in these these national professional networking organizations, whereas sometimes I think they get a little bit of a reputation for, oh, do that when you're junior or do that when you're kind of climbing the ranks. But, you know, you're at the top of your game. You're a senior and seasoned government affairs professional. And you have always maintained your participation.

[00:07:10] You know, why do you think that it's so important to keep those relationships going, you know, even outside of those first couple of years in the field? Yeah, I mean, I don't think I'm the only gray haired person showing up at these meetings, but I did I did enter, you know, the state like the SGAC world a little bit later in my career.

[00:07:33] But I mean, I still think that, you know, showing up is half the battle with the work that we do. I mean, if you don't go to a statehouse, you don't understand the culture. If you don't show up at, you know, at these meetings or all of our association meetings, you're not meeting the new people. I mean, you know, even in my in my industry, there's, you know, does people change all the time? Right.

[00:08:01] In order to keep up with with your colleagues and know who's working for other companies that you work with, you have to show up. I mean, and then and then for that anybody to know you and trust you, you have to have conversations with them, have dinner with them, have lunch, right? Grab a beer. But, you know, it's it's I think relationship building is the core of this work. And you got to do it at all levels. Yep. You got to show up. Keep doing it. Yeah.

[00:08:30] So in terms of the 50th anniversary, you're doing a number of things to celebrate. And I just I mean, I salute you and the board for the community that you're building. I think that what you're doing with Lobby the Lobster, which I'd love for you to like talk about how you came up with that great idea. I just think that it is demonstrating how connected everyone is across industries and in this profession.

[00:08:56] But just share with me kind of how you came up with some of these ideas and how you all are celebrating the 50th anniversary. So I'll I'll I'll I'll spend some time on Lobby the Lobster. Right. So Beth Beth came to me, you know, sometime the end of last year and said, you know, we've at one point we use this lobster as kind of as a tool, you know, I think for the 40th anniversary.

[00:09:21] And and and so I don't know, I just we started scratching our heads and, you know, we came up with the idea that that maybe for our 50th anniversary, we we get a selfie in front of all 50 state capitals with the lobster. And and, you know, just kind of as a as kind of a marketing tool for SGAC, you know, and to and for the 50th anniversary.

[00:09:49] And, you know, one of the things one of the fortunate things I get to do as president of SGAC is pick a charity. And, you know, just started thinking, well, if we're doing this thing already, why not combine it? And, you know, so we started raising money for Faces and Voices of Recovery, which is an advocacy organization for recovery nationally.

[00:10:17] I mean, my wife and I last night were we're just at their gala. We both spoke. I spoke about Bobby the Lobster and she read a piece of her memoir that's forthcoming. But so I kind of I kind of wanted to, you know, tie them together. You know, recovery is an important thing for our family. My my daughter's three and a half years in recovery.

[00:10:49] And there's just been some amazing things that we've seen, you know, in her community that that makes us want to support it. Right. Because we see what it has done for her, what it's done for us, what it's done for her friends, what it's done for her community.

[00:11:05] And, you know, so this, you know, the one story that hits me the hardest is, you know, she was she moved out of her halfway house after a couple of years in recovery in in Florida. She moved out with another woman who almost immediately relapsed.

[00:11:26] But it was hard to hard for my daughter to know because addicts are sneaky and lie and and do everything they do to hide their their addiction. And so one one night the woman left, left her door open to her room and there was paraphernalia everywhere. And so my daughter, you know, is triggered by it and she calls her sponsor. She calls the woman's sponsor and eight women show up.

[00:11:55] And wait until midnight. For her roommate to come back. And when she came back into the the apartment, they said, you can't stay here anymore. You're you're not you're you're impacting your own life and we're happy to help you. We will take you to a recovery program tonight. And if and if you don't don't come with us, we're taking your keys and you're you're moving out. And you have to find someplace else to sleep tonight.

[00:12:26] And, you know, I don't know that I have eight people that would show up for me at midnight. You know, I know a lot of people. But but I mean, just unbelievable community. Right. I mean, they show up. They're helping, you know, and they've known her for a couple of years. They will show up for anybody that needs help. Right.

[00:12:47] And so we just feel blessed to have seen this community and be able to participate in it. So we thought we should pay back. And so we tied we tied the, you know, the Lobby the Lobster campaign to that. And so, you know, as we were hitting goals, you know, oh, we've hit we've hit 25 states.

[00:13:09] Make a donation or we're, you know, we're we also set a match of like twelve thousand five hundred dollars, which was kind of a way to encourage people to give. And, you know, as we well, we got close to that. Several people made large donations and we blew right through it. So we are now at over thirty thousand dollars raised.

[00:13:32] And, you know, it's it's, you know, beyond the the dreams that I had of what we would do with this with this fundraiser. You know, on LinkedIn, I've I've had somewhere around fifty thousand impressions, which, you know, it's not we're not Taylor Swift popular, but I think we're as we're state government affairs popular. You know, I've been in state houses a couple of times where people have come up to me and said, hey, you're the lobster guy. And I'm like, well, it's come gladly. Can you make a donation?

[00:14:02] You've come viral, Fred. I do. I love that it's been this confluence of with LinkedIn becoming more of a social platform for professionals since covid. You've seen this uptick in people really sharing more about their work and using, you know, visual and photos. And you've always been great about taking photos on the road.

[00:14:26] But just kind of marrying, you know, your personal passions, your experience in this addiction, you know, world and using the platform of LinkedIn and Lobby the Lobster, the great icon of SJC. It's just been a really beautiful campaign and a really great way to celebrate to do something good for others.

[00:14:49] And I know a lot of people, you know, in every profession, you know, suffer through addiction issues. And I think that you shedding a light on recovery is really important for for not only our profession, but for just humans in general. So I mean, I can't tell you how many people have come up to me at a meeting or an event and pulled me aside and, you know, and said my daughter, my husband, my my cousin, my uncle. Right. Or have struggled with addiction.

[00:15:20] And thank you. And, you know, I'm not doing it for the thanks, but but but I'm also doing it because, you know, a lot of us don't talk about it. We you know, it's something that I think traditionally has been hidden. And, you know, unless you can find a community. I mean, if the community is strong, it's great. It's helpful. You know, and if people know that that's there and have access to it, you know, that that just means so much and is so helpful to so many people. But I do.

[00:15:49] And I and I think that our community is thankful for you doing this. But I I am curious because I think that when people go through major life events, usually the happier ones. But, you know, when I had Birdie and Hank, there was always like, oh, you travel so much. And how do you do it? And, you know, how do you juggle personal professional when you have someone who I view you as someone that I respect and admire professionally?

[00:16:14] And you you were going through a major life and family crisis, but you were still paddling along and doing your work and managing your career successfully. How did you kind of go through that patch? Because I do think that that helps inform other people who may be going through a similar, you know, personal crisis. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:16:37] You know, it was it was it was years of difficulty for our family, you know, and I you know, and I have to say that the majority of that fell on my wife. No, you know, there there were definitely, you know, times where my daughter would end up in a hospital or and and, you know, I'd be somewhere else, you know, and I would immediately, you know, hop on a plane and leave.

[00:17:07] I mean, I left many meetings because of a crisis at home. But, you know, without having a spouse that was there and, you know, unable to, you know, be there immediately, I would have been I wouldn't have been able to do it. And, you know, you know, I mentioned earlier that that my wife is writing a memoir. She's writing a memoir about her, you know, codependency with our daughter.

[00:17:37] And, you know, you know, she read a piece last night at the gala for faces and voices. But, you know, again, this is I think if we've learned something and can give something back, I mean, I think that's the goal of both of us. We do it in different ways. You know, you know, yeah, the fundraising and the publicity stuff is my world.

[00:18:04] And, you know, the, you know, the, you know, the thoughtful writing projects are hers. And we just hope that we can make some impact, both of us. I don't know if I'm fully answering your question. But, yeah, I mean, certainly my wife took the brunt of it. And you have to have a good partner. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:18:28] Well, speaking of impact, I do have to ask you, especially in this, you know, SJC-centered conversation, do you have, you know, a mentor or two that you can think of that, you know, you really look to throughout your career that passed on some good lessons on just, your own growth or, and what were those lessons or who were those people? I mean, I have one, I mean, so. I don't know.

[00:18:57] There's a lot of difficult people in politics. Right. And I would say the first decade of working in politics, I don't know if I like too many people. But, you know, I work for Governor Musgrove, former governor of Mississippi. And, you know, I really felt part of a team.

[00:19:22] I really felt that, you know, and that he would ask my advice and really want it. Right. And, you know, and he was, he was a guy that just had tons of energy. Right. I mean, you get phone calls from him at five o'clock in the morning because he's thinking about something that we were working on. Right. And I wasn't the only one he was calling. He was calling. But I didn't mind it. Right. Because we were, we were working on problems.

[00:19:49] And he's, you know, and he would, he would get up and he's in the morning. He's like, I got four years. I might not have another four years. I want to be able to, you know, this is an honor to have this position. And I'm going to do as much as I can while I have it. Right. And, you know, I, I don't know. He's the one. Expediency and having a timer on you. I do think that that is a lesson in itself. Yeah.

[00:20:15] But he was definitely one of those people that, that I loved working for. I felt like I was making an impact. You know, we're, we're, we're working for, you know, a state that for every dollar they put in, they got a little bit more, went from in federal funding and my job was lobbying Congress for them. And, you know, I think we, we did some good things and brought back some good support to Mississippi.

[00:20:43] But yeah, I mean, he definitely was the one that I think of the most for sure. Well, we always wrap up our conversations with two questions. Where were you most recently? And what was the best meal that you had? And where are you traveling to next, both personally or, or professionally? So that if someone wants to connect with you on LinkedIn, they can send you a restaurant tip.

[00:21:13] So I just was in Madison, Wisconsin, and I'm going to forget the name of the restaurant, but it was one of the best meals I've had all year. Wow. Sleeper city. Yeah. Well, it was a tiny little restaurant. It wasn't inexpensive, but it was very good. Of course. And there's a conference coming up in Madison for one of the national party member groups. So this will be helpful for folks listening in.

[00:21:45] Oh, shoot. I wish you had asked me earlier than I would. We'll put it in the meeting notes. Okay. Where are you headed to next? So someone can make a friend with you on LinkedIn and send you a restaurant. So the next, the next government affairs meeting? Yeah. Or a trip with, you know, the kids or anything. I think my next, well, my next, I'm going to Slovenia with Senate presidents. So if anybody has any recommendations.

[00:22:14] Slovenia, you'll take it. Well, thank you, Fred. It was a pleasure to have you on. Thank you. Our cast. Thank you for your leadership of SJC. We think a lot of the organization. We have lots of friends and colleagues that have enriched our lives because of it. And just grateful for what you've done to elevate the organization in 2025 and wish you all the best as what are the remaining states that Lobby the Lobster needs to visit?

[00:22:44] So we have three left. It's Hawaii, Idaho, and Montana. I'm confident that we'll get them all. Okay. We still have six weeks until the NCSL meeting in Boston. And yeah, I'm sure we'll get there. Awesome. Well, we'll see you in Boston. Look forward to celebrating the 50th even more there. All right. Thanks, Maggie. This was fun. Peace. Bye.