Jason Fitzgerald
WHAT IS POLITICAL SCIENCE AND WHAT CAN I DO WITH IT?
MARIA GEFFERS
Can you talk about the moment you knew who you wanted to become and what that journey looked like?
JASON FITZGERALD
When I went to college, my goal was to be a schoolteacher and take over my dad's landscaping business in the summer. But my GPA wasn’t high enough to get into the educational program, so I selected Political Science and Economics, with the idea of going to law school. I had a plan that didn’t work out, so I took my skills and made the best of what I had. Later I was diagnosed with a learning disability that I have overcome, but in those days, it affected my schoolwork. My grades weren’t high, and I needed to work hard. It took me five years to earn my bachelor’s degree.
After I graduated, I thought I would work at my dad’s landscaping business for the summer, go get some real- world experience, and then apply to law school. That never happened. My first job was working for a radio station. I wanted to be a DJ, but I had to sell advertising to make any real money in that business. I was a good salesman and sold a lot of airtime for the station. After that, I went to work at an advertising agency. I enjoyed that work and decided I would be a salesperson for media companies.
That was until I spoke to John Peterson and Steve Capelli, two Pennsylvania state representatives who were up for reelection. Because I worked for an advertising company and they knew me from working as a volunteer in college, I ended up managing their media. They were both reelected, and Steve asked me to join his staff. I worked there for two years, but after he ran for the State Senate and lost, I knew I had to find something new.
I got into the insurance business for a couple months, and then I took an opportunity at Moran Streets to help with government affairs. I helped run Tom Marino’s campaign for Congress and then decided not to work on his staff because I didn’t want to worry about finding a new job in two years. So, I went back to Mr. Moran, and told him I wanted to have a campaign consulting and government affairs firm. He invested in the company.
It took a long time and a lot of hard work to get where we are. I haven’t taken the firm to where I want to be ultimately, but we certainly have grown substantially every year. We write grants and do appropriations work for about 40 clients throughout Pennsylvania.
TOM GEFFERS
Tell us more about your company. What is your elevator pitch?
JASON FITZGERALD
Penn Strategies is primarily a municipal economic development and consulting firm. That means we get grants for municipalities. We have some private clients as well, but municipalities are where most of our growth is. That’s the sweet spot for us. We go into a municipality, primarily a rural municipality, and we identify what projects are critical in their mind. Then we show them the potential grant programs that match up to their priorities. Then we write the grants, and we advocate. I am a registered lobbyist. We advocate in Harrisburg for their approval. Then after they're approved, we handle the administration. Many times, people will get a grant and never receive the cash. We make sure that doesn’t happen.
We are a grant writing firm, but we do community planning as well. Our bread and butter is going into rural municipalities, identifying three or four priority projects, helping to prioritize them, and finding funding solutions that don't involve having to raise property taxes.
MARIA GEFFERS
Can you tell us the benefits of having lobbyists?
JASON FITZGERALD
There are good and bad folks in every profession. We view ourselves as advocates for projects. I'm not representing pharmaceutical companies. I don't represent large corporations. We're representing rural municipalities. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have plenty of folks in Harrisburg and Washington fighting for their interests. Places like Pocono Township or Barrett Township don't necessarily know a lot about it, but for a reasonable rate, you can have somebody in Harrisburg who is advocating for your interest.
It's easy to fight for these communities per project. Legislators never tell us no, which is rare in this field. Sometimes they tell us we must wait because they’re working on community projects in their district. The benefit of having an advocate or a lobbyist in Harrisburg is they can help get projects completed. Lobbyist isn’t a bad word. Like any vocation, there are good people in this business and there are lousy people in this business who aren’t that ethical. Most men and women in this line of work are hard workers and advocate for their clients. Some bad actors give us all a bad name. We really pride ourselves on operating in an ethical and honest manner. We certainly could have grown our business quicker if we acted the way some others do.
We go around and introduce ourselves to people and build on our success. Most of the people call us because another client recommended us. People need to hire lobbyists if they believe in the cause they’re advocating for. I never have any problem going to Harrisburg and advocating for the projects we represent, because I believe in them, and I've directly seen the positive impacts of them.
TOM GEFFERS
We do career assessments for our clients to find the best major for them. Many of them score very high on writing and research. How important is writing and research at your company and in the business world in general?
JASON FITZGERALD
Writing and research are very important. It's one of the things we need more of. We need more English majors and History majors. We need people at Penn Strategies, and so do our competing firms, who can read, write, and think. Research is important and being an effective communicator in writing is important. Finding a college educated person who can write well is one of the most difficult things for us. You can make a substantial living even if you don’t know how to write. There are different opportunities. Everyone doesn’t have to be the outward face of the company. Most of the work that's done in a company like ours is done by people behind the scenes. One of the things I notice when I’m working with other businesses is communication is a major skill many people lack.
TOM GEFFERS
People don’t realize how important effective communication and clear writing are. What do you think the future holds for consultants and lobbyists?
JASON FITZGERALD
There will be continual growth. We need people who understand and have degrees in public administration. Many municipal managers and authorities of municipalities are about to retire. These are great jobs with pensions, but it’s hard to find young people who think of that as a career. People might think lobbying is glamorous or high profile, but it’s not. It’s a lot of work with some reward. Young people should be looking into interning or working for a municipality because that could lead them to a government job. Young people need to realize they don’t start out at the top of an organization. When I first started working, I was a legislative aide.
Many people focus on the point they want to reach to be successful and forget that it takes many years to get to that point. There were a lot of tight budget years. After I graduated high school, a lot of my friends didn’t go to college. They were able to buy houses and car quicker than I was able to. Now, of course, I make more than they do, and they say, “I wish I went to college.” Some of them are happy with their decision, but they still must work hard and do a lot. People might ask themselves why they would go to college to work an entry-level job, but college gives people their foundation. It leads to success. It shows employers you can complete something. Many people in newer generations are short-term thinkers. They don’t think about building for the future. A liberal arts education, if you choose wisely and it fits your budget, is a good investment.
MARIA GEFFERS
Education is never wasted. You had the grit to stick it out.
JASON FITZGERALD
I did. I’m happy I stuck with college, but there were many times when I would think about whether I was going to continue. Then in building my business, I asked myself if I wanted to travel the state, work non-stop, and be away from my family to possibly build something. There were times I thought there were easier routes to take and make the same amount of money or more. People need to understand if they are going into business for themselves and want to be successful that they will have to work hard to get there.
Unless you're born with a lot of wealth or some extraordinary talent, you’re going to have to work nonstop. The day you stop worrying about your company and moving it forward will be the day it stops going up. We grow every year, but I’m still not satisfied. I want us to be the largest firm of this nature in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We have a lot of great people who are smarter than me who work with us because they know I’ll never stop marketing the company. Now, I’m doing a better job with my family life and work balance. It’s not easy.
MARIA GEFFERS
You took something you loved and applied it to your career even though it took you a little longer because of your learning disability. Many learning disabilities aren't diagnosed until you're an adult. You built your learning disability, your experiences in landscaping, and working in sales into a foundation that helped with your education and successful business.
TOM GEFFERS
We need good politicians, but you have shown us the power of a Political Science degree. Political Science is very broad and includes many different time periods and places. Getting your degree was your entry level position. You were able to speak with people who you helped, which is a great skill.
How do you stay up to date in your business?
JASON FITZGERALD
I read constantly, both for fun and for work. I go to industry conferences and attend township and municipality events. I speak to a lot of people who work in the municipal realm and the political realm. I learn about trends. I wasn’t a great student in college, but I feel like I’ve made for it because I’ve been a good student since then. I read a lot of industry related information to keep current on things. I'm a big supporter of the PASSHE system in particular, the State System of Higher Education. I'm a big believer in education.
MARIA GEFFERS
You’ve certainly gotten a lot out of your education, and your hard work since college. Thank you for your insights.
