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220 S. Washington Street, Suite 205

Alexandria, VA 22305

888-609-1131

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bass public affairs, llcYour Clear Voice in a Crowded Market

Overviewbass public affairs, llc is a full service public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. with an

office in Wilmington, DE. bass public affairs helps organizations build alliances with

potential clients and solidify partnerships with current clients. Whether

reaching an audience of one or millions, bass public affairs uses hybrid

research and innovative public relations techniques to build

strategic coalitions and enhance growth. By offering

traditional and emerging public relations tools, bass

public affairs provides solutions to individuals

and organizations that desire to impact

public opinion and public policy.

NAICS Codes541430 - Graphic Design Services541611 - Strategic Planning Consultant Services 541613 - Marketing Consulting 541810 - Advertising Agency Consulting Services541820 - Public Relations541910 - Marketing Research Services812990 - Event Marketing and Planning Services

Past PerformanceDenise Woods Studios - Hollywood, CA Association of Maryland Families - Latham, MDJericho City of Praise Church - Landover, MDThe KENO (Kid Entrepreneurs Need Opportunities) Micro-Fund - Atlanta, GATalbot County Family Connection - Talbotton, GAStark Area Transit Authority - Canton, OHGood Ground Good Life - Washington, DCCatalyst Project - Washington, DCLawrence Funderburke Youth Organization - Columbus, OHThe Honorable Jovita Carranza - Chicago, IL

Phone: 888.609.1131Email: info@basspublicaffairs.com Web: basspublicaffairs.com

bass public affairs, llc220 S. Washington Street, Suite 205Alexandria, VA 22314

Leadership TeamDee-Dee Bass FrancisDeana Bass

bass public affairsWe help you get ready for PROM!

Every day, we help our clients connect with the people, organizations, revenue and media that will make them a success!

P - PEOPLE

R - REVENUE

O - ORGANIZATIONS

M - MEDIA

Chaos SolutionsPersonal Assistant & Concierge ServiceWe help busy professionals and families take by their free time and enjoy the precious moments in life.

Tag LineBringing Calm to the Chaos of Life

Sister in ChargeDee Dee Bass-Francis

CS CorporatePublic Affairs and CommunicationsWe help clients achieve strategic growth through the use of effec-tive public relations tools.

Tag LineYour Clear Voice in a Crowded Market

Sister In ChargeDeana Bass

In October 2007 sisters, Dee Dee Bass-Francis and Deana Bass formed two companies based on their unique passions.

Dee Dee who spent 10 years in the rigid banking industry before becoming a full time stay at home mom realized that excellent organizational skills were necessary to tame the wild frontiers of work and home. The idea for Chaos Solutions personal assistant and concierge service was born.

Deana who has held diverse communications roles, from staff writer on regional newspapers to press secretary to members of Congress, opened the doors to CS Corporate a public affairs and communications firm.

Dee Dee serves as managing partner of Chaos Solutions. Deana is managing partner of CS Corporate. However in reality the women are equal partners balancing the demands of the two start-ups with grace, determination and an abundance of laughter.

There are of course disadvantages to being in business with your sister and best friend. The time you once spent just enjoying each other’s company inevitably turns into a company meeting. But for Dee Dee and Deana, the positives far outweigh any negatives.

Only a year and a half apart in age, the sisters grew up sharing everything from clothes to late night secrets. Their personalities are as different as night and day. Dee Dee, the eldest, is an outgoing charmer. She has always played a vivacious Willona Woods to Deana’s subtle practical Florida Evans.

Even in the heart of their different personalities, the sisters share a foundation grounded in a rich faith in God and an undying loyalty to family.

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Sister ActSisters Dee-Dee Bass Wilbon and Deana Bass make busi-ness a family affair. After spending their girlhoods dreaming of owning their own business, they’ve committed in womanhood to making it happen.

Possible Commentaries

Freeloading: It’s All Relative(s): Dee Dee and Deana give tips on how to avoid losing revenue by giving away the store to family and friends.

Blacks in Business;Creating a Lasting Legacy: For Black History Month, Dee Dee and Deana profile 3 - 5 successful black owned businesses and the impor-tance of leaving a financial legacy to future generations.

Resolve to Turn that Side Hustle into Your Full Time Gig: Dee Dee and Deana share 5 steps that will help readers leave lack luster jobs to pursue their passions full time.

Financial Literacy Month: Dee Dee and Deana reveal how growing up in a working class home gave them a learning curve to becoming financially liter-ate business owners.

For the Love of Money: Dee Dee and Deana help readers determine the real value of being self-employed. The rewards may not always be monetary.

Managing Your Company’s Electronic Footprint: Dee Dee and Deana give insight on how managing Face-book, Twitter, Linked in and other social media can make a positive or negative impact on your bottom line.

Can I Get That in Writing?: Dee Dee and Deana explain why contracts are necessary even for small family owned businesses.

Healthcare: Dee Dee and Deana explore how small business owners can provide health care for themselves and their employees without going into cardiac arrest.

Hiring, Firing and Everything In Between: Dee Dee and Deana share their stories and gather stories from other small business owners about what to do to hire and keep great staff.

Customer Appreciation: Dee Dee and Deana show small ways to give big thanks to customers.

Vision Casting: Dee Dee and Deana talk with business planning experts about growth and succession plan-ning.

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Dee Dee Bass-FrancisManaging Partner, Chaos Solutions

Upon graduating from Fisk University, Dee Dee was recruited into the fast track of corporate America for one of the nation’s largest issuers of credit cards, MBNA in Wilmington, Delaware.

Evidence of her success in corporate America are the accolades she re-ceived. Dee Dee’s outstanding performance earned her the coveted Young Achiever’s Award at MBNA. Because of her commitment to corpo-rate responsibility, she received the MBNA Community Service Award for her leadership in developing and executing a mentor program. The pro-gram forged partnerships with local schools for MBNA employees to tutor and read to inner city students.

Dee Dee’s community involvement includes having served on the Board of Read Aloud Delaware. Ac-tive in the Wilmington, Delaware community, Dee Dee is a member of the Wilmington Chapter of Jack and Jill of America and is a Diamond Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Deana BassManaging Partner, CS Corporate

Before co-founding CS Corporate in 2007, Deana Bass spent five years as an advisor to congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. Her work in Wash-ington, includes serving as press secretary to U.S. Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Director of Coalitions under Deborah Pryce Chairman of the House Republican Conference and Deputy Director of Coalitions under Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman. She also served as Executive Director of The Gloucester Institute an African Ameri-can think tank with offices in Alexandria, Virginia and a campus in Gloucester, Virginia.

Deana is a native of Columbus, Georgia. She received a B.A. in Commu-nications and International Relations from Salem College where she serves on the Board of Trustees and an M.F.A. in film production from The Ohio University.

She is the founder of Generation Imagination an organization dedicated to teaching inner city and rural youth the fundamentals of the media gathering process.

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Dee Dee Bass-Francis & Deana BassIt’s a Family Affair

VictoriesIn the three years since the Sister Act launched their family enterprises, they have moved their businesses from their homes to offices in Wilmington, DE and Al-exandria, Va. They have hired part time staff and employed a fleet of able bodied interns. They have built partnerships and alliances with national organiza-tions and high profile stars.

ChallengesSurviving the startup phase has not been without its challenges. They have survived ill-fated financial decisions like investing in a cumbersome and expensive phone system to recruiting reliable staff in a turbulent economy. They have born the death of their father from cancer. Dee Dee has endured, sur-vived and prevailed through a divorce after 11 years of marriage. Weathering both professional and personal blows is bearable because of the bonds of supportive sisterhood.

Big DreamersDee Dee and Deana dream of some day employing hundreds of Chaos So-lutionists who drive around in stylish Tif-fany Blue Mini Coopers helping people reign in the chaos of life. They also dream that someday CS Corporate blossoms into one of the most widely recognized public affairs firms in the U.S.

Even when we disagree about what path to take in our businesses, I know that Deana’s motives are one hundred percent pure. There is not an ounce of envy or jealousy between us. Her love for me and desire for my success is unconditional. -Dee Dee Bass-Francis

Dee Dee knows me better than anyone on the planet. She has seen me at my highest and lowest. With one single word or a split second glance, she can have me laughing to the point of tears. I couldn’t imagine going into business with anyone else.-Deana Bass

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The Significance of a Symbol

The origin of our logo is quite easy to explain.  A friend once referred to

dragonflies as “butterflies with attitude.”  We immediately fell in love.  Well, as much as one can fall in love with a phrase… We fell in love.

    The people and characters that we ad-mire most are all butterflies with attitude – from our mama a modern day south-ern belle who can quiet an unruly child with a single glance to Elizabeth Bennett, Jane Austen’s graceful, smart and feisty heroine.  

       When debating logos, we toyed with a number of im-ages until one day we real-ized it was right under our noses.  Or we should say, it was pinned to our blouses.   You see, after hearing the phrase “butterflies with atti-tude,” we had abandoned all other pins and broaches to

almost exclusively wear exotic, simple, playful and funky dragonflies.

    Like butterflies, we are lighthearted, color-ful and creative free spirits. But don’t mis-take our free spirit for lack of drive. We have an attitude of dedication that says, “Good is not nearly enough.”  We have an attitude of determination that drives us to do better than best.  We have an attitude of de-pendability that allows our clients to trust our word and our work.

       The dragonfly or butterfly with attitude embodies our spirit.   It underscores every-thing about the way we approach life.   It explains why we soar beyond client expec-tations.

Very Truly Yours,

Dee-Dee Bass Wilbon& Deana Bass

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Writing Sample: Luck Versus Hard Workby Dee-Dee Bass Wilbon

Written for Kay James’ Commentary on American Urban Radio Network March 2007Every year on March 17, millions of Americans regardless of heritage dress in unfashionable green apparel to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. While deep in our hearts, we know that it’s a myth; a tiny part of us wants to believe in the luck of the Irish. Of course, Saint Patty’s Day is not the only time believing in luck is manifested in our culture.  We see traces of it everyday – everywhere we go.  We are jubilant over finding a four-leaf clover or a penny heads-side-up.  Athletes of great skill try to supplement their God given talents with every-thing from a rabbits foot to a never before washed jersey! When it comes to luck versus hard work, most would agree that luck is more intriguing.  How-ever, most would also agree that hard work stands the test of time. Growing up in the projects of Richmond, Virginia, I learned early that luck gets you nowhere, but hard work can break down socio-economic, educational and even physical barriers.

Consider the following statistics.• Only 40% of Black students enrolled in college will graduate compared to 61% of white students.• One out of every three Black males born today can expect to go to prison in his lifetime.• On any given day, one out of every 14 Black children has a parent in prison.• 61% of Black fourth graders have yet to reach the basic reading level.

I don’t share this information to depress you.  I would however like to highlight the fact that in order to put Black America on the right side of these statistics, it will take hard work, not luck. We are kidding ourselves if we believe that the state of Black America will improve without our active participation.  In order to decrease the rate of Black men going to prison and increase the number graduating from college, each of us must be actively engaged in our community. The key question is, are you relying on luck and banking on a miraculous change in the state of affairs - or are you getting your hands dirty with the hard work of creating solutions? If you’re outraged by the number of Black men in jail and are not doing a thing to mentor African American boys, then you’re banking on luck. If you‘re bemoaning the reading gap between black and white children and not reading every night to your child, then you’re banking on luck. If you find the state of our inner-city schools deplorable, but refuse to write your Congressman in support of school choice, then you my friend are banking on luck. You’re relying on luck because you’re complaining and waiting for a miracle rather than cre-ating the miracle.  You’re relying on luck because you’re ignoring the incredible power of education in decreasing the crime rate in the Black community and increasing the percentage ofwealth. Today it is worth noting that, Ireland which was once best known for civil wars and famines is one of the richest countries in the European Union.  And it has absolutely nothing to do with luck.  It has everything to do with hard work and education. Ireland’s turnaround can be traced back to the 1960’s when the rate of working class youth receiving high school and technical degrees increased.  By relying on a better-educated population willing to do the hard work, Ireland was able to move from a nation of poverty to a nation of prosper-ity. Hard work reinforced by education is not a foreign concept to African Americans.  We can trace its importance throughout our history from slaves learning to read under the threat of death to young Sara Brown integrating a Kansas school. Booker T. Washington once said and I am inclined to agree, “Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”

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Written for NPR Online Opinion Pagehttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121238779

Black women across America gave a collective "It's about time" when Disney announced pre-production on a film featuring a black princess. Disney has traveled a long road to move from its early caricatures of lazy, big-lipped, bug-eyed, zoot-suited blacks to Princess Tiana, an energetic, smart and in-charge heroine. But as the na-tional release of The Princess and the Frog approaches, I join those who are disappointed that Disney chose not to give their first black princess a black prince. Surely at some point in the brainstorming sessions, someone had to question the wisdom of Naveen, Tiana's white love interest. The existence of interracial relationships on the screen does not offend me. The nonexistence of healthy, positive, inspiring black relationships offends me. To object to a black princess and a white prince in Obama's post-racial America upsets the sensibilities of some, and simply does not make sense to others. But pointing to the Obamas as proof that America has ample examples of black families and black love is as silly as it was to point to the Huxtables 20 years ago. The unfortunate reality is that the big and small screens paint more pictures of black dysfunc-tional relationships than images of black couples falling and staying in healthy love. The Princess and the Frog is an excellent opportunity for the Mouse to add to the healthy images. Much has been made of the improved self-esteem and personal empowerment that will come to black girls who now have a princess in their own image. To that point, black boys desper-ately need images of a dashing, courageous, smart black prince as much as black girls need images of a charming, courageous, smart black princess. And yes, despite our displeasure at not having a black prince, my mama, my sister and I are breaking the bank this Christmas to buy my 2-year-old niece all manner of Princess Tiana merchan-dise. I suppose beggars can't be choosy, after all. Deana Bass is managing partner of CS Corporate, a public affairs firm with offices in Washing-ton, D.C., and Wilmington, Del. Her occasional blog can be found here.

Writing Sample: Still Waiting for Disney’s First Black Princeby Deana Bass