Veteran Washington, D.C. PR and public affairs firm Smith & Harroff, Inc. has merged with Alexandria, VA-based public affairs consultancy C. May & Associates, LLC.
The merged company, which combines both firms' staff and clients, will retain the Smith & Harroff name. C. May staff will relocate to Smith & Harroff's headquarters.
“I am excited about C. May & Associates joining S&H because of the energy and youthful perspective they have,” S&H president Rick Morris told O'Dwyer's. “While we have had numerous young employees over the years, none were as committed to the future of S&H as Carina is. That combined with her experience and client base in health care, make this a great merger.”
S&H was founded in 1973 by J. Brian Smith and Mark Harroff. Clients have included Westinghouse Electric Corporation and the Nuclear Energy Institute, as well as government leaders such as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and former NH Gov. John Sununu. Smith, a former Republican aide, died in March, 2014. Morris was named S&H owner the same year.
CMA was founded in 2013 by Carina May. Prior to founding the company, May was stationed at Bethesda, MD-based management consulting firm The Hill Group, where she served in numerous roles, including marketing coordinator, senior account executive and business development and marketing manager. Her clients have included the National Institutes of Health, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the National Commission on Digestive Diseases and the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
May has now joined Morris as S&H co-owner.
Morris said that while S&H's roots are in political campaigns, the firm now provides a suite of marketing and communication services for associations, corporations and government clients.
“When you have been an independently owned communications firm for over four decades, change is a way of life, and this merger with C. May & Associates is another step towards future growth and expanded client services,” Morris said.
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