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Amos Snead Shows Off His Alabama Roots

Snead branches out with his new firm, Bryant Park. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Snead branches out with his new firm, Bryant Park. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Amos Snead is showing off his roots.  

The veteran FamousDC’er has branched out to open a new PR Firm, aptly titled Bryant Row, after Paul “Bear” Bryant, the legendary Alabama football coach and Snead’s current home on Barrack’s Row. “My wife said we couldn’t name our kids after a football coach, so it ended up being the firm’s name,” he said.  

Snead is an Alabama native and former Capitol Hill staffer whose résumé includes time as press secretary for Missouri Republican Roy Blunt when the senator was House majority whip and as a principal at Story Partners.  

Snead shared with CQ Roll Call what he and Bryant Row will be working on, as well as the value of simple courtesies.

Q. Congrats on launching your own PR Firm. What sort of work will Bryant Row be focusing on? A. Bryant Row is a strategic public affairs firm that will focus on a blended approach that includes consistent messaging across earned, paid and owned media platforms to influence public opinion and shape public policy.  

Q. You’re a former Hill staffer. How did working on Capitol Hill set you up to be where you are today? A. Working on Capitol Hill taught me relationships and information are critical if you want to impact the debate in Washington, D.C. If people trust your judgment, they will listen to you.  

During my time in the House, I saw the methods to communicate directly with members of Congress and staffers rapidly change. This is still true today and highlights the need to utilize the latest communications technology in any public affairs campaign.  

Q. You’re from down South, but you’ve been here long enough to have learned a few things. What’s one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned so far? A. Open doors – literally and figuratively. Paying it forward goes a long way in Washington, D.C.  

And the intern who you open a door for today could be a vice presidential candidate tomorrow.  

Q. What was one of your earliest work experiences? A. My earliest work experience was spending summers selling fireworks at Famous Amos Fireworks in northeast Alabama with my brothers, my father and my granddaddy.  

Those summers taught me how to talk to anyone and to finish strong — you always remember the finale.  

Q. Best-kept secret to success in managing communications in Washington, D.C.? A. Be prepared and stay on message!  

The policy landscape can shift quickly in Washington, D.C., and when it does, your campaign needs to be prepared with messaging that can quickly be disseminated to key stakeholders. Successful public affairs campaigns understand and utilize these opportunities to not only respond to the opportunity — but to drive home winning messages.  

Q. Fill the blanks in this sentence:
A. Don’t waste your energy comparing yourself to your colleagues
, but do put the extra effort into being the first one to send a congratulations note to your friends; this can be a tough town.

The 114th: CQ Roll Call’s Guide to the New Congress


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