Emily Brady The recent success at the convention center, the gathering of several hundred out- of- town delegates and thousands of local visitors at the National Hydrogen Associations' annual convention, was promoted by Columbia- based public relations firm Chernoff Newman. Walking point for Chernoff Newman on its convention promotion project was Emily Brady.

Brady was born in Columbia. Her father was with Dillard Paper Company, part of International Paper, and her mother had just left her position as morning anchor for WISTV. They lived in Arcadia Lakes.

Brady's father took his career over to xpedx, the country's top paper supplier and single- source provider of graphic supplies, printing press machines, and bindery and finishing equipment, and still part of International Paper. Her mother is Richland County's Representative Joan Brady, a House Republican representing District 78.

For kindergarten Brady attended Kathwood preschool, and she moved on to Hammond Academy, where she stayed from the first grade through the twelfth. Her early outside activities included piano lessons. She studied under Keith Woodward from grades one through five and shifted to Maria Stanley Tucker on Saluda Avenue for her sixth grade.

She was the student body president of the middle school. In the high school, Brady managed cheerleading while her big push was in academics.

Brady has two brothers. Kevin, 25, who graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in international business. Dillon, 20, is majoring in economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Brady enrolled at Duke University with the goal of earning a degree in political science. From her first day on campus, she began her successful run for student government. As a member of Duke's student government, she served on the facilities committee.

An active member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, Brady also helped with the student- run radio station.

Brady worked for the U.S. Senate through a stint with the office of South Carolina's Senator Strom Thurmond. Her home in Washington was on the campus of George Washington University, the part between Capitol Hill and the Watergate complex.

Soon after graduating from Duke with her BA in political science, Brady worked for South Carolina Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster. She managed a federal grant directed at raising public awareness of domestic violence.

From General McMaster's office on the State House grounds, Brady moved into her office at Chernoff Newman on Gervais Street, where she has applied her skills as a public relations specialist for almost two years.

She met her husband Jody Bedenbaugh while he was in law school, but their first encounter was actually at El Burrito on Harden Street. He is in the banking and finance division of the Columbia office of Nelson Mullins. The two of them are founding members of the Young Leaders Society of the United Way of the Midlands. On the fun side, they are each other's favorite tennis teacher, but when they really want to break away, they travel. They have planned a May trip to Paris.

Brady is active in the Junior League. And she is a member of the board of the Contemporaries at the Columbia Museum of Art. She encourages her friends to attend this Saturday's gala fund raiser at the CMA, Soiree du Soleil, and to bid online in the charity auction through Sunday afternoon.