CLICK HERE for more information and to register for the event!

Our 2023 VACCE Webinar Series will have seven (7) webinars, and the registration fee will be $25 per session OR $100 for the ENTIRE SERIES! The fee is based per chamber – you can have as many from your staff participate as you’d like once you’ve paid for a session or the entire series. You must register in order to receive the recordings of each session. Below are the dates and topics for each webinar:

CLICK HERE to register for the webinar series. Each session will be recorded.

Barry DuVal, President & CEO, Virginia Chamber

A top priority of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce is to strengthen Virginia’s reputation as the best state in which to do business. To be the best state for business – Virginia must be the best state for talent.

CLICK HERE for the full blog.

akoepke@clragroup.com

Chambers of VA Healthcare is a partnership for Chambers across Virginia to help their members with employee benefits. Boasting over 135+ carriers nationwide with major medical, vision, dental, hearing, short term disability, and Aflac products there is something for everyone. Employee Benefits help members to recruit and retain top talent. With Chamber of VA Healthcare, your members have the advantage of having a team that works for them to gain the best healthcare coverage options at affordable prices. Learn more about how you can enhance your chambers members employee benefit offerings at ChambersofVAhealthcare.com today! Schedule a call here.

The Chamber would like to share that we had a great turnout for our Men's Night on January 19 held at Bacova Beer Company. Our guest speaker was Chris Doyle, the new director for Boys Home of Virginia.

Also, we will be hosting a Lunch and Learn on February 16 at the Inn at Warm Springs. Our speaker, Con Sauls, will discuss Hiring Challenges in a Hostile Economy.

The Chamber is excited to reintroduce our Bedford Leads Group in 2023! With our Forest Leads Group meeting every other week for over sixteen years, we know that people prefer to do business with people they know. The friendly, informal structure of a Leads Group allows only one member in each business category, which means no competition within the group. These groups work closely with each other to help one another's businesses to flourish, members to trust their associates and form bonds of friendships and mutual respect. Any questions about Leads Groups can be directed to ceo@baccva.org.

The Chamber is pleased to welcome Deborah Rose as their new Executive Director.

The Chamber is pleased to welcome Natalie Rhodes as their new Manager for Governmental Relations. Natalie is originally from Wise, VA and graduated from Eastside High School in Coeburn, VA. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science Pre-Law from Virginia Tech. For the past two years, she has worked in state and federal politics which include working for Governor Glenn Youngkin and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21), along with several others.

The Chamber is pleased to welcome Beverley Ambs as their new Executive Director. Beverley was previously with the Blackstone Chamber.

The Chamber's 2023 Annual Meeting - Envision 2023 - will be held February 14 at the Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa. Attendees will hear how ChamberRVA is working to advocate, inform, and connect RVA businesses to support business growth, build strong relationships, and create a thriving and prosperous region for all. This year's signature event will welcome Eric Edwards M.D., Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of Phlow, a trailblazing, public benefit corporation committed to ending shortages of essential medicines in our country.

The Chamber will be hosting a DEI Collaborative Networking Power Hour on February 28.

Following more than four years at the helm of the Chamber, Elizabeth Cromwell has announced she will step down in February. Andrea Copeland will be assuming the role of Interim President & CEO on February 17.

The Chamber is pleased to welcome Jordan Cipparuolo as their new Membership and Visitors Services Coordinator.

The Chamber has announced their new incoming President as C. Melissa McKenna. McKenna assumed her new duties on January 17, 2023. McKenna comes from a dynamic sales and management environment with over 20 years of experience leading people and improving processes within organizations. She recently comes from Palantir as an Account Director. She is the current Chair of the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) and has called Herndon home since 2002. Read the press release here.

The Chamber's International Business Committee is hosting a hybrid event on February 28 on Doing Business with Spain.

The Chamber's Annual Stars Over Dulles Gala will be held March 23 at the Hyatt Regency Dulles. Members have a chance to attend the event for free by coming out to Chamber events and picking up a special Hershey bar - one has a golden ticket!

The Chamber had the pleasure of hosting Senator Mark Warner recently at Laurel Ridge Community College.

We are also accepting applications for our Small Business of the Year with four exciting award categories this year. The event will be held on May 2 so mark those calendars.

Finally, we are gearing up for our #bestclassever of 2023 for LEAD757, our leadership program with over 1600 graduates!

View more events on our calendar and check out our blog for more news such as our Legislative updates, briefs from our affiliate partners and more! 

The 63rd Highland County Maple Festival will be held March 11-12 and 18-19, 2023. Since 1959, visitors have been drawn to Highland County to tour real maple sugar camps for a cultural and culinary adventure! In 1999, The Library of Congress designated The Highland County Maple Festival a “Local Legacy.” In 2014, the Governor of Virginia signed a bill into law designating the festival as the “official maple festival of Virginia.” Each year, tens of thousands of visitors are drawn to this unspoiled, rural region of Virginia to celebrate the “opening” of the trees and observe the process of maple syrup-making. 

For full details, visit here.

The Chamber will be hosting our 86th Annual Dinner Dance & Auction - A Night on the Town - on Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 5:30 - 10:30 p.m. in Evans Hall at Washington & Lee University. Tickets are $100/each and include: plated dinner, open bar, photo booth, both live and silent auctions, music, dancing and a late night snack. Tickets are selling fast and auction item donations are coming in daily.

CareerFest 2023 will take place at the Virginia Horse Center on Tuesday, March 21. Middle school students will have the opportunity to come out and meet business and trade professionals and learn about local companies and career paths.

The Chamber is accepting resumes for the position of Director of Workforce & Talent Development. For more information, please see the VACCE Careers page.

On January 19, the Chamber hosted its Annual Celebration and award ceremony to commemorate the Chamber's 35^th year in business. The prestigious Kathy Budner Award of Excellence, named after the Powhatan Chamber's first Executive Director, was presented to former Executive Director Angie Cabell for her immeasurable endeavors to maintain success and thrive through the adversity of the past few years and overall, during her eight years of leadership. New Board President Teresa Melton of Berkshire Hathaway Ped Fed Realty has embraced "connection" as the Chamber's word of the year. The focus and direction for 2023 are to CONNECT as business leaders and as a community.

The Chamber is hosting the 12th Annual Asian American & Pacific Islanders Policy Summit on February 15 at McGuire Woods Consulting in Richmond, VA. The theme for the event will be "Developing Actionable Solutions for AAPIs Future."

The Chamber will host a "Women Inspiring Women" Luncheon and Paint Party on February 16 at Seven Sisters Brewery. The "Women Inspiring Women" luncheon is designed to provide an opportunity for businesswomen in the area to know and uplift one another personally and professionally.

Save the dates for ACCE's 2023 Convention - July 31 - August 3, 2023 - Salt Lake City, Utah. Registration is open, so click here for more information and to register.

Chambers of Commerce professionals across the US and Canada provided a look at the inner workings of their organizations when they replied to GrowthZone's 9th annual survey. Click here to read the report.

The scholarship application process for the 2023 summer sites are now open. The deadline to apply is Friday, February 10. Click here for more information.

Click here for the episode - Executive Search Trends with Eric Peterson.