Chair's Message - Katie K. Wilkinson

BY KATIE K. WILKINSON

IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE that my term as chair has come to an end. When I stepped into this role in January 2020, I certainly had no way of anticipating what was about to happen in our community and the world.

Looking back over these past two years fills me with both awe and gratitude. The staff at the State Chamber did amazing things to adjust and realign events, communication, and advocacy to provide real-time answers and information to employers and employees. Our almost weekly free conference calls with key stakeholders and decision-makers in highly impacted industries across the state provided up to-the-moment information about the pandemic and its impact on everyone in Delaware. This was critical to so many large and small businesses as well as people hungry for expert views and perspectives.

I’d like to highlight some of those like ChristianaCare’s CEO Janice Nevin; John Fleming, director of Delaware’s SBA district office, who explained the Payroll Protection Plan process; Karyl Rattay, the director of the Delaware Division of Public Health; and of course, our own Governor John Carney.

It was also an honor to serve as chair of the Business Subcommittee of the Governor’s Pandemic Resurgence Advisory Committee (PRAC). The purpose of this group was to:

• Develop a health care system and public health strategy that’s ready in case of a resurgence of COVID-19;

• Identify tactics and resources to manage a resurgence of COVID19 including, but not limited to testing capabilities, personal protective equipment (PPE), social distancing, economic recovery, and health facility readiness; and

• Assess methods to protect vulnerable populations and consider disproportionate effects on minority-owned businesses in the event of a resurgence of COVID-19.

I want to offer a personal message of thanks and gratitude to three chamber members whose input was invaluable on the PRAC Business Subcommittee with me—Steve Chambliss of Christiana Mall, Taryn Delmasso from Edgewell Personal Care, and Chris Schell of Schell Brothers. They represented the entire State Chamber membership and their service should be applauded.

Another reflection revolves around our collaborative work with the Delaware Business Roundtable led by Executive Director Bob Perkins and Board Chair Rod Ward. On behalf of both our memberships and the entire business community, we first offered support in March 2020 for the difficult decision made by the Governor to close non-essential businesses in the state. Later, we issued a comprehensive list of critical success factors to ensure a solid economic recovery and prioritize efforts to put Delawareans back to work:

• Comprehensive COVID-19 testing

• Retention of key employers

• Improved access to broadband

• Site readiness

• Ready in Six

• Temporary regulatory relief

• Bolster Intern Delaware

As my term comes to an end, I am excited to see that our business community is slowly—and safely—returning to a new normal. This new normal will bring different challenges and more change, but the State Chamber will continue to be the state’s primary advocate for the businesses in the First State—promoting economic growth, job creation, inclusion and equity, and an improved quality of life for all Delawareans.

I leave you in the capable hands of Nick Lambrow, regional president of M&T Bank. Nick joined our business community ten years ago and immediately immersed himself in the community—working tirelessly with many not-for-profit organizations as well as engaging fully with the business community through State Chamber leadership and solid representation on the Delaware Business Roundtable board. I look forward to working with Nick to continue moving both this organization and state forward. Thank you for the honor to serve you in this capacity over the past two years.