with the company, himself helping to launch the Burley, Idaho and Bear locations. “Delaware is in a prime location to help us control costs in terms of products that we buy. There are a lot of food products that are produced in the area, taking costs out of the system.” The state is a supplier of many agricultural goods, including chicken, soybeans, and dairy products. These local products are then shipped out to their other warehouses to properly cater to customer needs. Despite opening mere days before the pandemic, Dot was steadily hiring in Delaware throughout 2020 and 2021. With 175 current full-time employees, the Bear location hopes to boast 200 employees by next year. Little was especially appreciative of all his core hardworking employees who “rode out the storm” of the last year and a half with them. Despite being an official part of the Delaware community for less than two years, Dot Foods has already made a huge impact within the community. In their Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program, each location donates $30,000 in food to local food pantries, and the charitable contributions committee at each facility is solely dedicated to finding and donating to local charities. “The outreach, support, and cooperation from the state of Delaware during the last 16 months has just been outstanding. It will do nothing but help us to funnel and fuel more growth for our company in the years to come,” Little emphasized. While many hurdles have been jumped to get to this point, the future of Dot Foods and the Delaware business community looks bright.
DELAWARE BUSINESS | Se pt e m be r/ Oct o be r 2021
Committee Spotlight: Small Business Alliance The Small Business Alliance (SBA) met in mid-July to discuss the 6th Annual Small Business Day in Dover which was held in May. This year the virtual event took place over two days. The first day featured informational sessions on key policy issues such as recreational marijuana, paid family and medical leave, and site readiness and permitting. The second day, “lobby day,” the State Chamber organized meetings between members of the business community and their state senator and representative. “I was excited to schedule one-on-one time with two senators during the Small Business Day. It is not often you feel like you are heard as an individual small business owner. This time, I felt I was.” said Nicole Walsh, Delaware franchise owner of Beyond by Aerus. “I’ve also continued conversations further with both senators after the event and even had them visit me at my location. None of this would have happened for us without the State Chamber’s help.” With the General Assembly concluding its first round of the 151st legislative session, the committee also reviewed a few of the State Chamber’s policy priorities and briefly recapped the session, highlighting some of the policies the Chamber supported and passed such as site readiness, clean water, Focus on Alternative Skills Training Program (FAST), Student Excellence Equals Degree Act (SEED+), and Elevate Delaware. The group also discussed some pending legislation that will be reintroduced next year like recreational marijuana, paid
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BY TYLER MICIK
family and medical leave, and increases in personal income taxes. Redistricting this fall will also play a major role in shaping the future of Delaware politics and policy as new faces will likely be added to the General Assembly. It’s more important now than ever before for business owners to meet with their state senator and representative to build relationships, educate them on their business, and raise awareness about policies and regulations that could impact their line of work. “I think the biggest value to hosting a legislator is the relationship that you develop. They see what your business does and how many as well as what types of positions make up your company roster. When you call with an issue that impacts your business, they are better able to relate to the position you are taking because they have a better understanding of your business model and the people that work there,” said John Gooden, president of M. Davis & Sons, Inc. “I am always glad to bring legislators through our facilities to give them a picture of a manufacturing floor and to show off what we do.” The State Chamber is currently scheduling Member-to-Member meetings between State Chamber members and members of the General Assembly. If you would like to host your business district’s policymakers for an on-site meeting, contact Tyler Micik at tmicik@ dscc.com or (302) 576-6590.
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