Chamber News THE VOICE OF BUSINESS & INDUSTRY DECEMBER 2020
Connecting for Mutual Success INSIDE: 04 | New Members 06 | The Book Nook 08 | Boradening Resources to Serve 11 | Getting Virginia Back to Work
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chair Tracy Vosika George Mason Mortgage, LLC Chair-Elect John Fox Green Sen, LLC. Vice Chair Scott Harvard First Bank Treasurer Adrian Taylor YHB
Front cover photo: James Imoh, Edward Jones Investments - James Imoh ribbong cutting in 2019. Aboove photo Salvation Army of Winchester ‘s playground ribbon cutting in 2020.
Immediate Past Chair John Lamanna Timber Ridge School BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DEPARTMENTS
FEATURES
04 | Letter from CEO
07 | 10 Reasons to Join TVRC
04 | New Members
08 | Broadening Resources to Serve
05 | TVRC News and Events
11 | Getting Virginia Back to Work
06 | The Book Nook
13 | Connecting for Mutual Success
15 | Month in Photos
14 | CLP Successes
Susan Brooks Navy Federal Credit Union Emily Burner Shenandoah University Charles Daniels Integrus Holdings, Inc. Jenny Grooms WMC Foundation Jim Guisewhite Sperry Van Ness
Top of Virginia Regional Chamber Sponsors Chamber Elite
Kevin McKannan Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, P.C. Katrina Meade City National Bank
Chairman’s Club
Nadine Pottinga United Way NSV President’s Club
Media Sponsors
Patti Solenberger Solenberger’s True Value Hardware James Stewart Grafton Integrated Health Gregory Vossler Green Bay Packaging
Letter From CEO Connecting Business and Community Resources for Mutual Success What started in 1917 as a small group of local business owners with the vision and determination to grow and strengthen our region into a thriving community bolstered with strong infrastructures, educational opportunities, diverse industries, and vast employment opportunities has blossomed into the premier business membership organization known as the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber. When people ask me whether Chamber membership is still relevant after all these years I without hesitation say YES because of the synergy that takes place in the relationships that are fostered, the ideas that are birthed, and the economic and social impacts that our members make. I love the word synergy because it denotes the combined effect being greater than the sum of their separate effects. A young entrepreneur once shared with me that when he left a corporate business culture to launch his own business, that he had not anticipated the loneliness that he would experience. When he joined the chamber, he found the collaboration, encouragement, and outside resources that have added to his business success. In this issue of the Voice of Business you will hear testimonies by TVRC members of connections and mutual success. Some of the connections led to personal growth, some to business growth, and some to community growth. Much like that of our founding members these stories by hardworking, community minded, innovative, and collaborative business members and community servants are bolstering up our region for a thriving future.
View the full TVRC calendar at regionalchamber.biz
NSV Virtaul Job Fair Thursday, Dec. 17 12:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Welcome
New Members
Business Connections
2021 State of the Chamber
Wednesday, Jan. 13 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 27 12:30 -1:30 p.m.
Thanks to our new members who joined the Chamber between November 1and November 30. To learn more about membership benefits, call 540-662-4118.
Express Employment Professionals
GTI
Pilates Connection Winchester
Puppy City LLC
New York Life - Jonathan Sheppard
Cynthia Schneider, CEO
cschneider@regionalchamber.biz
Billy Whirley Director, Membership Development
bwhirley@regionalchamber.biz
Dan Hitchcock Membership Development Specialist dhitchcock@regionalchamber.biz
Ashley Miller Director, Marketing & Communications amiller@regionalchamber.biz Danita Roble Director, Event Management droble@regionalchamber.biz CONTACT US
Cynthia Schneider | CEO Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
UPCOMING EVENTS
CHAMBER STAFF
407 S. Loudoun Street Winchester, VA 22601 540-662-4118 regionalchamber.biz OUR VISION Be the voice of business for Frederick & Clarke Counties and the City of Winchester, Virginia. OUR MISSION Provide programs and services to meet the business and professional needs of our members. OUR PURPOSE Connect business and community resources for mutual success.
TVRC NEWS & EVENTS TVRC Holiday Office Closures through 2020
Save the Date: NSV Virtual Job Fair
The TVRC Office will be closed in observance of the following holidays: Thursday, December 24 and Friday, December 25 for the Christmas Holiday.
Getting Virginia Back to Work! The NSV Virtual Regional Job Fair is looking to connect employers ready to hire with job seekers who want to work on Thursday, December 17 from 12::30 - 4:00 p.m. Come prepared to discuss opportunities with businesses in your community that are looking for candidates to fill several openings! Act NOW to prepare for your next career. Learn more and register: www.regionalchamber.boz/events
COVID-19 Resources: Rebuild VA Grant Program The Rebuild VA Grant Fund is a program to help small businesses and non-profits whose normal operations were disrupted by COVID-19. Any small business or nonprofit with $10,000,000 or less in gross revenue OR 250 or fewer employees may now apply. Learn more by visiting https://www.governor.virginia.gov/rebuildva/.
COVID-19 Resources: Lord Fairfax SBDC Has your business been impacted by COVID-19? The Lord Fairfax SBDC provides accessible and knowledgeable resources through its staff and specialized consultants. Learn more by visiting https://lfsbdc.org/has-your-businessbeen-impacted-by-covid-19/
Save the Date: 2021 State of the Chamber Join TVRC on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. for our 2021 Annual Membership Meeting: State of the Chamber. The event will include a 2020 Year-end-Review, an introduction of the 2021 Board of Directors and will highlight legacy members. Meeting will be held virtually, via Zoom. Learn more and register: www.regionalchamber.boz/events
By Matt Swain, PR Manager Handley Regional Library System The Book Nook is a monthly column connecting the community to diverse authors and books about business and careers.
Your Leadership Moment
Eric Martin, eBook at hoopladigital.com You can change the world. Your Leadership Moment is an unforgettable account of the democratizing leadership of three ordinary people leading extraordinary change. It’s an exciting expansion of Adaptive Leadership-an unconventional and provocative leadership practice developed at Harvard University-that can help anyone learn to lead. It provides practical tools and inspiration to discover and leverage your own leadership moments in the service of creating a more beautiful world.
The Unwinding of the Miracle Julie Yip-Williams
Part of our Next Virtual Book Club Discussion on January 6! Our monthly virtual book club, Brown Bag with Books, is available on Zoom. Register and see what’s next at www.handleyregional.org/club This is the story of a vigorous life refracted through the prism of imminent death. Motherhood, marriage, ambition, love, wanderlust, tennis, grief, jealousy, anger, comfort, pain, and disease. With glorious humor and beautiful and bracing honesty, Julie Yip-Williams has set the stage for her lasting legacy.
Need more inspiration? We help small businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals take care of business at your local library. Visit www.handleyregional.org/ business
10 Reasons You Should Join the Chamber of Commerce An investment in the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber of Commerce is an efficient, cost effective way for every business to increase their local visibility, enhance marketing dynamics and develop business relationships that result in new opportunities and sales. Here are the top 10 reasons you should join: Connections: The business owners and operators you meet through the Chamber can be your clients and open doors to other companies to help grow your business. Business advocates: Your ability to influence public policy on common business problems becomes greater as more voices are added to advocate on behalf of businesses like yours. Credibility: Membership in a Chamber is considered a must by the public and other businesses for your business to be taken seriously and be considered a viable player in your industry. Resources: The problems you face in business are likely shared by your fellow men and women in the business community. What better way to talk through difficulties or problems in your business than discussing with those who are walking on the same path as you. Intelligence: You don’t have time to stay on top of all the local, regional, and state issues which
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Photo taken at I Can 2 Incorperated’s October 2020 ribbon cutting.
could impact your business, but that’s at the heart of what we do. We keep you informed so that you can concentrate on growing your business. Training: Whether it is a lunch and learn or a seminar on improving your company’s marketing, the Chamber hosts countless programs to help you increase your skills in all aspects of your business. Involvement: Consumers and business owners and operators want to do business with someone who is vested in their community. Marketing: What better way to introduce your business to potential clients than through chamber-sponsored events that attract other businesses and the public. Standing: When you sit on business committees and eventually advance into leadership positions, you are seen by the public and other business owners and operators as an expert in your field. Giving back: When you give back to your community, you’re helping others, and that helps the business community become stronger. When the business community is vibrant and strong, the local economy is stronger, and that is good for all businesses that depend on consumers’ ability to spend in the local marketplace. To learn more about the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber, visit www.regionalchamber.biz.
Broadening Resources to Serve Our Communities
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Brad Sumner BB&T
BB&T has always focused on serving our communities. As we evolve into Truist we embrace our purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. The Chamber of Commerce has been a key partner in making connections to execute on that purpose. I recently spoke with the Chamber’s leadership and shared that Truist provided a $25,000 donation to Timber Ridge School for Workforce Development and the creation of a Career & Technical Education Training Program. The Chamber’s programs, events, and connections provided the path to make this happen. I came to Winchester in 2017 and took advantage of the Chamber’s events to quickly make some connections. Over the years I’ve built strong partnerships and one of those is with Kevin Callanan. I first met Kevin at an after-hours event. I enjoyed his good humor and company, but was more impressed by his focus on serving the community and how it matched my passion. Together we worked on some good business opportunities, but more importantly we’ve partnered to give back to the community. Recent examples of this are the Cancer Center in Winchester and the new Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal. As BB&T (Now Truist) holds number one market share, it is important that we understand the market to ensure we are providing the appropriate support to our community. Being new to the area, I participated in the Chamber’s Community Leadership Program to get up to speed quickly. This program showed me different aspects of the community, while making great connections. One of the most enjoyable days was held at Tim-
er Ridge School. As a benefit of the location, I saw how John Lamanna and his team inspire better lives with adolescents. I reconnected with Kevin earlier this year. I shared that as we transition from BB&T to Truist we have broadened our resources for serving our communities. We later connected over lunch and he shared that he was now working with Timber Ridge School to develop a new Work Force Development program. This program would allow students to learn new skills (electrical engineering, welding, forklift operations, construction, etc.) as they enter the workforce, while partnering with our business community. Pre-COVID, the #1 challenge for the majority of our local business clients was not being able to find enough skilled workers. This program was a perfect opportunity to build better lives in our community, while addressing a key challenge with our business partners. I connected Kevin with my Community Reinvestment Act specialist and we provided a $25,000 grant to kick start fundraising efforts. Kevin and I reconnected a couple of months ago. He shared that due to Truist’s leadership role along with other donors and community partners that contributions have climbed to over $792,000! I can’t wait to see the tremendous impact this program will have on so many young individuals and how it will support our business community. Thanks again to the Chamber for hosting events, raising awareness, making connections, and ultimately building a better community
Getting Virginia Back to Work
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Dr. Dave Miles Dr. Dave Leadership Corp
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Ashley Moslak Virginia Employment Commission
In early March of 2020 as the quarantines and stay at home orders went into place of course there were no gatherings of people allowed. We were on-track to have one of our best sales months ever but then all of that business simply evaporated. When you make your living in front of groups of people and now there are no groups of people to be in front of… that’s a problem. The TVRC staff and I talked about what they were doing to make-up for the cancelled events. I had experience utilizing the Zoom platform from taping my podcast “Business Smarts Radio with Tom & Dr. Dave”. We all talked and I gave the TVRC staff some ideas of what they could do with their programs so we sent up a test-balloon called “Zoomapalooza” just to get some folks together to connect and actually see and talk to other chamber members. That was successful so we scheduled events such as the Business After-Hours and the Business & Breakfast events online… with some changes. Things are obviously different in an online environment and things that happen by default in an in-person environment sometimes have to be done by design when they are translated online, such as breakout rooms for networking. I spoke with Ashley Moslak, Lead Veterans Services Representative with the VA Employment Commission and she mentioned that VEC could not help do an in-person job fair for one of the regional counties. She wondered if it was possible to do something similar to what we did with the chamber and create an online version of the in-person job fair. That’s exactly what we did.
Just like the chamber events where people would organically walk in now had to be changed to a definitive start time and added structure, we did that with the job fair. We approached the TVRC about partnering with that program as a value-add to their members. They readily agreed and a lot of other community partners came on board as well. That first virtual job fair was very successful having over 110 job seekers come through during that afternoon. We have continued to partner with the TVRC to conduct these and now do them on more of a regional basis. They have spread throughout the state and is a great way for other chambers to offer this as a value-add to their members and partner with other community organizations. Because of the job fairs, other online work such hosting and emceeing different conferences and gatherings has come about with really great reviews and feedback. I can credit Toastmasters as a huge help in having the training to facilitate and emcee the events. I would echo Dr. Ivan Misner’s (founder of BNI) whose motto is “Givers Gain”. Put yourself out there, build relationships, give, serve, offer to help where you can and it all comes back around in such a great community as this. Couldn’t be happier with being a proud Top of Virginia Regional Chamber member. To learn more about the virtual regional job fairs, visit https://bit.ly/37tWMxt
Connecting Resources for Mutual Success
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Giles Jackson, Associate Professor, Business, Sustainability & Society, School of Business, Shenandoah University
“The Territory Mapping session led by Anthony Willoughby of the Nomadic School of Business for members of the Top of Virginia Chamber was a wonderful, memorable and valuable experience. It was so interesting to hear the other participants explain their maps, and specifically, how they were going to pivot to survive and thrive in spite of the global pandemic. I think we all achieved a great sense of clarity, purpose and confidence in the process. There’s something about mapping that gets to the heart of the issue in ways other methods simply cannot. I’m forever grateful to Cynthia Schneider for opening the door to a very enjoyable and productive collaboration with Anthony, which has already introduced over one hundred students to the art and science of territory mapping. I very much look forward to more opportunities for networking and collaboration. Our Chamber really is an indispensable community resource.”
Misty Mountain Meadworks is an award-winning Virginia Winery located on the north side of Winchester. Mead is the oldest fermented beverage known to sapiens and is rather unique in that bees are raised instead of grapes and the honey is fermented to create delicious Mead. Owner and Meadmaker Rick Copeland, being a bit of a history buff, first conceived the idea of a Meadery in college, brewing his first mead in 1983 and perfecting it over 20 years before licensing it in 2004. The Chamber has been invaluable to Rick’s operation, connecting him to members and resources to help grow his business. Rick is especially grateful for the knowledge and guidance received from Dr. Dave Miles and Crystal Smith. Sales had been doubling yearly since 2016 but have dipped this year. However, the future looks bright with increasing online sales, his first full time employee and the anticipated opening of tasting room at his farm.
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Rick Copeland Misty Mountain Meadworks
TVRC Community Leadership Successes
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Brady Smith NW Works
The Community Leaderhip Program was an incredible opportunity to understand the passion’s of our community leaders. Behind the professional titles of everyone, there are people who love their community and CLP really helped me see that. I would’ve never known about Civitan if not for CLP and by working together, we were able to secure a $35,000 grant for NW Works. CLP exemplifies togetherness and just how a community should operate.
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Andy Gail Literacy Volunteers
Since moving to Winchester, I have made it a goal it get involved and make a difference in the community. In the past five years, I have met many people, groups and organizations that strive to make Winchester better everyday! Those meetings and my subsequent involvement would not have been possible without the Chamber. It was an article in the Star that talked about the Community Leadership Program and Young Professionals that triggered me to send an email to find out more. Since then I have made countless connections and learned so much that has helped me in my career both in corporate roles and now in the nonpofit sector. The TVRC continues to offer so many opportunities for business and business leaders of all kinds to improve and succeed. I can not recommended anything better to join for business in the Top of Va!
Fun with Membership
November in Photos
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1. Congratulations to Lord Fairfax Community College on celebrating their 50th Anniversary and on thier ribbon cutting! 2. Congratulations to the Netmaker Communications on their ribbon cutting! 3. Congratulations to Your CBD Store Winchester on their ribbon cutting. 4. In November, TVRC’s Community Leadership Program, Class of 2021 met for their Community Culture and Agriculture Day. Take aways included understanding the contributions of cultural organizations to the quality of life for our community and understanding the contribution and relevance of agriculture to our community
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Member
Congratulations to our renewing members! We greatly appreciate your continued support and involvement.
Renewals • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Blue Ridge Safety Association John & Janice Wyatt Foundation Museum of the Shenandoah Valley Our Health Preservation of Historic Winchester Schneider Decorating Shenandoah Arts Council Dominion Real Estate Associates R Roots Catering Segra Shenandoah Valley IT Shoberg Real Estate, Inc. Winchester Ciderworks Express Employment Professionals College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving of Northwestern Virginia
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Foreman Builders, Inc. Just Tech Onelife Fitness Prospect Solar, LLC Rhythm Studio and Dance Wear Wine Trucking Inc. Blue Ridge Shadows Resort Tri-State Roofing & Sheet Metal Company Aire Serv Heating and Cooling The George Washington - A Wyndham Grand Hotel Trelleborg Marine Systems North America, Inc. The Town of Berryville Winchester Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. Thermo Fisher Scientific
MEMBER NEWS & BUSINESS AGENDA UPDATES • Dr. Dave Miles would like to welcome the newest member of the Dr. Dave Leadership Corp. team – Erica Cotton, Administrative Asst. Help welcome Erica to the Chamber family: erica@DrDaveMiles.com • Looking to give your business exposure and reach thousands of Chamber and community members? TVRC members have the opportunity to promote their business, event and/or service through our paid advertising and our free Community Calendar. Learn more: www.regionalchamber.biz/advertising
