Long-time local business consultant Dr. Grant Tate recognized as Chamber’s Small Business Person of the Year

The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce bestowed upon Dr. R. Grant Tate its 2008 Chamber Small Business Person of the Year award at a luncheon on Thursday, May 29. Dr. Tate, who grew up in Orange, Virginia and now lives in Fluvanna County, is CEO of The Bridge LTD, a management development consulting firm. In addition Dr. Tate was recognized for his civic involvement. He is chair of the Fluvanna County Economic Development Commission, a member and past chair of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, co-editor of Capital Talk and EntreNews and was a Director of the Charlottesville Venture Group, which is now incorporated into the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council.

“Experience is one competitive edge,” said Dr. Tate. “(At The Bridge LTD,) we have the MBAs and we know the theories, but we’ve found over the years of doing this, that there is no substitute for real-world experience.”

The luncheon keynote address was given by Dr. William Bosher, outlining the challenges of enhancing education in the nation, Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Greater Charlottesville communities. Charlottesville Tomorrow has a podcast of Dr. Bosher’s speech.

Small Business Person of the Year to be awarded at annual Chamber Spring Luncheon - May 29th

The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce has a full agenda lined-up for its 2008 Chamber Spring Business Luncheon to be held Thursday, May 29th at Farmington Country Club. Chamber leadership will award the 2008 Chamber Small Businessperson of the Year; will recognize this year’s graduating class of the Chamber’s Leadership Charlottesville program as well as recent recipients of the Charlottesville Community Scholarships; and will feature an address by William C. Bosher, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Public Policy & Education, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute in the School of Education at the Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Find information and RSVP here.

Danville and Lynchburg to join US29 discussion at Chamber forum in Charlottesville

Follow-up, April 28: Charlottesville Tomorrow has a fine write-up on the April 23rd NCBC session. No surprises, representatives from Lynchburg and Danville want the 29N bypass — and they want it yesterday.

Laurie Moran, President of the Danville/Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce and Rex Hammond, President of the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce will be joining a discussion at an open forum luncheon April 23rd hosted by the North Charlottesville Business Council (NCBC) of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. The discussion will focus on US29 including the ongoing Places 29 study being undertaken by Albemarle County [see C-VILLE Weekly past coverage of Paces29]. US29 runs North-South through Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Danville.

This open forum will be held at the Holiday Inn University Area in Charlottesville and run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with lunch beginning at noon. Seating is limited. The cost is $15.00 for members of NCBC and $20.00 for non-members. To reserve your seat, please contact Ms. Doran Tremblay at the Chamber offices at 434-295-3141 or desk@cvillechamber.com no later than Friday April 18th.

Gary Henry, GF Henry & Associates, named Chamber 2008 Volunteer of the Year

Gary F. Henry, founder and principle of GF Henry & Associates, today received the 2008 Chamber Volunteer of the Year Award from the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. The award was bestowed at the Chamber’s annual Commonwealth Breakfast.

“Gary Henry just maybe our area’s most focused advocate for support and nurturing of, technology businesses – and – a regional business and civic environment that welcomes and encourages strategic technology enterprise,” said Mary Loose DeViney of Tuel Jewelers, 2007 Chairwoman of the Chamber Board of Directors and Chair of the 2008 Chamber Recognition Awards Committee.

A news release from the Chamber notes that Mr. Henry has a particularly powerful interest in “lighting up” young people to the excitement and wonders of science. He has been involved with the Virginia Piedmont Regional Science Fair for more than 20 years. As a winner of the international science fair competition as a youth, this organization has had a great impact on Mr. Henry’s life. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Virginia Piedmont Regional Science Fair’s Board of Directors and as Fair Director. In this role, he spearheads securing sponsors, judges and awards for the event and helps marshal all of the resources that make the Fair possible for 300 of the region’s students each year. At the Chamber, in addition to his service on the Chamber Board of Directors, Mr. Henry volunteered to spearhead the Chamber’s computer, information and telephony technology overhaul.

Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell to speak at Chamber’s annual Commonwealth Breakfast

The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce will host its 2008 Chamber Commonwealth Breakfast at Glenmore Country Club on Thursday, March 20th at 7:30 AM. This annual Chamber breakfast focuses on key Virginia public policy issues. This year, Robert McDonnell, Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia, will be the featured Chamber speaker. Mr. McDonnell, a former prosecutor and member of the General Assembly, will discuss issues faced by the Virginia Courts and the 2008 General Assembly session. The Attorney General also will participate in questions and answers with Chamber members and guests after his remark. RSVP online.

Chamber to host annual business luncheon February 28th

The 2008 Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce Business Luncheon will be held on Thursday, February 28th at the Doubletree Hotel. At the luncheon, Christopher Lee, Chief Financial Officer at R.E. Lee & Son, who serves as 2008 Chamber Board of Directors Chairman, will join Chamber officials to issue the Annual Chamber Report and share the results of the 2008 Annual Chamber Member Economic Survey. The Chamber will also present its 2008 “Hovey S. Dabney Award for Corporate Citizenship.” Established in 2005 and named in honor of the late Hovey S. Dabney, the award recognizes outstanding examples of corporate citizenship in the Greater Charlottesville community.

Luncheon tickets are $40 per person. For more information or to register for the 2008 Annual Chamber Business Luncheon, contact the Chamber of Commerce at: cvillechamber.com or 434.295.3141.

Steve Krohn, Virginia National Bank, receives Leader’s Leader Award

Steve Krohn, Managing Director of Virginia National Bank, recently received the 2008 Leader’s Leader Award from the Leadership Charlottesville Alumni Association (LCAA), a council of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Krohn was recognized for his work in the Charlottesville community.  A news release on the award notes that Mr. Krohn holds positions in the United Way – Thomas Jefferson Area as Large Employer Campaign Director, Campaign Chair, Executive Committee Board Chair and Past Board Chair. He also is serving the Blue Ridge Chapter of the National MS Society and currently serves as Board Chair for the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development (TJPED).

Cathy Train, Director of the United Way – Thomas Jefferson Area, commented that Mr. Krohn “shows a wise use of humor and has the ability to stay with a difficult situation, working skillfully so that everyone feels heard and part of the solution.”

The Leader’s Leader is a Leadership Charlottesville graduate (Mr. Krohn graduated in the class of 2000) who has “demonstrated initiative, vision, and responsibility, investing their time and efforts to contribute to the community, the Leadership Charlottesville program, and/or the Alumni Association.”

Harold Wright receives Chamber’s annual citizenship award

Harold B. Wright, Jr., founder of Virginia Broadcasting Company, WVIR/NBC-29, Greater Charlottesville’s first local television station, received the prestigious Paul Goodloe McIntire Citizenship Award from the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce at their annual dinner, Wednesday, November 28.

“Harold Wright came to our community nearly 50 years ago and as a citizen and businessman,” said Cathy Smith Train, President of the United Way – Thomas Jefferson Area, Past Chairwoman of the Chamber Board of Directors and Chairwoman of the Chamber Paul Goodloe McIntire Citizenship Award Committee. “He has been, and remains, a force for success in business and for many important civic and charitable efforts.”

The Chamber’s news release notes that Mr. Wright’s community involvement is both “extensive and focused.” He is a founding member of the Blue Ridge Rotary Club and has served on the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital Committee and the UVA Health System Community Relations Committee. He was an active member of the Jaycees and he and his business are active in many aspects of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber.

Mr. Wright has been particularly focused on the continued success of NBC-29’s “Children’s Miracle Network Telethon” to benefit the UVA Children’s Hospital and pediatric patients throughout Central Virginia. In 1983, the first telethon raised $23,000; this past year’s telethon total topped $2 million. Over the 24-year run the NBC-29’s Children’s Miracle Network Telethon has raised more than $20 million.

The Chamber of Commerce established its Paul Goodloe McIntire Citizenship Award in 1975 to recognize outstanding citizen contributions to the greater Charlottesville area.

US Chamber Chairman Paul S. Speranza Jr. to keynote annual Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce dinner

Paul S. Speranza Jr., 2007-2008 Chairman of the Board of the United States Chamber of Commerce, will deliver the keynote address at the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce 2007 Annual Dinner. Mr. Speranza is Vice Chairman, General Counsel and Secretary for Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., a 70-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. Founded in 1916, the family-owned company today employs 35,000 workers generating more than $4 billion in annual sales.

“Our Chamber and our community are eager to hear from Mr. Speranza,” said Mary Loose DeViney of Tuel Jewelers, 2007 Chairwoman of the Chamber Board of Directors, “to learn more about the efforts and services of the United States Chamber of Commerce, particularly the Chamber’s national initiative to help build a more dynamic, globally competitive American workforce.”

At the dinner the Chamber will also award its annual Paul Goodloe McIntire Citizenship Award.

The Chamber dinner will be held on Wednesday, November 28th, at the Doubletree Hotel in Charlottesville. For more information contact the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber Business Expo set for Monday, October 29

The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting its annual Charlottesville Business Expo on Monday, October 29, 1-7 p.m. at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel in Downtown Charlottesville. Admission is free. All are invited to attend: Chamber enterprises and organizations, their employees and families, and the general public.

“Our Charlottesville Business Expo highlights a wide array of our region’s dynamic business community,” said Mary Loose DeViney of Tuel Jewelers, Chairwoman of the Chamber Board of Directors. “We anticipate as many as 80 exhibits from participating Chamber businesses, showcasing their products and services.”