At the 2021 annual meeting of the membership, Clark Jackson of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce presented Hampton Roads Chamber President and CEO Bryan Stephens with the five-star accreditation. “This puts the Hampton Roads Chamber in the top 1 to 2% of all 7,000 chambers in the United States.”

The event’s keynote speaker, Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin, agreed with the assessment. “You have been recognized as one of the best in the nation. You deserve it.”

Youngkin outlined his Day One plan for Virginia. “We will transform government and make it work for us. Customer service will be words used in the Youngkin administration.” Youngkin endorses pro-business policies to help remove red tape. He spoke of eliminating grocery tax, suspending gas tax for a year, lowering taxes for veterans and giving tax rebates of overpayment.

Youngkin spoke highly of the business community’s support for his candidacy. “Now we are all on one team, Team Virginia. And Team Virginia is going to win.” Job creation, innovation incentives, and lowering the cost of living are Youngkin’s priorities to make Virginia more competitive.

Stephens delivered his annual State of the Chamber report: “Your chamber is healthy, growing, and more impactful than ever. All key performance indicators are strong and trending in the right direction. We have exceeded all financial objectives.”

The annual meeting marks the handoff of the chairman of the regional board of directors. The chamber bid a fond farewell to Steve Romine of Williams Mullen, who led the board through 2021, and welcomed Chris Stone of Clark Nexsen for 2022. Jim Bibbs of Lifenet Health is the 2022 incoming chair, and Dawn Glynn of TowneBank is 2022 treasurer.

On Dec. 13, the chamber welcomed Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine for the senatorial forum. “Don’t believe everything you read on the television that we are all on each other’s throats all the time. There’s a whole lot of us that work together on a whole lot of things,” Warner told the audience about the true collaborative efforts in Washington.

The senators discussed the Build Back Better Act, infrastructure, supply chain and workforce issues, and mental health awareness.

Kaine expressed his respect for the signing of the infrastructure bill but mentioned what to keep in mind as the country proceeds to execute the bill’s plans. “The question is how much? How do you scale the ultimate bill? You can’t capitalize on this infrastructure investment unless we make some significant investments in productivity and workforce right now.” He also mentioned that even with the offshore wind project that he and Warner support, the workforce and supply chain issues will arise again.

This event came on the heels of the congressional forum on Nov. 22. As the senators did, the congressional representatives stressed the need to work together. Rep. Donald McEachin and his colleagues, Reps. Bobby Scott, Rob Wittman and Elaine Luria, delivered compelling messages for the business leaders. All four mentioned our Hampton Roads delegation’s good work completed while working together. McEachin laid it on the line by saying, “We are reflective of our district. The lack of civility starts at home. We do what we believe our constituents like. I want to suggest to you lack of civility is a problem in this country. We all want a more perfect union.”

As the chair of the Committee on Education and Labor, Scott said that he has focused on “keeping the economy afloat and people afloat.” All four representatives agreed there is a strong need to improve the child care system so people can get back to work. Scott wants all the schools to reopen. “If we don’t open the schools, we can never get the economy back on track.” Wittman wants to see the education system emphasize career and technical education. Wittman wants to get people back to work and fix the supply chain problems. “We need to manufacture items like semiconductors for cars here in Virginia.”

Luria works closely with Wittman on the House Armed Services Committee. Together, they are ensuring Virginia does not lose ships and shipbuilding contracts. “The original defense budget was only going to build one cruiser instead of two and was going to decommission seven ships. The one we passed has three new destroyers and saves three ships.”

All six federal lawmakers stressed multiple times that the discord seen on television does not apply to our members. They work together, across party lines, in the best interest of Hampton Roads.

“When COVID came, the city managers were on the phone, talking to each other on how we can help each other as a regional collaborative effort,” said Mary Bunting, Hampton’s city manager. The chamber held the 2021 City Managers Forum on Dec. 2 to allow the community to hear from the region’s city managers, who are the CEOs of their respective cities.

Suffolk City Manager Albert S. Moor II emphasized that all city managers work together more than the community knows: “We do more as a region by influencing each other.” Moor mentioned that the area of Harbour View has come a long way, and more developments are on the way. He highlighted that the city is now in the process of bringing the downtown area back to life.

Chesapeake City Manager Chris Price said Chesapeake is filling up with new Hampton Roads residents calling Chesapeake their home. “We are the second-largest city in Virginia, but we want to make sure that the growth does not out-space our service.”

Newport News City Manager Cynthia Rohlf announced an innovative infrastructure project that the city has taken on. “We have designed the multimodal station that will eliminate a lot of traveling conflict. We are positioning ourselves for development, but we have to get through this pandemic so we can get back to full travel plans.”

Portsmouth City Manager Angel Jones discussed how Rivers Casino would impact the economic development of Portsmouth. “We’re looking at 1,200 new jobs, which will be career-growing jobs. There will be an extra 1,300 jobs created just from the construction.”

“Suppliers, retailers, IT — everything has a DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) lens. It should not be a program that stands on its own. It should be integrated into everything that you do. If you do that, you will find that your businesses will be better.” Keynote speaker Michael Bach inspired the audience and business leaders at the chamber’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Forum on Dec. 15.

The forum included a panel discussion with Ron Carlee and Felicia Blow focused on “Creating an Inclusive Workplace by Overcoming Unconscious Bias.” Blow expressed that she is a results-driven person and does not believe in yelling at or cursing employees.

Carlee spoke on how unconscious biases have negatively affected those impacted. “These unconscious biases manifest themselves through words and expressions. They are unkind, hurtful, and assault us together personally.”

During the question-and-answer session, Blow explained how she handled the unconscious bias of African American women stereotyped as “angry” in their physical appearance and tone. “You keep doing you. You go better, be better, and do better. It motivates me; it is almost like fuel. My mother says this: Your name will go farther than you ever will.”

Bach said creating an inclusive environment is highly important and that honestly expressing yourself creates positive morale and boosts productivity in the business environment. Bach stressed that diversity is a fact, and inclusion is a choice.

Priscilla Monti is senior vice president for programs and communications at the Hampton Roads Chamber. Reach her at PMonti@hrchamber.com.