Like many of our members, the Chamber of Commerce Serving Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County is closely monitoring updates regarding COVID-19. It is important for all of us to stay aware of the situation and follow all guidelines from local authorities, the CDC , and the Virginia Department of Health .

Across the country, sporting and major events are being cancelled, colleges and universities are being closed or moving to an online-only presence, and healthcare leaders are gathering as much factual information as possible. We are beginning to see much of the same here in Rockbridge County.

As business and community leaders, we encourage you to follow CDC recommendations for your business or organization, which can be found  here . The health and safety of our Chamber members and extended community family is a top priority and drives our decision making during this difficult and unprecedented time.

As you know, this is a rapidly evolving set of circumstances. As of this time, we have made the following decisions relating to our operations at the Chamber:

  • All Chamber-hosted events scheduled between now and April 6th have been cancelled. This includes Business After Hours, Business @ Breakfast, ribbon cuttings and committee meetings. We will work with our members, vendors and community partners to reschedule.

  • We encourage you to #SHOPLOCAL and support the small businesses and restaurants that will undoubtedly be significantly impacted during this time. Purchase gift certificates to be used at a later date. Check to see if your favorite local shops and retailers have online stores, or call them to see if they are offering delivery or special services to their customers. Order take-out from your favorite restaurants. Follow them on their social media platforms. Support them however you are able.

  • We will continue to share important verified updates from local news outlets and members on social media as possible. It will be important in the coming days and weeks to avoid sharing false narratives and unverified information.

  • Our office will be closed to the public beginning on Monday, March 16th. Staff and board leaders will continue to work and can be reached via phone or email. We will advise when our office will re-open.

  • If you have submitted events to be included in the Chamber Weekly, and those events have been cancelled, postponed indefinitely or rescheduled, please email us those updates. We will rely on you to make sure the most up-to-date information about your events, policies and operational procedures gets included in the newsletter.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and share updates with you via email. It is our intention to support the business community as we all work to get through this challenge together. If you have any questions feel free to call our office at 540-463-5375, or email us at  [email protected] .

Sincerely,

Tracy E. Lyons
Executive Director