November 3, 2020
UPCOMING EVENTS
18th Annual GovCon AwardsTM
November 4th | 5PM start
Women At the Top of GovCon: Expanding Business Through Organic Growth
November 17th | 10-11:30AM
partner event
Brown and Brown Distinguished Speaker Series Featuring Molly Catalano
November 18th | 4-5PM
Engage and Retain your Veteran Employees: Best Practices for Creating a Veterans Employee Resource Group (ERG)
November 19th | 10-11AM
GovCon Forum: Diversity & Inclusion
December 3rd | 11:30AM-12:30PM
Capital Region Workforce Summit
December 9th | 10-11:15AM
Women In Business Signature Event: Evolution of Diversity and Inclusion - The New Frontier - Belonging
December 15th | 10-11AM
A MEMBER BLOG POST
Hope Is Not a Strategy: Key Points to Plan For Your Business Future.
This year has changed the face of business for us all, and as we face additional uncertainty on the path toward our new normal, more and more of us are asking, “how will I survive and thrive in the times ahead”? 

The answer is that it depends on how management has approached the pandemic. Those who have used the past several months to take stock in their business, review future market opportunities, and discover how (and if) they can pivot to succeed in the coming years will fare better than those who continue to follow their old business plan with the hope that things will return to normal.

Let’s be clear: hope is not a strategy. Merely controlling spending or making other reactive changes is not enough. Weathering bad times requires a formal planning process and fully developed plan that addresses opportunities and challenges the business might face in the years ahead. This evaluation and planning process is critical to a successful future and, for almost all businesses, now is the exact right time to do it.

A good starting point for management’s assessment and forward-looking planning process includes the following framework of questions...
Our blog is open to all Northern Virginia Chamber members. If you would like to participate by writing a blog post, please visit here and submit your idea.
ADVOCACY UPDATES
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Questions or concerns? Contact the Chamber's Clayton Medford, Vice President, Government Relations, at cmedford@novachamber.org.
COUNCIL SERIES & NETWORKING
UPCOMING CHAMBER EVENTS
18th Annual GovCon Awards
November 4th | 5PM start
Registration is still open for one of the region's most popular annual events, the 18th Annual Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards. These Awards honor the leaders and legends of the government contracting community. Don't wait - tickets will sell out quickly! 

Details about this virtual event, including this year's Finalist List, can be found here.
This year's nonprofit partner is TD Foundation. More about this Foundation can be learned here.
partner event
Brown and Brown Distinguished Speaker Series: Featuring Molly Catalano, VP of Marketing & Communications, Five Guys Enterprises
November 18th | 4-5PM
Join GMU's School of Business, Brown & Brown Insurance, and the Chamber for the Brown & Brown Distinguished Speaker Series featuring, Molly Catalano. Molly has spent the past 15 years leading the marketing and communications efforts for Five Guys Enterprises. During her time the company has grown from 30 restaurants on the East Coast of the United States to over 1,600 locations in 19 countries.
Engage and Retain your Veteran Employees: Best Practices for creating a Veterans Employee Resource Group (ERG)
November 19th | 10-11AM
Has your company established a Veterans Employee Resource Group (ERG)? What are you waiting for? In this fourth and final part of our Veteran and Military Business Council hiring series, our speakers will share the advantages to creating your own Veterans Employee Resource Group (ERG).
GovCon Forum: Diversity and Inclusion
December 3rd | 11:30AM-12:30PM
This event will include member to member peer sharing on diversity and inclusion. Speakers to be scheduled.
Capital Region Workforce Summit
December 9th | 10-11:15AM
The Chamber is hosting the Capital Region Workforce Summit – a conversation with regional leaders of the business community to address ongoing and systemic issues affecting the region’s workforce. This year, the event will focus on recruitment, retention and workplace culture, as well as leading strategies for addressing equity and inclusion, all in the time of COVID-19. Speakers: Kathy Albarado, CEO, Helios HR; Laurie Foglesong, Chief Human Resources Officer, Peraton; DeLinda Washington, Vice President, Human Resources, Mid-Atlantic States, Kaiser Permanente.
WIB Signature Event: Evolution of Diversity and Inclusion - The New Frontier - Belonging
December 15th | 10-11AM
Today's businesses are making tremendous strides in creating workplaces with a diverse employee profile, but even as that progress has been made, there is still much work to be done before we can work in an environment where ALL are valued and welcomed. Our next Women In Business Signature Event addresses this timely and necessary business goal.
Celebrate the Holidays with the Chamber!
We're getting into the holiday spirit with the following virtual events. Networking and fun are encouraged!

Women in Business: Holiday Wine Time Reception
December 9th | 5-6PM | Virtual Event | Register here

GovCon Council: Holiday Happy Hour / Networking Reception
December 11th | 4-5PM | Virtual Event | Register here

Chamber Holiday Party: Virtual Happy Hour
December 18th | 4-5PM | Virtual Event | Register here
MEMBER BENEFIT
MEMBER NEWS
We need your input! The George Mason School of Business has a research collaboration with Fairfax County on Relay, an autonomous (self-driving) electric public shuttle between the Mosaic District and Dunn Loring Metro. What do you think about this technology? Please take our survey here.

Support Shelter House's Thanksgiving Gift Card Drive thru November 19, 2020. The reality is... due to an increase of households in our shelters, most families currently in our programs do not celebrate the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Support our Gift Card Drive to make a true lasting impact today! Learn more here.

Join the NOVA Foundation to Empower Bright Futures! This virtual event is free, but registration is required here. For program information: Hoang Nguyen at hdnguyen@nvcc.edu. General Questions: Suzette Gayed at szakigayed@nvcc.edu.
Would you like to include your member organization's news in our next Doing Business issue? Sharing news is free for all members! All you have to do it complete the form on our website found here. The deadline to submit news is Friday at 12PM prior to our Tuesday newsletter.
Doing Business is the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce's weekly e-newsletter focused on member-relevant news, Council Series updates, and upcoming events. Each month we will feature advocacy updates, a message from our President & CEO, and member-written blog posts. Subscription sign-up and past issues may be found on our website.
Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce
7900 Westpark Drive | Suite A550 | Tysons Corner | VA | 22102