September 15, 2020
UPCOMING EVENTS
partner event
2020 Capital Region Business Forum
September 18th | 9-10AM
VA Senatorial Debate
September 23rd | 10-11AM
Reaching Veterans: Make Your Company a Destination Employer for Veterans
September 30th | 10-11AM
Veterans & Military Business Council
Greater Washington Innovation Celebration Awards Show
October 8th | 3-4:30PM
Engage and Retain your Veteran Employees: Best Practices for creating a Veterans Employee Resource Group (ERG)
November 19th | 10-11AM
Veterans & Military Business Council
Awards Update
Winners and wisdom from the 2020 Distinguished Service Awards
This year's Distinguished Service Awards proved to be both an inspirational and educational event! Created to honor businesses that support Veterans, our winners showcased a commitment to others

Our keynote, Major General Malcolm Frost (US Army, Ret), presented his own Thoughts on Leading Through the Coronavirus Crisis, connecting his experiences leading in battle with today's pandemic. His article on this topic is available on our blog here.
This year's Award winners are:

Veteran Owned Business Awards, Emerging
Echo Five Group

Veteran Owned Business Awards, Maturing
IT Veterans

Veteran Owned Business Awards, Established
HigherEchelon, Inc.

Veteran Service Organization Award
Boulder Crest Foundation

Veteran Employee of the Year Award
Bonnie Tavolazzi, Senior Strategic Advisor, Echo Five Group, Inc. 

A complete list of nominees and award winners can be found here.
ADVOCACY UPDATES
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Clayton Medford, NOVA Chamber's Vice President, Government Relations
The Special Session continues to roll on in Richmond this week. The Senate Finance Committee will host Finance Secretary Aubrey Layne today (Sept. 15) and you can stream that meeting here. The top headline below is a great write up on the budget process, with the House and Senate not yet in line on how to deal with it. So far, Chamber priorities like G3 and Mason base support are alive in the House (the Senate is not accepting member budget amendments).

The Senate passed a comprehensive police reform bill last week (SB 5030) which the Chamber supports. Legislation to protect businesses from civil liability from COVID (aka COVID civil immunity) will not make it through the legislature during the Special Session – there were many stakeholder groups like the Chamber asking for concessions and there just did not seem to be time to get a good compromise. We expect some form of that bill to come back during the regular session.

The House passed its paid sick leave bill (HB 5116), while a Senate committee voted down its version. We still are not sure when this session will end, but both chambers have made a lot of progress. 



Keep an eye out in early August for the Chamber’s legislative priorities for the Special Session. In the meantime, please contact me at cmedford@novachamber.org with any questions or concerns.
COUNCIL SERIES & NETWORKING
UPCOMING CHAMBER EVENTS
Watch the 2020 Virginia Senatorial Debate live-- before it publicly airs!
September 23rd | 10-11AM
The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce invites you to view the Northern Virginia Senatorial debate between Senator Mark Warner (Democrat) and Daniel Gade (Republican). In the new virtual world, the debate will be recorded and broadcast that evening. This is an opportunity for Chamber members to watch the debate live, as it happens, before the rest of the world sees it!
Reaching Veterans: Make your Company a Destination Employer for Veterans
September 30th | 10-11AM
Is a career with your company attractive to veterans? Have you set up your hiring program to draw in veteran job seekers? In this third part of our Veteran and Military Business Council hiring series, our speakers will focus on the steps you should take to bring in veteran talent.
The Awards Show!
October 8th | 3-4:30PM
Join us for the Region's zaniest awards show showcasing great minds and business creativity! This not-to-be-missed event will have it all: live judging, audience picks, team costumes, and so much more. At the end of the evening, we'll crown this year's Innovator of the Year and our People's Choice winner!
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).
MEMBER BENEFIT
PROMOTE YOUR NAME VIA OUR MEMBER BLOG
Would you like to get your name and business in front of tens of thousands of regional professionals? Our blog is open to all members here.
MEMBER BENEFIT
MEMBER NEWS
ACT I announces Lateral On Ramp awards for Best-in-Class Multiple Award, Indefinite Award, Indefinite Quantity task order contracts for GSA’s OASIS Small Business Pools 3, 4, 5B, and 6. Through the new vehicles, ACT I will continue to provide industry-leading solutions across the OASIS purview, building on current work in Oasis SB Pools 1 & 2. Learn more here.
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
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