ARLINGTON, Va. - This month, Arlington Chamber of Commerce President & CEO, Kate Bates celebrates 15 years of service with the organization. 

Kate Bates joined the Chamber in 2007 as Member Services Manager. She was promoted to Vice President in 2013 before being named President and CEO in 2014 after the organization held a national search to find a replacement for Rich Doud when he announced his retirement after 23 years. Only 29 at the time, Kate was the youngest Chief Executive Officer, and the first female to lead the Chamber in the organization's history.

During Kate's time at the helm, the Chamber has introduced several new programs including the Early Childhood Financial Resiliency Accelerator Program, which teaches child care providers the business and financial skills necessary to maintain and grow their businesses, and the Multiple Employer Aggregation Program, which provides Chamber members access to reduced rates for a group 401(k) plan. In 2020 the Chamber launched the new Women in Business program (formerly the Awesome Women Entrepreneurs organization) fulfilling a longtime goal of providing a dedicated space for professional women within the Chamber. 

Since 2014, the Chamber has also significantly increased its advocacy work, including the advocacy efforts supporting the approval of the Amazon HQ2 incentive package in 2019, and the Chamber staff size has significantly increased during this time through several new roles, including a dedicated government affairs position to manage the Chamber's advocacy work. In addition to an increase in staff size, the annual operating income has grown by 30 percent, crossing the million-dollar threshold in 2018 for the first time in the organization's history.

Kate was recently named the Chair of the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (VACCE) and is also an Executive Committee member of the Arlington Economic Development Commission, a member of GO Virginia Region 7, a Council Member of the Alexandria/Arlington Workforce Investment Council and a Board Member of the Leadership Center for Excellence. 

Also celebrating a milestone with the Arlington Chamber is Senior Director of Marketing & Operations, Cassie Bate Hurley. Cassie is celebrating five years of service with the Chamber after rejoining the team in October of last year. Cassie first joined the Chamber in 2012 as the Events Associate and has held several titles at the organization since then. Senior Director of Membership, Mike Rosenow, celebrated eight years with the Chamber earlier this year.

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ABOUT THE CHAMBER

Founded in 1924, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit membership organization of approximately 700 businesses committed to strengthening businesses and the economic environment for those who work, live, and do business in Arlington. The Chamber supports our members through networking, advocacy, professional development, and community engagement. For more information or to become a member, visit www.arlingtonchamber.org.