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The Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary membership business association that believes that more can be accomplished on behalf of business and the community by banding together. The Chamber is a not-for-profit, non-partisan, and non-sectarian organization operating on behalf of all its members for the good of the whole.
Regionalism
The Chamber believes that more can be accomplished, effectively and efficiently, through regional action or regional cooperation. This includes transportation funding and planning, tourism and industrial marketing, education, skilled workforce development, waste disposal and recycling as well as other basic government services.
Small Business
Small businesses employ half of the country's workforce, create two of every three new jobs, and generate a majority of American innovations. The Chamber's role is to increase the number of small business successes. Through professional development, affordable training, seminars and networking opportunities, the Chamber provides a climate for the expansion and success of small businesses through its Business Center and SCORE program.
The Environment
The Chamber believes in both economic growth and environmental protection. This is not a contradiction. Economic growth is a necessity to ensure both job growth and tax base expansion. Protection of the unique environment of this area is also essential to assure quality of life. However, both objectives can be achieved with a proper balanced approach. The Coalition for Environmental and Economic Balance, an affiliate of the Chamber, is ensuring this balanced approach is achieved through legislation and regulations, lobbying for a balanced point of view, public education, and networking with similar coalitions on the East Coast.
Business Advocate
First and foremost, the Chamber is the champion of the free enterprise economic system and the advocate of the business point of view. Through its Board of Directors, programs, committees, and task forces, the Virginia Peninsula Chamber represents the collective voice of business through its membership. All its efforts, as represented by its annual Plan of Business, are designed to "advocate and support the economic and business interests of the Virginia Peninsula and the Region."
Skilled Workforce Development
Nearly one million youth drop out of school each year. Seven of 10 high school students can't write a basic letter seeking employment. The future prosperity of the Peninsula will depend on the availability of a skilled qualified workforce. The Chamber membership has identified a skilled workforce as the primary concern of business.
Military Affairs
A Chamber study conducted recently revealed that 41.2 percent of the total Peninsula payroll is directly dependent on Department of Defense spending. There is virtually no business left untouched by the military presence. The Chamber's Military Affairs Council is a business advocate of the military and recognizes the significance of a military scale down over the next few years. The Council is working towards integrating this highly skilled workforce into the local community with two Armed Forces Employment Fairs (one in the spring and one in the fall), both conduits for exiting the military into the civilian business world and with relocation/transition assistance in the form of seminars.
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