A note from Tom Baldrige, President & CEO of the Lancaster Chamber
As temperatures warm, vaccination rates rise and the incidents of COVID continue to fall, it’s time to start looking ahead with promise and excitement to the future.
Just as Spring demonstrates the full resilience of Mother Nature, this Spring is also adding the full display of business resilience and success to the mix. And I couldn’t be more inspired by the stories I hear from businesses everyday as they work to define their new normal.
To that end, I am excited to announce that the Chamber is gearing up for our “new normal” too as we look forward to hosting in-person events, re-opening our offices for daily visitors (and rentals for our meeting rooms) and continuing our commitment to offering top-notch programming, using the most effective delivery method for each experience, that can help you navigate your own successful journey.
Our new journey begins next week with the return of in-person Consortium meetings, six sessions held throughout the County wherein you can meet the elected members of our state delegation and learn the latest on activity in Harrisburg – COVID-based and beyond. In addition to getting information you can use, you also can –I’m practically emotional writing this!—network with other business people face-to-face! It’s been a long time, Lancaster, and we’re thrilled to be back. Sign up for the Consortium of your choice at: lancasterchamber.com/events.
We have also heard from the business community that navigating what it means to ”return to work” for the workforce is crucial as mitigation efforts begin to lift starting at the end of May. That’s why we put together a FREE Ask an Attorney: Return to Work virtual session on May 21 from 9-10am to help answer questions and provide a way forward. Register here!
The next step in our journey comes June 1 when we will be re-opening our building for daily visitors, room rentals and in-person meetings. We are thrilled to join with our building partners the Economic Development Company of Lancaster County, Leadership Lancaster, the Lancaster City Alliance and the Central Pennsylvania Business Group on Health in being available to help in person and with a willing smile!
The journey continues in June with our first in-person Mixer in fourteen months! Join us on Wednesday, June 16, from 5-7pm as Rhoads Energy rolls out the red carpet to welcome us back to in-person networking. Attendance is limited for this indoor/outdoor event, so get your reservation in now! You can sign-up at HERE.
July will also feature the launch of our summer Expo Marketplace publication, celebrated with an in-person Mixer. For more information on being a part of the Expo Marketplace publication and to keep your eye out for Launch Mixer details, CLICK HERE.
The “locked-up” thaw continues as we look ahead to the return of our always popular Leadercast event, being presented as a hybrid event this year for on-line or in-person (Penn Cinema) viewing. You can register and learn more about the August 11 event, including who this year’s speaker are, CLICK HERE.
Rest assured, other events and programs will be featured throughout the coming months and I invite you to visit our website and read our emails to stay current. To that end, please feel free to check out some two of our recent programming specifically focused on navigating business challenges and opportunities of the pandemic: 21 in 21: Sharing Strategies for the New Normal (Access Passcode: 21in21A!) and our recent Vaccine Town Hall (Access Passcode: TownHall7!) information session.
Please know, however, that we do plan to end Summer with a BANG, as we plan on hosting our 149th Annual Dinner at Clipper Magazine Stadium. Stay tuned for more details shortly, but know that it will be an event –actually, a celebration—not to be missed.
As I hope is obvious, we are off-and-running to ensure we continue to deliver value for today’s needs. Whether it be expanding your connections, benefitting from local best-practices and legal advice, marketing your products and gaining access to world-class speakers, we have you covered as we all come together as the Lancaster County business community navigating our way to a prosperous future.
-Tom Baldrige, President & CEO of the Lancaster Chamber
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