Celebrate Business Leadership at the Chamber Annual Dinner
The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce invites the community to celebrate a year of business and civic leadership at the 106th Chamber Annual Dinner on Thursday evening, November 14, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, at the UVA Inn at Darden in Charlottesville.
As the region’s broadest and most diverse network of organizations, the Chamber brings everyone to the table for the Annual Dinner. Hundreds of business and civic leaders – from solo entrepreneurs and innovative nonprofits to the region’s largest employers – will share a meal, celebrate the year’s achievements, and look ahead to future endeavors.
Chamber President and CEO Elizabeth Cromwell will unveil plans for the coming year during the Annual Dinner. In her first year leading the Charlottesville Chamber, Cromwell has brought a renewed focus to purposeful collaboration within the business community.
“As our Board intended, and with the help of our Partners in Trust, we have begun to make the Chamber the central organization that local enterprises look to as a partner to help them achieve success,” said Pete Caramanis, Chairman of the Chamber Board of Directors. “Our community can accomplish so much when success is not about who gets the credit, and the Chamber is leading the way guided by that principle.”
International economics expert William J. Antholis, Director and CEO of the Miller Center, will deliver the keynote address. A former director of international economic affairs for the National Security Council, Antholis is the author of two books on global politics and has expertise on international development, India and China, U.S. foreign policy, and climate change.
“We are excited to have Bill Antholis as our speaker at this year’s Annual Dinner,” said Caramanis. “Bill is one of the smartest, most accomplished and connected people that may not be generally known within the local business community. His work at the Miller Center has meaning and consequence to local businesses and far beyond.”
Join the celebration! Click here to reserve your seats for the region’s premier business event.
During the Annual Dinner, the Chamber will present two prestigious annual awards to outstanding local individuals.
The Paul Goodloe McIntire Citizenship Award was established in 1975 to recognize outstanding citizen contributions to the Greater Charlottesville area. The award recipient is a citizen who has given of his or her time freely to community and civic affairs, has contributed significantly to the direction and success of our Greater Charlottesville Region through sound business or professional practice, has inspired others through his or her actions, and lives or lived in the Greater Charlottesville region. The recipient need not be a Chamber member.
Past recipients of the McIntire Award include Joyce Robbins (2018), Kurt Krueger (2017), William Kehoe (2016), Dr. Marcus Martin (2015), and Cathy Smith Train (2014).
The Christopher Lee Small Business Person of the Year Award was established in 1985 and rededicated in 2016 to honor longtime Chamber member and supporter Christopher Lee of R.E. Lee Companies. The award recognizes an outstanding Chamber member who owns a small business and has made a significant contribution to the success of their business and our Greater Charlottesville communities.
Past recipients of the Lee Award include Allison Linney (2018), Chuck Lebo (2017), Gregory MacDonald (2016), Eddie Giles (2015), and Bill Howard (2014).
Community members are invited to nominate award recipients through October 2.
Know a person who leads and inspires? Nominate them for a Chamber award! Click here to submit a nomination today.
Reservations for the 2019 Chamber Annual Dinner are available online at CvilleChamber.com. The cost to attend is $115 for Chamber members and their guests and $150 for non-members. A limited number of reserved tables of eight are available at $1,300.
Sponsor opportunities are available for Chamber members, with estimated visibility of more than 10,000 views online, in print, and in person throughout the fall. Prospective sponsors may learn more by contacting Chamber President & CEO Elizabeth Cromwell at Elizabeth.cromwell@cvillechamber.com or 434.295.3141.
Bill Antholis served as managing director at The Brookings Institution from 2004 to 2014. He was a resident Senior Fellow in Governance Studies, where his work focused on the politics and institutions of international diplomacy. Antholis has published articles, book chapters, and opinion pieces on U.S. politics, U.S. foreign policy, international organizations, the G8, climate change, and trade.
From 1995 to 1999, Antholis served in government. At the White House, he was director of international economic affairs on the staff of the National Security Council and National Economic Council, where he served as the chief staff person for the G8 Summits in 1997 and 1998. He also was deputy director of the White House climate change policy team. At the State Department, he served on the policy planning staff and in the economic affairs bureau.
Prior to joining Brookings, Antholis served for five years as director of studies and senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, a U.S. grant-making and public policy institution devoted to strengthening transatlantic cooperation. In that capacity, he was project director of the Trade and Poverty Forum, a six-country dialogue of leading citizens and legislators focused on using the global economy to address persistent global poverty and inequality. In 1991, Antholis co-founded the Civic Education Project, a nonprofit organization that supported western-trained social science instructors at universities in 23 Central and Eastern European countries.
Antholis earned his PhD from Yale University in politics (1993) and his BA degree from the University of Virginia in government and foreign affairs (1986).
The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to representing private enterprise, promoting business and enhancing the quality of life in the Greater Charlottesville communities. Founded in 1913, today the 1,200 Chamber member and affiliate member enterprises employ more than 45,000 people in the Greater Charlottesville region, representing an estimated total payroll of more than $1.9 billion a year.
Chamber programs are supported by our Partners in Trust: CFA Institute, University of Virginia, UVA Health System, Atlantic Union Bank, MPS, The Daily Progress, United Bank, UVA Community Credit Union, Wells Fargo, Great Eastern Management Company, Hourigan, R. E. Lee Companies, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, State Farm, Tom Tom Festival, Four Corners Real Estate Solutions, Marjorie Adam Team, Story House Real Estate, and Bridge Business Transformations.