Contributed photo
Contributed photo
Recently issued the following announcement.
Chamber President, Collin Pulley, Nottoway House Furniture, welcomed Karl Heck, President & CEO of Franklin Southampton Economic Development, Inc. at last weeks Brewing Up Business hosted at Storehouse. New members were also welcomed and introduced. Along with Chamber and community updates, guests shared information about their businesses and activities. Join us for next month's Brewing Up Business where connections are made!
STARTUP Franklin Southampton
Franklin Southampton Economic Development is excited to be having round four of STARTUP Franklin Southampton! If you have ever wanted to start a business this program was created just for you! Apply today to win up to $20,000! This program will include 6 business training classes to help you with finances, accounting, branding, and so much more! You will take what you learn throughout the program and submit a completed business plan and pitch your business to a panel of judges. So what are you waiting for? Apply today!!
New Educator Packets
~ Reach New Customers/Clients ~
ITEMS DUE BY August 24th.
Have promotional items such as pens, bag clips, note pads, coupons? The Chamber is preparing 80 New Educator Packets this year to be distributed to new hires for Franklin & Southampton Public Schools, Southampton Academy, Camp Community College & Rock Church.
Take advantage of this MEMBERS ONLY opportunity to engage with the schools.
This is a great way to promote your business and support these professionals that are educating your future workforce.
Call 562-4900 if you have questions about this program.
Swam Certification Information Workshop ( Virtual)
August 25 ~ 10 am - 12 pm
Presented by:
Angela Barber, Business Services Manager, Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity – Hampton Roads
Are you a small, women-owned, or minority-owned business who wants to do business with the Commonwealth of Virginia? Small business owners who are looking to participate in Virginia’s specialized procurement and contracting opportunities are encouraged to become SWaM certified. The SWaM certification is a vehicle to promote economic growth of Virginia’s businesses.
State (SWaM) Certification is one of the most powerful business tools you can use to grow your sales among state agencies, public colleges and universities, local municipalities, and private sector firms that utilize the SWaM database.
Becoming SWaM certified is just the first step in doing business with the Commonwealth. Each year the state buys goods and services totaling more than $8 billion. The Commonwealth of Virginia wants to do business with you and increase participation of small, women owned, and minority-owned businesses.
This workshop will cover the SWaM Program and designations, certification process and new on-line application portal (live demo), required documents needed to apply, and how to use the certification to do business with the Commonwealth (intro to eVA, Virginia’s Online Procurement Portal).
This virtual workshop is in partnership with and hosted by the SBSD
REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE AN INVITATION WITH A LINK TO JOIN PRIOR TO THE EVENT.
For more information on SWaM Certification, visit: https://www.sbsd.virginia.gov/certification-division/
Vaccinated/Non-Vaccinated Workshop (Virtual)
August 26 ~ 9 am - 10:30 am
Everything you need to know about COVID-19 vaccines, mask mandates, and Virginia workplace safety
As more and more employees become vaccinated and return to the workplace, businesses are wondering what they can and should require of their employees and how to best protect themselves and their customers to maintain a safe work environment.
Join the Alexandria SBDC for a presentation by R. Doug Taylor, Shareholder, Bean, Kinney & Korman, P.C., who will address the following questions:
- Can an employer ask for proof of vaccination status? What should that proof look like?
- What if an employee refuses to be vaccinated? Can employers terminate for refusal to be vaccinated?
- Must employers still require masks in the workplace?
- How may employers encourage vaccinations without requiring vaccinations?
- Can employers require unvaccinated employees to get tested? Do employers have to pay for that? How frequently can testing be mandated?
- What if an employee insists on working remotely?
HAVE YOU BEEN VACCINATED? BE SURE TO SIGN UP TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR CO-WORKERS.
VACCINES ARE AVAILABLE LOCALLY
call 1-800-232-0233
SURVEY SAYS............
The Retail Alliance wants to know how you’re performing compared to pre-COVID times, to know what challenges you’re still facing, and what you’ve done or are doing to overcome them. they will put that data together with other business owners’ responses to provide a total picture of what is going on in Hampton Roads’ small business community.
6 minutes of your time is all it will take to answer these questions. To thank you, all complete responses will be put in a prize drawing to win one of five Amazon Echo Show 5’s kindly donated to us by a Retail Alliance member.
Results will be shared only in aggregate (no individual responses will be released) Survey closes August 31.
Take Survey Here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RetailPulse-Aug2021
The Chamber is here to assist.
- Send us an email with your job description/details to be added to the Job Postings section of our website. It will also be shared on Facebook.
- Form partnerships and work with other businesses.
- A great way to form these partnerships is to attend networking events such as the monthly Chamber Brewing Up Business.
MEMBER NEWS
Do you know about Graz'n Acres Therapeutic Riding Center? Founded in 1999 with one horse and two participants, the center has grown to serve over 100 participants a year with 8 horses and ponies.
In addition to evening lessons several nights a week, they also offer Morning School Programs with Southampton County Public Schools and Franklin City Public School Special Education Departments. The At-Risk Program is in partnership with the Fresh Start Center at Southampton Public Schools.
This non-profit organization is dedicated to providing therapeutic riding, driving, At-Risk Programs and other related equine assisted activities for children and adults with physical, intellectual, emotional, and learning disabilities, as well as those with behavior disorders and At-Risk youth.
Check out their website - https://www.graznacres.org/ to see photos of their BEAUTIFUL horses & ponies - they are superstars along with talented director Cyndi Raiford.
See more events on the Chamber's Community Calendar & post your event for free using this link:
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