THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601270073
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Lydia G. Duke
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Address by Lydia Duke, chairman of the Suffolk division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, at the chamber's volunteer recognition dinner last week:
Regionalism - in Chamber of Commerce circles, the word elicits one of two responses: great praise or great concern. And in wider business circles, the idea as it pertains to the economic development of Greater Hampton Roads may or may not be an idea that is given much thought or consideration. Why then, is this idea of regionalism one of primary importance to the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce as well as to each of the five Chambers of Commerce in Greater Hampton Roads?
Ten years ago, the regional chamber was formed with the goal of enhancing the political, social and economic quality of life of the five-city region. This could be accomplished by pooling resources and acting in cooperation in issues brought before the state government. Operating as a region gives us considerable political force when making requests to the state for new roadways and for new educational facilities such as the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center.
Furthermore, cooperation enables us to work together to attract business and industry to our area thus improving quality of life and the economy in all five cities. With so many positive points, why then would the idea of regionalism ever be met with concern?
The concern lies in the loss of identity. We are Suffolk. We are unique in many ways from Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake. In the same way, each of those cities is unique from us. We are a community that prides itself on its Farm Family and its Small Business of the Year awards. We are a community that supports education for our children through the business partnerships with our schools and through the annual Teacher Shadow Day. We are a city in which diversity is a true asset. We are diverse in people, in land use, and in business opportunities and this rich diversity makes us an asset to the Greater Hampton Roads region.
The question then remains, is it our goal to abandon our uniqueness for the good of the region? The answer, which comes from your Suffolk Chamber of Commerce board, is a resounding no. We are resolved to maintaining the rich diversity and uniqueness of our city while, at the same time, cooperating on a regional level on issues that will benefit us all.
The first of these issues is education in terms of implementing character building programs throughout all our schools. The second of these issues is governmental affairs. The third is the enhancement of business and industry membership. By attracting business leaders and professionals to the Chamber we can further strengthen our collective voice and bring about even more improvements to our area. We gather here this evening to celebrate Suffolk. We celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of women in our community; we celebrate the importance of agriculture to our community; and we celebrate the role that business plays in our economy and in our quality of life.
We further celebrate the rich resources we hold in land and in people, which make Suffolk a vital link in the economic prosperity of Greater Hampton Roads. We stand on the brink of wide scale economic success and our future is bright. Each of you, as Chamber of Commerce members, is vitally important to that success and we, the board of directors of your Chamber of Commerce, are committed to working toward the achievement of that success by working toward an ever stronger chamber. Help us, then, to help you - get involved with a school partnership, renew your chamber membership or encourage a fellow business person to join. You do make a difference and together we make a difference in the improvement of a region and in the economic vitality of Suffolk. by CNB