Wednesday, October 28, 2020

VACEOs Executive Director and 2021 Chair Address Members In State of Council Message

Incoming VACEOs Chair and Executive Director Address Members on 10/28/2020

[Above: Listen in as Sam Stone, 2021 VACEOs Chair and Scot McRoberts, VA Council of CEOs Executive Director, address members and sponsors.]

 

A Letter From Your Executive Director:

2020 has not been the year any of us expected. Some have fared pretty well. Many of us have suffered as business shifted under our feet, families faced virtual school and communities have been shattered by social unrest and political division.

Your board and staff have worked relentlessly to serve our mission on the shifting sands of these last few months. Many of our traditional means of connecting CEOs became impossible or have required creative adaptations. I know that you have been doing the same contortions in your business.

No one is missing the in-person, human connections of our annual Retreat, socials, luncheons and workshops more than me. Well, except for Connie! Hang in there – we will be together soon.

The Council’s mission remains vibrant, and even critical, in times like these. Know that your staff is doing everything we can to deliver on this promise “to connect CEOs for learning and growth.” The board met recently and here’s the direction they have given us.

1. Roundtables and Forums are the core. Provide flexibility in the use of retreat funds. Share ideas and best practices and push training. Connect and support leaders.
2. Use online technology to connect our community for learning and networking. Seek out the best tools and practices.
3. Begin offering small in-person events with safety and caution in mind.
4. Plan our traditional spring Retreat as a virtual and small group event. There is simply too much uncertainty to take the financial risk of planning a normal Retreat.
5. Create a new Fall Leaders Conference that we anticipate will be in-person. This is tentatively scheduled for September 19-20, 2021 at Cavalier Resorts in Virginia Beach.
6. Move back to in-person events as soon as possible.
7. Serve more Virginia CEOs. Launch a campaign to offer virtual CEO Roundtables statewide.
8. Spin up a Diversity & Inclusion committee to help us build a stronger, more inclusive community for the future.

You will see that the priority is our current members and sponsors. Please be in touch with your staff if you have ideas or suggestions about how we can do any of these things better.

As a mission-driven organization, growth is imperative. We have had more CEOs join the Council in the last six months than in the same period last year. The power of peers is more important than ever to the small business CEOs of Virginia. I am excited to advance our mission in a time when geography is less relevant. As a past chairman once said, “I want to grow the Council because more CEOs means more brains that I can access.” 

Now, together, let’s go forward!

Scot McRoberts
Executive Director
VA Council of CEOs

 

Labels: Sam Stone, Scot McRoberts