What to Expect in 2021: A Memo from VACEOs Executive Director
VACEOs Community,
As 2021 rapidly approaches, I wanted to share again our approach to the year. While we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, I am buoyed by the latest vaccine news, which to my reading indicates that vaccines will be available for most people by June.
As always, Roundtables and Forums come first. We have increased support, training, and leader training for these groups. Our recruiting of great CEOs has not stopped and we will have a steady stream of new members to fill seats in your groups.
Your board has instructed staff to continue to produce high-impact programs and connections — virtually for now — and to pivot back to in-person events when permissible and safe. Here are the highlights of what we have planned so far.
- One high-impact program per month, along with several smaller learning and connecting events. We’ve got Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin, Vidyard Exec Tyler Lessard with Marcus Sheridan, a business LEGEND I cannot announce yet, and much more.
- Our annual CEO Retreat will be presented virtually over two weeks at the end of April, with speakers (announced soon), workshops, and social opportunities. Also, conditions permitting, we will be encouraging small group “watch events” to connect you all for learning and growth. Thanks to Steve Pendlebury for connecting us with a rockstar speaker!
- We are planning a new Fall Leaders Conference that we anticipate will be in-person. This is being scheduled for September at the Cavalier Resorts in Virginia Beach.
- In January, we will launch a new, easy to use online community that will connect all VACEOs Members and Sponsors — giving Roundtables, Forums, interest groups, and committees a powerful platform to connect, learn and grow.
- And, as we expand to serve CEOs across Virginia, you will have access to more CEOs and sponsors and their experiences.
- Finally, in case you missed it a few weeks ago, here is a “State of the Council” post from 2021 Chairman Sam Stone and me.
I look forward to a dynamic year and to emerging stronger on the other side.
Forward!
Scot McRoberts Executive Director scot@vaceos.org
In the News: Virginia Business reports “It’s About to Get Less Lonely at the Top”
“It’s about to get a little less lonely at the top,” writes Sydney Lake, reporter for VA Business Magazine.
“The biggest challenge for those CEOs is the lonely-at-the-top phenomenon, where these folks really find themselves alone with these struggles a lot of the time,” VACEOs Executive Director Scot McRoberts tells Lake, adding: “In smaller businesses you don’t have a lot of executive teams around you. There’s just a lot of pressure on a small business CEO.”
Lake reveals how the Pandemic-necessitated virtual meetings spurred council expansion. Included in the article are quotes from several VACEOs Members, including Arlene Lee, CEO of Charlottesville-based R.E. Lee Company.
“For many CEOs I know, the relationships with other CEOs is what has carried us through the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficult decisions and pivots we have had to make. The relationships grown through the council are deep, connected and meaningful in a way that is often missing in our greater world.” – Arlene Lee, CEO, R.E. Lee Company
Read entire coverage of “Va. Council of CEOs to expand statewide. Pandemic-necessitated virtual meetings spurred council expansion” by VA Business Magazine.
Related article:
https://www.vaceos.org/news/2020/11/17/va-council-of-ceos-adapts-to-covid-19-crisis-expands-statewide/
VA Council of CEOs Adapts to COVID-19 Crisis, Expands Statewide
(Read Richmond Times-Dispatch coverage: “Virginia Council of CEOs opens up to membership to top executives across the state”)
Richmond, Virginia: The Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEOs), a nonprofit association serving more than 200 small and mid-sized business owners, announced today that is expanding its geography outside of Central Virginia and throughout the state, welcome news for many CEOs who run a small and mid-sized business in Virginia who seek the benefits of a CEO advisory group (peer roundtable).
VACEOs, a 20-year old nonprofit association, is driven by its mission is to “connect CEOs for learning and growth.” The most powerful way CEOs connect within the organization is through a confidential peer roundtable group, made up of CEOs of non-competing companies ($1 million or more in revenue/5 or more full-time employees).
Scot McRoberts, Executive Director, VACEOs
Before COVID, VACEOs expansion was limited due to the perceived need to form roundtables based on geography. However, during COVID the roundtables were able to expand past geographic boundaries through the use of Zoom, WebEx, and other video platforms. Two new virtual roundtables were created during COVID and their success has now led to this aggressive expansion.
“Our existing Roundtables pivoted quickly to online meetings back in March and April,” says Scot McRoberts, Executive Director, Virginia Council of CEOs. “We think CEOs are open to this efficient, effective meeting method like never before. There is an opportunity here to serve hundreds of small business CEOs who we could not reach before. By offering roundtables to more CEOs, we are delivering on our mission.”
“I’m not sure that I could have navigated as well as I did, without my roundtable.” – Sam Stone, CEO, Stone’s Office Supply
CEOs Find Their Peer Roundtables to be an Invaluable Source of Information and Comfort During Time of Crisis
Sam Stone of Stone’s Office Supply
Sam Stone, CEO of Stone’s Office Supply, is a long-time member of VA Council. Says, “We went from meeting in person, to immediately switching to Zoom meetings to cover some of the most difficult topics that I’ve had to cover in my time as a CEO. I’m not sure that I could have navigated as well as I did, without my roundtable.”
Connie Hom, CEO of Buckingham Greenery, says, “This has been a fast-paced, changing environment. There are decisions as a CEO in regard to labor, clients and revenue, and the shared experiences have been very helpful. The virtual roundtable has truly been a breath of fresh air, and the Council membership has proven to be, for me, a port in the storm.”
VA Council Offers Complimentary, Two-hour Peer Roundtable Experience
To fuel its growth and for a limited time only, VACEOs is offering a complimentary, two-hour confidential peer roundtable experience with a trained facilitator. After that one-time experience, CEOs can join the organization and be placed in a new roundtable while accessing other Member benefits, including online training and informational sessions, learning programs, social events, and the return to in-person meetings and retreats. Learn more: https://vaceos.org/ceo-roundtables
VACEOs Executive Director and 2021 Chair Address Members In State of Council Message
[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.
Scot McRoberts, Executive Director, VACEOs
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.
- 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.
- Use online technology to connect our community for learning and networking. Seek out the best tools and practices.
- Begin offering small in-person events with safety and caution in mind.
- 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.
- 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.
- Move back to in-person events as soon as possible.
- Serve more Virginia CEOs. Launch a campaign to offer virtual CEO Roundtables statewide.
- 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
[Video] VACEOs Turns Twenty. Here’s a Recap With a Few Fun Cameos
What started as one small business CEO’s need for a peer group has grown into the thriving state-wide organization it is today. In this fun video, we humbly nod to the past and warmly open our arms to the future.
Says Scot McRoberts, Executive Director, VA Council of CEOs, “Twenty years ago, what started as a gathering of a dozen CEOs in the basement of a local chamber of commerce has grown to be more than 230 CEOs and 25 corporate sponsors. Now we’re stronger than ever.”
“2020 has certainly not turned out the way any of us envisioned it,” he adds. “We’re disappointed we couldn’t have a big anniversary party, but we’ve pivoted in remarkable ways. And our members and sponsors have responded. We’ve delivered programming virtually with keynote speakers like Cameron Harold, Marcus Sheridan, Colleen Stanley. And we started new roundtables, both in person and virtually, to serve more CEOs and more places. And the really exciting thing is, as we go into this fall, we’re going to begin serving CEOs anywhere in the state, by setting up virtual roundtables for those CEOs, wherever they are.”
Surprise Cameos from Keynotes, Sponsors, and Members
The VA Council of CEOs Anniversary video revisits its roots, expresses optimism for the future, and includes some well wishes from past keynote speakers, including Marcus Sheridan, Elliot Eisenberg, and Colleen Stanley.
We also hear from VACEOs Sponsors and Members, who express why they value the Council and offer a special wish, like Elissa Mast, CEO, E&R Sales and VACEOs Member, who says, “Twenty years? I mean, that is amazing! It started with a couple of guys, and then now it’s grown into a couple hundred CEOs, all adding value in their community. And 15 years I’ve been able to benefit from it and enjoy it. My heart is full of gratitude for Virginia Council….” Later adding, “Virginia Council impacts tens of thousands of people, and I’m just so proud to be a part of it. Congratulations, Virginia Council. Here’s to 20 more!”
The 20-year anniversary celebratory video ends with a creative clip from VACEOs roundtable #09.
Happy Anniversary to Virginia Council of CEOs. And, thank you VACEOs Members and Sponsors past, present, and future.
Now, together, let’s go forward.
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