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Chamber Information

Although there is archeological evidence that some sort of business trade associations existed in Mesopotamia, the first recognized Chamber of Commerce was established in France in 1599. It is still in existence today and is known as the Chambre’de Commerce. The second Chamber was established nearly 100 years later on the English Channel Island of St. Helier off the Jersey coast.

The first American Chamber of Commerce was established in 1770 in New York City. It later moved to Albany and is known today as the Empire State Chamber of Commerce. The first local Chamber was established in 1773 in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce traces its history back to its earliest records dating to 1898 where we find the Hampton Board of Trade and The Newport News Business Men’s Association. In July of 1903, the Chamber of Commerce of Newport News was formed. In 1904, the Hampton Chamber of Commerce was established.

In April of 1935, under the leadership of Lloyd Noland, Sr., the business organizations, under various names of Newport News, Hampton, Phoebus, Warwick, Williamsburg, James City County, York County and Elizabeth City County, consolidated to form the Virginia Peninsula Association of Commerce. In December of 1958, the name changed to the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, and in September of 1984, the named changed to what it is currently, (The) Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. The records indicated the following list of volunteer leaders through those years.

Newport News Business Men’s Association

1898-1900 — William B. Vest

1901 — J. Addison Willett, Jr.

1902 — William E. Barret

Hampton Business Men’s Association

1898-1899 — William E. Lawson

1900-1904 — William J.A. Cumming

Newport News Chamber of Commerce

1903-1904 — James L. Patton

1905 — Albert L. Powell

1906 — Henry B. Holmes

1907 — Walter B. Livezey

1908 — Clarence P. Jones, M.D.

1909 — Walter S. Copeland

1910 — W. Lee Powell

1911 — T. Otis Bland

1912 — William B. Colonna

1913-1914 — Matthew C. Armstrong

1915 — Bernard W. Crump

1916 — John I. Viney

1917-1919 — John N. Shannahan

1920 — Joseph A. Massie

1921 — Philip W. Hiden

1922 — Robert P. Holt

1923-1924 — Godfrey L. Smith

1925-1926 — Chester D. Porter

1927 — Abe Horowitz

1928 — Thomas J. Hundley

1929 — William B. Ferguson

1930 — Norman E. Drexler

1931 — Lewis T. Jester

1932-1934 — Eugene F. Dugger

Virginia Peninsula Association of Commerce

1935 — Lloyd U. Noland

1936 — Robert P. Wallace

1937 — Raymond B. Bottom

1938 — Harry A. Keitz

1939 — G. Franklin Lenz

1940 — Edward J. Robenson, Jr.

1941 — Charles A. Ferguson

1942 — Joe W. Wheeler

1943 — Alex M. Conner

1944-1946 — Charles K. Hutchens

1947 — David Dick

1948 — Ward R. Scull

1949 — S. Sydney Bortner

1950-1951 — Leslie R. O’Hara

1952 — Max Shapiro

1953-1954 — Frank A. Mitchell

1955 — George T. Abernathy

1956-1957 — W. Ward Anderson

Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

1958-1959 — Willits H. Bowditch, Sr.

1960-1961 — William R. Van Buren, Jr.

1962-1963 — Lewis A. McMurran, Jr.

1964-1965 — Robert S. Hornsby

1966 — William W. Wyatt

1967 — George H. Hill

1968 — Rodgers A. Smith

1969 — Robert J. Curtin

1970 — Charles E. Hastings

1971 — Troy L. Davis

1972 — Gordon B. Cutler

1973 — Richard Newman

1974-1975 — Prentis Smiley, Jr.

1976-1977 — Karl F. Lanier

1978-1979 — Alden A. West

1980-1981 — Sylvia Berry

1982 — Edward Harris

1982 — Erwin B. Drucker

1983 — Gordon L. Gentry, Jr.

1984 — Frank R. Bloxom, Jr.

1985 — Kenneth F. Palmer

1986 — Robert B. Terrell

1987 — Gerald R. Brink

1988 — W. Lee Barnes

1989 — William M. Grace

1990 — Alan Witt

1991 — L.E. Queen

1992 — Robert Kenerley

1993 — Conway H. Sheild, III

1994 — S. Michael Evans

1995 — C. Wayne Williamson

1996 — Howard B. Waters

1997 — Arthur J. Kamp

1998 — Alfred J. Shrieves

1999 — Anna V.B. McNider

2000 — Svein J. Lassen

2001 — Charles G. Armfield

2002 — Paul W. Garman

2003-2004 — Frederick N. Elofson

2005-2006 — Joseph R. Witt

2007 — D. Guy Manchester

2008 — Chuck Mitchell

2009-2010 — Joycelyn Spight-Thrower

2011 — Mark Hanna

THE CHAMBER’S VISION

The Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary membership business association that believes more can be accomplished on behalf of business and the community by banding together. The Chamber is a not-for-profit, non-partisan and non-sectarian organization operating on behalf of all its members for the good of the whole.

Regionalism – The Chamber believes that more can be accomplished, effectively and efficiently, through regional action or regional cooperation. This includes transportation funding and planning, tourism and industrial marketing, education, skilled workforce development, waste disposal and recycling, as well as other basic government services.

Small Business – Small businesses employ half of the country’s workforce, create two of every three new jobs and generate a majority of American innovations. The Chamber’s role is to increase the number of small business successes. Through professional development, affordable training, seminars and networking opportunities, the Chamber provides a climate for the expansion and success of small businesses through its Business Center and SCORE program.

Business Advocate – First and foremost, the Chamber is the champion of the free enterprise economic system and the advocate of the business point of view. Through its Board of Directors, programs, committees and task forces, the Virginia Peninsula Chamber represents the collective voice of business through its membership. All its efforts, as represented by its annual Plan of Business, are designed to “advocate and support the economic and business interests of the Virginia Peninsula and the surrounding region.”

Skilled Workforce Development – Nearly one million youth drop out of school each year. Seven of 10 high school students can’t write a basic letter seeking employment. The future prosperity of the Peninsula will depend on the availability of a skilled, qualified workforce. The Chamber membership has identified a skilled workforce as the primary concern of business.

Military Affairs – A Chamber study conducted recently revealed that 41.2 percent of the total Peninsula payroll is directly dependent on Department of Defense spending. There is virtually no business left untouched by the military presence. The Chamber’s Military Affairs Council is a business advocate of the military and recognizes the significance of a military scale down over the next few years. The Council is working towards integrating this highly skilled workforce into the local community with two Military Job Fairs (spring and fall), both conduits for exiting the military into the civilian business world and with relocation/transition assistance in the form of seminars.

VIRGINIA PENINSULA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN AWARD RECIPIENTS

Franklin O. Blechman — 1981

Lewis A. McMurran, Jr. — 1982

Caleb West — 1983

Herbert Kelly — 1984

Jean B. and E.E. Falk — 1985

Newport News Shipbuilding — 1986

Thomas P. Chisman — 1987

Richard M. Bagley, Sr. — 1988

Honorable Thomas Downing — 1989

Ann Kilgore — 1990

David Peebles — 1991