The Chamber restructures its Committees and Working Groups to better serve its members’ interests and the people of West Virginia.
In a state where business decisions ripple through communities large and small, staying ahead of the issues is essential.
The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce represents more than 5,000 businesses and organizations employing over half of the Mountain State’s workforce, Kaylin Jorge, the Chamber’s chief communications, development and policy officer, said. But representing that breadth of industries, from energy and healthcare to tourism and small business, requires more than advocacy at the Capitol. It requires structure, focus and constant recalibration.
Some issues affect nearly every employer, such as taxes and workforce participation. Others impact a narrower slice of the business community but are no less significant.
Keeping informed and active on matters big and small requires an inside track, and that track has long been paved by the savvy and service-minded members of the West Virginia Chamber’s committees and working groups.
“Our committees and working groups influence our policies and initiatives,” Jorge said. “They’re made up of people who are CEOs and experts in their own field, but they volunteer their time and expertise to the West Virginia Chamber for a better business climate. They do a lot of work, both in front of and behind the scenes.”
Oversight of the Chamber’s committees and working groups is an all-hands-on-deck effort, with several staff members leading divisions aligned with their areas of expertise.
With a focus of straightening the path for these groups, the Chamber initiated a review and restructuring to make sure these valuable groups reflect the most up-to-date topics and issues impacting West Virginia.“We restructured them with the goal of getting more people a seat at the table and boosting member engagement,” Jorge said. “We’ve had committees and working groups come up as issues arise, and this was a way for us to modernize the topics and the pillars of the Chamber to make sure that we’re in line with our membership.”
Through virtual and in-person meetings, the Chamber rounded up as many committee and working group members as possible to review data and concerns, discuss ideas and brainstorm possible initiatives within each group.
“It started out as a listening session: ‘What do you want from this committee? What do you think we can work on? What are your ideas?’” Jorge explained. “We took information from every committee and working group to provide us with a direction to go.”
The result was a clearer, more strategic framework, one that organizes expertise into defined divisions while preserving flexibility to respond quickly to emerging challenges.
- The Energy and Environment Division, which includes energy and environmental working groups.
- The Economic Growth Division, which includes working groups focused on small business, tax, tourism, business insurance and economic development.
- The Education, Workforce and Health Care Division, which includes working groups focused on education, health care and opportunity.
- The Legal Fairness Division, which works to promote a fair, balanced and predictable legal climate and produces CourtWatch, a yearly overview of Supreme Court decisions that affect West Virginia businesses.
- The Government Affairs Roundtable, which brings together lobbyists in a variety of fields promoting policies to improve West Virginia’s business climate.
- Vision 2030, which provides a platform for young professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders to collaborate and cultivate a bright future for the state.
- The Women Leaders Working Group, which provides a network for women in the state while inspiring, educating and engaging women in leadership.
While the groups have shifted and been realigned throughout the years, their importance to the state remains unchanged.
“The West Virginia Chamber committees and working groups are a place of connection for our members,” said Chamber President Steve Roberts. “This organization has members from all walks of life and from every region in our state. The goal is to bring people together to advance policies that will improve life for our state’s citizens. Employers can use the West Virginia Chamber and its thought circles to speak for their needs and represent their point of view to lawmakers and within the court of public opinion.”
Each of the groups brings crucial ideas, input and commitment to action, Jorge noted.
“While the legislative session is going on, our Government Affairs Roundtable is very active,” she said. “It is an information-sharing resource for registered lobbyists who are at the Capitol. It lets us get the pulse of everything that is going on at the Legislature.”
A strength of the Economic Growth Division is that its members, drawn from many different fields, educate each other in useful ways. The Women Leaders Working Group not only provides valuable input on statewide issues such as childcare but also embraces philanthropic and leadership-building initiatives at the annual Women’s Leadership Summit, strengthening the pipeline of female leaders across industries.
The Legal Fairness Division has long provided a priceless resource to the Chamber through its CourtWatch publication, which requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work, Jorge said.
“It really is a great resource to make sure our members are staying on top of the latest decisions coming down from the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and how changes in the law can affect their business,” she said.
The Chamber’s Energy and Environmental Committee has been extremely active for several years.
“West Virginia is the fifth-largest energy-producing state in the nation, and the Chamber has an all-of-the-above energy approach, so it stays abreast of energy trends,” Jorge said. “Because energy policy can intersect with economic development, infrastructure and workforce, we are deeply involved in a lot of those decisions.” Jorge credited committee chair Kathy Beckett for her excellent work in that regard. Beckett, who has chaired the committee for 15 years and served on it for 30, said her goal is to educate members about how they can be “a unified voice to improve energy and environmental outcomes for citizens of West Virginia and the nation.”
“West Virginia has tremendous resources: clean air, abundant freshwater resources, natural energy and a beautiful geography,”Beckett, an energy and environment attorney at Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, said. “We are rich in assets across the board and are committed to lending leadership to management.”
The time commitment is rewarding because of the outcomes, she said.
“I am a native West Virginian, and I labor daily to help lay a path of opportunity for all who choose to live, play and work here,” Beckett said. “The West Virginia Chamber’s role is to serve as a trusted voice representing business and industry leaders. Chamber members all have family and neighbors who live in our state and who care about its people. It’s an honor to be part of such a special team.”
Jorge said she’s equally honored to work alongside members who give so much of themselves to serve.
“Every time we come to the table, both virtually and literally, I am constantly in awe of the dedication, energy, grit and determination that these experts bring,” Jorge said. “It really is an impressive group of people. They are business owners, doctors, lawyers – leaders across every sector – and yet they give their time and their expertise to make West Virginia stronger. That’s what makes this work meaningful.”
Jean Hardiman is a freelance writer living in Huntington, West Virginia.