Press Release: “The business community came together on the morning of August 23, 2023 at the Fredericksburg Convention Center to honor and thank our region’s first responders for their contributions to our safety and well-being.”

“With over 300 first responders and community members in attendance at the event. Deputy Attorney General Nicole Wittmann and Chief Deputy State Coordinator, Sean Polster were in attendance to share their gratitude from the state of Virginia and delivered heartfelt messages.”

“In total the Chamber awarded 27 First Responders with awards for Heroism, Unit Citation and Merit. Below is a list of Award Categories and Recipients.”

“Category: Investigative. The Investigative awards are identified in the categories of excellence in criminal investigation, collaborative, merit award and ‘The business of first responding’.”

• The Business of First Responding: Fredericksburg Police Department presented to Lieutenant Aimee Lynch, Lieutenant Jason Pitts, Detective Melanie Boyle, Officer Uyurre Brown-Kaleopaa, Officer Christopher Florio and Ms. Angela Roenke.
• Collaborative Investigation: Fredericksburg Police Department presented to Lieutenant Benjamin Johnson, Detective Joshua Lynch and Detective Brandon Talbot.
• Excellence in Criminal Investigation: Caroline County Sheriff’s Office: presented to Sergeant Benjamin Sadler.
• Category: Heroism. The Heroism awards are identified in the categories of gold, silver, bronze, unit award, and merit award. The heroism award recipients have displayed bravery and heroism.
• Gold Valor Award: Spotsylvania Fire, Rescue & Emergency Deputy Fire presented to Technician Michael Evans, Technician Brian McPherson, Captain David Flint, Lieutenant Taylor Haynie, Technician Enos Martin, Firefighter Anthony Freeza, Lieutenant Chris McIntosh, Technician Travis Staples, Technician II Nick Haynes and Master Deputy William Jefferies.
• Merit Award: Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office presented to Deputy First Class Timothy Murphy.
• Gold Valor Award: Stafford County Sheriff’s Office presented to Sergeant Adam Assur and First Sergeant Jason Kreider.
• Gold Valor Award: King George Sheriff’s Office presented to Senior Deputy Steven Kellam and Deputy Ruslan Tully.
• Gold Valor Award: Fredericksburg Fire and Rescue presented to Battalion Chief Brandon BassRobert Hensel, Firefighter Cody Sheler, Firefighter/Medic Matt Parrotte, and Firefighter Jonathon Mann, Branden Robey, Firefighter Justin Newton, and Firefighter/Medic Tim Carter, Firefighter/Medic Bradley Gray and Firefighter/Medic Jeff Payne, Firefighter Jacob Miller, Firefighter/Medic Shawn Kowakowski, and Firefighter/Medic Matt Tanner.

“Category: Unit Citation And the Unit Citation award is given to a group of first responders who have worked together to perform an act of bravery and heroism.”

• Unit Citation Award: Caroline County Fire and Rescue presented to Caroline County Fire Rescue Units- Capt. Brett Poffenberger, Asst. Chief Keith Buchanan, Firefighter Sam Rowley, Firefighter Jacob Geisenhof, Firefighter Derrick Smith, Firefighter David Brothers, Asst. Chief David Jenkins, Jr., Firefighter David Puryear, EMT Dolores Heath, Lt. Ben Raines, Firefighter Denver Bonham, Capt. Ed Bonham, Firefighter Mike Huffman Lt. Vince Melton, Firefighter Tommy Hall, Lt. Shon Daniels, Firefighter Daniel Ferrell.
• Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Units- Sheriff Scott Moser, Major Travis Nutter, Capt. Stacy Cary, Lt. Chad Rozell, Deputy Brad Franklin, Sgt. Benjamin Doucet, Sgt. Chris Hall, Deputy Manuel Dip Deputy Maurice Clifton, Deputy Jason Elliot, Deputy Mathew Keeley, Deputy Bo Taylor, Deputy Dennis Taylor, Deputy Charles Ryan, Deputy Christopher Williams, Deputy Jesse Daily.
• Virginia State Police- Sgt. Quintin Kelly, Jr., Trooper Cody Carr-Olschewski, Trooper John Sullivan, Trooper Holly Thomas, Trooper Christopher Bingham Life Evac 1-Willard Hicks, Joseph Albright, Kevin Kissner.
• Caroline County Public Schools- Eric Childs.

“For a full list of awards and photos, please visit our website here.”

“Thank you to all of our sponsors: Rappahannock Goodwill Industries, Pierpoint Construction Inc, Mullins & Thompson Funeral Services, The Oberle Academy, Arsenal Events, Fredericksburg Public Schools, CIP Finishes, Grant Consulting Group, Tire Tread Service, Vakos Companies, Spartan Emergency Water Removal, CTI Real Estate, Found and Sons Funereal Chapel and Cremation Services, Dominion Energy, Rappahannock, Electric Cooperative, Matern Staffing, Featherstone, Little Tire Tire Pros, TRU by Hilton, The Joint Chiropractic, Riphean Investments, Paragon Theaters, Discover Next Step and Germanna Community College.”

Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce: "The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce will host the 7th annual First Responders Appreciation Breakfast on August 23rd from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Fredericksburg Convention Center."

"The business community comes together to honor and thank our region’s first responders for their outstanding contributions to our safety and well-being. "

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On May 19, 2023, the Chamber’s Leadership Fredericksburg program graduated its sixteenth class at the University of Mary Washington Stafford Campus, 121 University Boulevard.

The 2023 program was sponsored by Mary Washington Healthcare, Atlantic Builders, Ltd., Atlantic Union Bank., Flatter, Inc., LifeCare Medical Transports, Germanna Community College, SimVentions, and Stafford County.

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The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce held its quarterly Member Meeting on Wednesday, March 29, at Stevenson Ridge in Spotsylvania County.

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The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce has been awarded $230,000 in grant funding from GO Virginia. The funds will be used to build upon the Chamber's workforce development programming, Workforce NOW.

In partnership with businesses, and secondary and post-secondary schools, the funding will focus on planning and implementing Intern Expos, hosting workforce and intern workshops, and supporting workforce volunteers and Chamber staff in their efforts within the workforce development arena. The funding will be matched with in-kind and cash contributions from local partners and the FXBG Chamber.

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Several area public schools and universities area is advancing their career and technical education programs that pair students with vocational training and businesses. CTE, or work-based learning, as it's also known, is a hot topic in the region as public school divisions aim to place students into internships and externships at companies in the region. The practice gained steam in 2018, but it was derailed by government-ordered school building closures brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. In Fredericksburg today, more than 500 students were invited to attend an internship expo at the city's event center, where they could interview representatives from prospective companies looking to attract new talent. Regional school divisions, including Stafford County Public Schools and Mary Washington University, participated in the second-annual event organized by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. https://twitter.com/NSHSNorthNation/status/1625558088211210245 Meanwhile, the Manassas City Public Schools Work-based Learning office invited more than 50 people to Osbourn High School for a workshop on its program, which aims to place more than 500 seniors with companies by next year as part of a newly-expanded, ambitious internship program that will require students to obtain 280 hours of work to receive credit for the work-based learning course. https://twitter.com/ManassasCityWBL/status/1623817028191547393 In Prince William County, public schools Superintendent Dr. LaTanya McDade said students must graduate with six CTE dual enrollment credits by 2025. More in McDade's statement:

February is also Career and Technical Education (CTE) month. CTE programs are critical in preparing our students for employment in fast-growing fields, such as computer programming, engineering, health science, and skilled trades. I invite you to view a video featuring one of our exemplary CTE programs at Osbourn Park High School.

Commitment 1 of our Strategic Plan, Learning and Achievement for All, includes the goal of having at least 1,000 CTE students graduate high school with a minimum of six CTE dual enrollment credits by 2025. We are also proud to feature our CTE programs, teachers, and students, including these recent examples that I am excited to share:

Hundreds of students seeking more experience in the business world are expected at the Fredericksburg Expo Center on Valentine's Day.

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Every year, The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce Network of Enterprising Women (CNEW) chooses a different, local nonprofit and raises money throughout the year at their quarterly events. On January 17, CNEW presented the 2022 nonprofit of the year, Empowerhouse, with a $9,000 check.

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The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce announced its 2023 Chairman of the Board, Kevin Dillard.

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