By Emily Gage, Phoenix Bikes

Is Arlington “bike-a-licious”? That is how 14-year-old Emran recently described his vision for the most bike-friendly community he could imagine. And, here at Phoenix Bikes, we want to be a part of making life more bike-a-licious for all local kids.

Emran is one of about 500 middle and high school students per year who are benefiting from Phoenix Bikes, a nonprofit community bike shop in South Arlington that educates youth.

By Matt Stephens, Clarke & Sampson, Inc.

​The Ambassador Committee works to strengthen the Chamber membership by making every member feel welcome at Chamber events and encouraging them to become involved. This amazing group of volunteers are the first Chamber members many of us meet, and are always friendly faces throughout our memberships.

​All new members are given an Ambassador to the Chamber when they first join. Our Ambassador Committee looks to reach out to new members in their first year, serving as an additional resource as long time Chamber members. Ambassadors serve as a trusted voice to new members on how to maximize the Chamber membership, based on the objectives of the new member, and also look to greet new members at upcoming Chamber events.

To get to know your Ambassadors better, we present Matt Stephens of Clarke & Sampson, Inc.

By Manuella Hancock, MWH Copy

In the marketing world, fresh content is critical to any effective strategy to get customers to know, like, and trust you. Business blogs create content for your website, and they provide an easy subject for social media communications. A short, 300-800 word post can improve SEO, provide a knowledgeable education point for existing and potential customers, and help establish thought leadership in your industry. Writing blogs takes effort and time and not everyone is comfortable with writing. Consider these following steps to help take some of the pain out of the process. 

By Indre Bauza, Supporting Strategies - Northern Virginia

​For small-business owners, the new year brings a feeling of liberation. You reset the calendar to day one, along with all the record-keeping and bookkeeping obligations that accumulated last year. Each year you vow you'll stay current with your financial reporting. Well, here's how you can actually do it in 2019.

By Susan T. Anderson, Communications Director, Arlington Commissioner of Revenue’s Office

​Ingrid H. Morroy, Arlington County’s Commissioner of Revenue, and her staff in the Business Tax Division enjoy assisting new and existing Arlington businesses. It is especially so at this time of year when every business must file their annual business license tax return—also known as “BPOL”, the “Business, Professional, and Occupational License”—by March 1.

As stated in Chapter 11 of the Arlington County Code, “Every year, beginning January 1 of each year and ending on the following December 31, there are hereby levied and there shall be assessed and collected the annual business license taxes and fees…on persons engaged in any business in the County, which license taxes and fees shall be for the support of the County government, the payment of the County debt, and for other County purposes.”

By Rick Reinsch, Digital Recollections

​The Ambassador Committee works to strengthen the Chamber membership by making every member feel welcome at Chamber events and encouraging them to become involved. This amazing group of volunteers are the first Chamber members many of us meet, and are always friendly faces throughout our memberships.

​All new members are given an Ambassador to the Chamber when they first join. Our Ambassador Committee looks to reach out to new members in their first year, serving as an additional resource as long time Chamber members. Ambassadors serve as a trusted voice to new members on how to maximize the Chamber membership, based on the objectives of the new member, and also look to greet new members at upcoming Chamber events.

To get to know your Ambassadors better, we present Ambassador Committee Chair, Rick Reinsch of Digital Recollections.

By Beth Offenbacker, Waterford, Inc.
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On January 23, I attended Chamber Day in Richmond for the first time with Scott Pedowitz, Kate Bates, and several of my fellow Chamber members. We joined with fellow business leaders and numerous Chambers of Commerce for a day of outreach to our elected officials on business issues. This day was a great opportunity both to see the policy process unfold while the legislative session is underway, and to experience first-hand the Chamber’s activities in building awareness of business issues among legislative representatives in our state capitol.

By Linda Kelleher, Culpepper Garden

As we observe Martin Luther King Day of Service on January 21, I wanted to share one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most important quotes, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Like the 100+ Arlington-based nonprofits who are members of the Arlington Chamber Community Action Committee, Culpepper Garden is participating in Martin Luther King Day of Service organized by Volunteer Arlington.  In fact, Culpepper Garden thrives on volunteer engagement! Our senior community welcomes over 450 volunteers each year to provide programs and activities that encourage health, wellness, and social interaction in our 340-unit apartment community. Culpepper Garden welcomes volunteers of all ages to entertain and engage, help residents maintain their gardens or help with fundraising event – frequently or once-a-year.

While we encourage all business and community partners to be involved in Martin Luther King Day, we want to encourage a year-long commitment to volunteerism. For example, the team at Doubletree Crystal City have both entertained and helped at our annual fundraiser, brings joy and music each holiday season by engaging residents in a sing-along, and have also volunteered at our Annual Springtime Party each June to serve wine, beer, and other beverages.

Culpepper Garden, owned by nonprofit Arlington Retirement Housing Corporation (ARHC), is the largest community in Arlington providing affordable housing for people over age 62 and the only one in Northern Virginia that provides affordable assisted living. “Our residents can truly age in place,” said Executive Director, Linda Kelleher, “and our promise is that we will continue to provide assisted living care, even after residents have exhausted their financial assets.” If you are interested in helping to brighten the lives of older Arlingtonians, contact us at mscott@culpeppergarden.org. 

This post is part of the Chamber’s Nonprofit Spotlight. The Chamber has over 100 nonprofit members, and we invite them to contribute to the Chamber blog as a way of connecting with the broader membership. If you are interested in contributing a Nonprofit Spotlight post, please reach out to Scott E. Pedowitz, Government Affairs Manager, at spedowitz@arlingtonchamber.org.

By Mekita Rivas, VIDA Fitness

​The beginning of the year is often filled with lots of promise and lofty ambitions for the weeks and months ahead. People are making resolutions, identifying priorities, and devising action plans to reach their goals. But there’s much more to goal-setting than simply sitting down and writing (or typing) them out. How you set goals is actually just as important, if not more so, than the goals themselves. 

“Anyone creating a goal needs to go into it understanding that they should break down the goal they’ve established into smaller goals,” explains Erik Strouse, general manager at VIDA Fitness The Yards. “People often set a main goal, and it can be too difficult or too out of their reach to keep.”