Unquestionably leadership is a necessary imperative to the success of a business and a community.

With the spring sports season in full swing, Hampton Roads fields are filing up with the influx of baseball, softball and soccer teams.

Have you ever thought about the energy you use during a typical day? My daily routine involves getting up early to read, work out and get ready for the day.

HAVE YOU EVER thought about the energy you use during a typical day? My daily routine involves getting up early to read, work out and get ready for the day.

Spring is coming to Hampton Roads and as the flowers will be blooming, our economy will be booming. This spring our region will be reinvigorated with new businesses scheduled to open throughout the coming weeks and months.

In life and in business diversity and inclusion is always an enabler of success.  Diversity of background, insight, and opinion fosters growth and innovation.  As we wrap up  Black History Month, the Hampton Roads Chamber encourages our partners, members, and our local communities to recognize and celebrate the achievements of our minority-owned companies and minority business leaders who have demonstrated inspirational leadership and business acumen over their careers.

Regionalism! We in the business community have been advocating it for years because we clearly understand its importance to economic development and the creation of a more pro-business environment. We understand the region is the organizing structure of the economy. Yes, we have multiple cities and counties but their economies are inextricably linked by tremendous economic overlaps and commonality of interest.

Little by little, Hampton Roads has started to realize the need for an influx of new industry into our region to diversify and grow our economy.

When you live in an area steeped in history and tradition, decisions steeped in the legacy of past is easy. As America’s First Region, a region that celebrates existing before the country even won its independence, Hampton Roads may be guilty of holding a little too tightly to the traditions of the past and losing ground to more progressive regions.

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a new Labor Department rule that made millions more Americans eligible for overtime pay. The decision by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzini granted a preliminary injunction that blocks overtime pay for 4.2 million workers who worked in excess of 40 hours per week.