Louisa, Va. —  The Louisa County Chamber of Commerce, with the Orange County Economic Development and the Quad County Business Summit Planning Committee, are pleased to announce the October 12, 2022 Quad Summit at Shenandoah Crossings Resort featuring keynote speaker Dr. Kelli Palmer, Chief Diversity Office at WillowTree®.  WillowTree is a full-service digital product consultancy, with over 1,000 employees.  WillowTree began in 2008, with three individuals building mobile apps in Charlottesville, VA.  Today, WillowTree creates digital products for companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500.

Prior to WillowTree, Palmer was CFA Institute’s Head of Global Inclusion & Diversity and Corporate Citizenship. In this role, Palmer led the strategic direction of CFA’s internal initiatives to improve the organization’s ability to recruit, retain, and promote an inclusive, diverse, and culturally competent employee base. Palmer focused on the organization's culture to ensure success and to maintain/attract a high-quality workforce.

This half day summit will include a panel of local business owners showcasing Wesley Chiles, owner of Chiles Enterprises (Louisa, VA), André Xavier, owner - C'ville Travel, C'ville Tours, C'ville Transportation, and Casa X Publishing, co-owner -Virginia Hop on Tours, Patch Brewing Co. (Orange, VA), and C'ville 3D, and Katherine Morris, co-owner of Performance Signs & Wraps (Greene, VA).

The Central Virginia Small Business Development Center will host the fourth annual QuadTank Pitch Competition during the summit. The winning individual or team will be awarded a $$$ cash prize ($5,000 or more) to support implementation of their business plan. At the end of the Quad Business Summit, the winner will be chosen by a panel of judges. For applicants that are starting new businesses, there will be an opportunity to be evaluated for a Market Validation Micro Grant up to $1,000 from Community Investment Collaborative.  Interested individuals or teams must schedule a meeting with a Central Virginia Small Business Development Center (CV SBDC) before September 16th to apply.  Contact Client Services Coordinator, Mesa McMurtrey via email: contact@cvsbdc.org, or by calling 434-295-8198.

We would like to graciously thank all of our generous sponsors: Bluegreen Shenandoah Crossing Resort, WillowTree, First Citizens Bank, Dominion Energy, Community Bank of the Chesapeake,  Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Seventh Wall, Community Investment Collaborative, Madison County Chamber of Commerce, Louisa Chamber of Commerce, Greene Chamber of Commerce, Orange Chamber of Commerce, Fluvanna Chamber of Commerce, Fluvanna Economic Development Authority,  Xpress Copy & Graphics, and Firefly Fiber Broadband. Sponsorship opportunities are still available and are listed on the Summit website.

The full 2022 Summit agenda and registration is now available and can be found on the Quad County Business Summit website at www.qcbsummit.com.