The Prince William Chamber of Commerce has many plans for this year.
Bishop Lyle Dukes is the new Chair of the Manassas-based organization. He replaced Betty Dean in July.
Dukes serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Life Changers Church in Woodbridge and has been on the chamber’s board for 10 years.
“[I’m] honored to be the Chair and excited about the future,” he told What’s Up Prince William.
The chamber is focusing on various initiatives this year, including transportation in Prince William County.
It’s supporting a Road Bond that will be on the General Election ballot.
“We really understand that this is really the time to improve our transportation, and … we’re hoping that everyone will vote ‘Yes’ to the road bonds initiative that’s being put forth,” Dukes said.
Dukes also spoke about the Mason Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a resource that recently opened in eastern Prince William County.
SBDC was established through a partnership between George Mason University (GMU) and the county.
“If you want information about financing, counseling for business, you can go to our Small Business Development Center and go to the website,” Dukes added.
Leaders of the Prince William Chamber of Commerce are also considering creating a foundation.
“This gives us the ability and the opportunity to have our resources from businesses to give into programs that will help education — to the point of even providing scholarships — also, for an array of community things that we’re able to do from a chamber side,” Dukes explained.
