The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce announced its virtual “Salute to Patriots” event to recognize veterans who have not only served our country but also have made an impact in the SCV business community, in partnership with the city of Santa Clarita and in collaboration with the Santa Clarita Veterans Services Collaborative.
“The SCV Chamber takes great pride in being able to honor our veterans every year and to highlight different individuals each year who have not only served our country but our business community as well,” Nancy Starczyk, chair of the chamber board, said in a prepared statement. “With our current situation, the chamber has been working diligently to ensure this event still occurs, no matter the format.”
Representatives from the chamber and Veterans Collaborative are set to visit all six of the honorees, at a safe distance, to present their awards and record a video message as they tell their story.
Each individual honoree video is then expected to be shown daily leading up to Veterans Day before being compiled into a full program and shown on the holiday on Nov. 11.
Given the pandemic, the chamber has revamped many of its events to follow health and safety guidelines. With the annual Patriots Luncheon being one of the chamber’s most popular events, the decision to revamp the event virtually was simple.
“This year has really put our minds to the test and we’ve been working tirelessly to make sure we still provide programs for our business community, no matter the situation we are in,” Ivan Volschenk, managing partner at Evolve Business Strategies, which manages the chamber, said in the statement. “Our yearly Patriots Luncheon is a heartful event and very important to the chamber and our community. We have put pen to paper to bring a unique format, which will still allow us to recognize our community’s veterans.”
Program sponsorships are currently available, and the chamber also welcomes back Andy Gump as title sponsor for this year’s event.
The honoree videos and full virtual program can be watched via the chamber or The Signal’s social media pages, as well as on SCVTV at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 11.
Nominations are open now until Sept. 30, and anyone actively running for office in the 2020 election cycle will not be eligible for nomination, according to event organizers. For more information or to request nomination forms, email [email protected].
