It’s hard to believe that my time at the Chamber has now exceeded a full year. Over the course of my first year, I’ve had the opportunity to work directly with our members, and have developed a vast understanding of the Arlington business community fabric. Whether that be attending an Arlington County Board meeting to pass out stickers to support the Amazon incentive package or holding a forum for our nonprofit members to learn from industry experts – I’ve seen the impact that the Chamber has on the community.
The Chamber’s reach is far greater than that of just a networking organization. I’ve witnessed first-hand the full depth of resources we continually offer. The Chamber has a full-time Government Affairs manager to assist members navigating the local government. Additionally, we offer extensive resources for all business types, including resources for our over 100 nonprofit members. I've even had the chance to participate in initiatives that are meaningful and show deep commitment to bettering the community. Through our nonprofit committee & connections, the Chamber assisted TriNet in the donation of 100 backpacks to OAR of Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church. This year, we saw tremendous success at Volunteer Arlington Day, gathering more than 250 volunteers. Additionally, I’ve seen Chamber success stories on a smaller scale, such as members being able to rent the boardroom once a month. We’ve had a wide variety of events held for members, like recording radio shows and strategic planning meetings. A Chamber member was able to kick-start her podcast by using our small conference room to host and interview guests, including elected officials. We've also been able to promote various deals between member organizations through our online portal - a free resource that many may not know about! Our coupons range from special membership rates to VIDA Fitness to tuition discounts. Being able to play a part in spreading the word about the amazing things our members are up to has been extremely rewarding. During my time at the Chamber, I’ve gotten to mentor our interns, ranging from high schoolers to international students. I’ve also been able to take on exciting projects, including the Chamber Travel Program, which will be sending six Arlingtonians to explore China for ten days this fall, and I’m leading the Chamber’s first ever Arlington Restaurant Week. Through Arlington Restaurant Week, I hope to continue deepening my ties in the Arlington community - while trying out some of the best bites our area. From all that the Chamber, and our members, have to offer, I’ve realized we as an organization boil down to one word: connections. Connections between Chamber members. Connections between the business network and community. Connections to local government. Connections to people who are on your side and will do whatever they can to help you prosper. I’m feel very fortunate to be connected with the individuals I’ve met through my work at the Chamber.
0 Comments
I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA and traveled south to James Madison University, graduating in May 2018 with a degree in Marketing and Political Science. I decided to stay in Virginia and look for a place to call home in the DC area. In my search, I focused on finding a career path that would allow me the opportunity to have an impact on my community. I am thankful to have joined an organization that truly cares for the members and will go above and beyond to help anyone. That is my favorite thing about the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. Every person I interact with – whether that be my supportive colleagues or a member in need – has made me feel that I ended up at the right place.
At my first event, the Nonprofit Forum: A Guide to Fundraising under New Tax Laws, members made sure to introduce themselves to the new face at the Chamber. At each and every event I attend, I become familiar with new faces and am starting to see my place in this organization. Whether it be at a Business after Business or a SMART Start event, I am learning new things about the Chamber and the Arlington community every single day. From the start, I have felt comfortable and challenged in my new role. My colleagues have been wonderful about showing me ways I can make this role my own from the foundation. As Operations Coordinator, each day looks different to me. I have had a lot of fun being able to work with new problems each day, using my problem solving skills to see what I can do next. My favorite part about this new role is the level of involvement that I get to have in each of the Chamber’s areas. I enjoy working on different projects in each of the departments. Being responsible for coordination throughout the organization has allowed me to gain a deeper meaning on what the Chamber truly does and the pursuit of our mission. I have always wanted to do something greater than myself. I have always wanted to do something with my life that had a bigger meaning. I have always wanted to help people in the best ways I can. I can honestly say I have always wanted to work for an organization so committed to this mission as the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. One of the things I am urgently trying to do is be able to cook healthy, full meals in my post-grad, adult life. I've always tried to make myself dinner, as opposed to running out and grabbing something. However, in time-crunch, I don't always make the most well-balanced and healthy meals. For young people on the go, like me, there are great options for pre-ordering meals for home delivery. I have previously sampled (and reviewed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) the Blue Apron Meal services. This time, however, I wanted to try something new. I decide to order Hello Fresh in an attempt to see if this alternative would not only save me some time, but also give me the well-balanced meals that my still growing body desperately begs for in the midst of some (not deserved) fast-food binges. For the first meal, I decided to make the Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas. This recipe seemed quick; my mom just got home from a long day at work, and I wanted to get something delicious on the table for her. After reading the ENTIRE recipe first (something I don't always do). I know that I'm not the fastest at cutting and preparing ingredients. I decided to prepare all my ingredients first for faster cooking. I really love that Hello Fresh makes all the instructions for preparing ingredients extremely simple and readable, something I did not really see in Blue Apron, which assumed the cook knew everything about preparing ingredients. As a new cook, I appreciate the effort in making it as easy as possible for the cook. When I started cooking, I realized that there are ways that I can keep the rest of my life organized, to make it as easy as possible for me. I realized that all these other areas of my life, organization for instance, would greatly improve from some pre-planning and thought. Instead of just going into every situation with the "things will work out" motto, I need to start thinking of my life more in a more forward thinking way. By taking charge of my life, and what direction I want to be headed, I know that I am going to be able to go in the path I really want. I need to see my future, and run towards it. Juuuuuust how I ran toward these quesadillas. Once I got everything ready to go, I started cooking. What I love about cooking is how fast-paced it is. I get lost in the moment and become truly immersed in the kitchen. It's a place to escape and just work on my passion. I started cooking everything and just loved seeing how it all came together. Instead of the recommended method of baking the quesadillas in a 500 degree oven, I opted for making them in the frying pan. For one, I did not want to turn on my oven to 500 on a 93 degree day; I didn't want to torture myself like that. Second, I really do think that quesadillas taste so much better fried. Well, everything tastes better fried...
I felt so amazing being able to put a delicious meal on the table for my mother and I. She works so hard every single day in the office and the kitchen. I love being able to give her a break, and I know she really enjoys someone cooking for her for once. Hello Fresh was definitely a success, and I cannot wait to try the other recipes in this week's basket. When I started my post-grad life, I felt like all life was giving me was Brown Bananas. The leftovers, the forgotten, the not good enough. Everyone goes through those times, I've realized. What shows real preservation and courage is to turn those brown bananas into something good. Something delicious. My Great Aunt Hattie's Banana Bread recipe does exactly that. I use my brownest bananas to make the sweetest bread. I think recipe really does speak to what a lot of post-grad, unemployed twenty-somethings feel. Lost, lack of resources. The ones you do have seem like they aren't good enough. But I've learned (and am still learning) how to turn those thoughts on their head. Thinking positive, and acting positive, has let me move mountains that I once used to climb. I think that this banana bread is best enjoyed when you add a large handful of chocolate chips. Everything in life is better with a little chocolate added. Follow my mom's recipe for the best results:
Makes 1 loaf 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup shortening 2 eggs 3 large overripe bananas, mashed 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt Note: This is one of the oldest handwritten entries in my decades-old recipe book. It was handed down from my mother, who got the recipe from an elderly neighbor in her hometown of Oil City. It’s delicious warm from the oven, toasted with butter, or at room temperature. Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. In large bowl, cream sugar and shortening together. Add eggs, and beat until light and creamy. Add mashed bananas, and mix to combine. 3. Fold in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well to combine, then pour into a buttered 9- by 3-inch loaf pan. 4. Bake for 1 hour, or until top is crispy brown and cake tester or toothpick placed near the center of the loaf comes out clean. —Gretchen McKay Every time you get into the kitchen, it doesn't need to be for the healthiest reasons. Sometimes, getting into the kitchen to create some gluttonous, cheesy comfort food. Making food that you want to eat - and are excited to eat - can be just as "good" for you, too. Healthy food does make you feel great afterwards, but there is something to be said about comfort food that makes you want to lay down for a few hours. For my roommate's 22nd birthday, I asked him to go through my cookbooks and find a recipe that he would want to indulge on for his birthday. This time, we made a Mac'n'cheese from Chrissy Teigen's Cravings cookbook. I want to warn anyone reading this about the insane amount of cheese that goes into this. You may need to eat some cheese immediately after viewing this blog post. Enjoy. To start off the mac, we prepped all the ingredients. Three different types of cheeses. Yes, three. We used two bags of shredded cheddar, two bags of shredded Swiss, and over 15 slices of American cheese. There's a lot of cheese going on here. As I was assembling the cheese bowl (pictures below), I thought for a second about how overwhelming all this cheese could be. It snowballed from there, and suddenly, I was thinking of all the overwhelming things in my life, including the cheese. I took a big breath, and mixed it all together. Sometimes, when you have a lot on your plate (or in your bowl), the best thing to do is just keep moving forward. Moving forward, despite crippling uncertainty, is necessary. My roommate and I decided we needed to work together to get this one done. It was much more than we both realized, and I knew I needed his help. Plus, it was a nice change to have someone with me in the kitchen. Thomas took control of the bread crumb topping: bread in the food processor, heated over a stove with an ungodly amount of butter. I'm so glad that he came into the kitchen with me - he did an amazing job. To make a very, very, very long story short, we then mixed all the cheeses with the base we had been cooking on the stove. Adding the cheese was gradual, making sure that all melted and combined well. We actually ended up reserving more cheese than we needed for topping, but we decided that maybe all that cheese wasn't as necessary as it may have seemed. Once the cheese cause was made, we mixed in an entire box of cooked pasta. We finished it off with the reserved cheese and our delicious breadcrumb topping. Finally, the mac could be put in the oven for an hour. However, we spent the whole hour cleaning up the mess we made. Making this mac and cheese with my roommate was a great way to relieve some stress and have some fun. Happy birthday Thomas!
I recently received this cookbook from my mom, who knows I love cooking and Chrissy Teigen. “Cravings” is a cookbook full of mouthwatering dishes that will fulfill all your insatiable cravings, but with much ease. I am have been looking for quite some time for a cookbook made for people like me – who like to cook, but are a bit unskilled and lack many resources. What I liked most about this cookbook is that Chrissy specifically wrote the recipes so readers wouldn’t have to go to a million different stores to get their ingredients. I was able to find all the ingredients for this recipe at Food Lion and even already had some at home. None of the ingredients I had to purchase were particularly expensive, and most ingredients were bottles of things that can be used for many more recipes! From the start, I knew I could do this recipe. It was right down my alley – and definitely looked delicious. And Chrissy mentions in the prologue how not every recipe in her cookbook is “healthy.” However, this recipe, she admits, is healthy and STILL delicious. I wanted to pick a healthier option for my first recipe-blog, as I am currently on the pathway to a healthier lifestyle. In the last few months of 2017, and into 2018, I was able to finally accomplish one of my biggest goals – losing 20 pounds. Scary. Unreachable. Hard. Time consuming. Those were all my excuses before, as to why a healthy lifestyle was NOT for me. I had all the excuses. That was until I started cooking. I have been a lifelong fan of the food network, and my mom is a full time food writer in a food section that repeatedly wins awards at the AFJ. But I never got into the kitchen myself. I was intimidated by everything. There came a point when I knew I had some maturing to do and face my fears. I realized that by making my own food, I was really in control over what I was putting in my body. I was in charge, and I was not going to let all these excuses weigh me down anymore. By taking complete control of my diet, I was finally in control of my life. No longer did I think that I couldn’t do it. I could do it. I AM doing it. I will keep doing it. I started off by making the sauce first, being careful to follow all the measurements. Next, I made sure to prepare all the other ingredients. I find preparing them all first makes for a quick execution later. I chopped my vegetables, peeled my ginger, and measured all ingredients to be ready to go. I always surprise myself in this stage. When I first started cooking, it would take me the longest. I would need to seek advice from my food-writer mother on everything. How do I cut this bell pepper? What is the most effective way to peel garlic? What does mince mean?! Or chopped!?!
These days, I have it down. I know my basic cooking terms and more techniques. That’s exactly why I was excited to try this recipe. I wanted to test my refining skills. And I succeeded! I highly recommend this recipe by Chrissy Teigen. It was so simple, and I only had to combine my ingredients in a pan. Quick and delicious. Thank you Chrissy Teigen for giving me new ways to embrace my new lifestyle! |
Food
|