Warner summit aims to help rebuild Va.'s network mojo

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner is worried Virginia is losing what he considers one of its great strengths - a statewide network of business and community leaders and philanthropists. "I always felt that one of the things that made Virginia unique was the enormous pride in being a Virginian - whether born or adopted.... People were willing to kind of support things that were Virginia first," Warner said.

These were people who knew one another through business dealings and often shared mutual interest in state issues, such as bolstering higher education or the arts or particular political causes.

But times have changed. Many Virginia-based industries and banks are owned by outside interests, and those statewide friendships have started to disappear.

"The last generation of them are moving off the stage," Warner said.

This weekend, he wants to prod the next generation to fill in the void.

The senator has invited more than 300 business and community leaders - mostly 25- to 45-year-olds - to Richmond today and Saturday for a Young Professionals Summit that includes speeches and workshops but is mostly intended to get people talking to each other.

"My hope is that this could be the beginnings of a new statewide group of folks that will carry the ball the next time there is a challenge," Warner said, stressing that event is "absolutely nonpolitical."

He cited as an example business leaders' discussions, over many years, about ways to improve Virginia's educational system.

Their talks led in 1994 to the formation of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council, which has supported the growth of the state's public colleges and universities.

Josh Darden, a Norfolk businessman and philanthropist who co-founded ACCESS College Foundation, which has provided college financial assistance to thousands of students, called Warner's summit "an excellent idea."

Darden said many older business executives have been lamenting for some time the disconnect among Virginia's regions as state-based businesses that encouraged civic engagement have faded.

Angelica Light, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation - formerly the Norfolk Foundation - said she's found that younger business people, though far from apathetic, generally don't have strong statewide ties.

But when they do meet face to face, as they will in Richmond, they're often adept at using technology to keep the conversation going, Light said.

Light, who is participating in the summit, said it'll be interesting to see whether the participants "pick up the ball and run with it."

If not, Warner said, he'll try something else.

"I don't know if there's a better way to do it," he said. "I'm wide open."

Bill Bartel, (757) 446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com