107th GRCA Annual Dinner : The Virtual Dinner

It's time for The Virtual Dinner - The largest gathering of business leaders in Berks County. Tonight, we spend an evening with best-selling author, social entrepreneur, and combat veteran Wes Moore. Moore will discuss his quest for a meaningful life, sharing valuable lessons learned from the remarkable people that he met along the way. From the translator who helped him "find his fight," to students in Katrina-ravaged Mississippi who showed him the meaning of grit, Moore will reveal that our truest work happens when we serve others. Will you be inspired to create a life that matters and play an active part in building a better community around us?

Please join us for this fantastic evening and celebrate the award recipients of the Greater Reading Top Business Awards, and Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards. The evening promises to be filled with entertainment, great food + drink and the opportunity to network with up to 800 business neighbors.

Login information for the Web Portal will be sent the week of the event.

About The Virtual Dinner

Latest Web Technology
Using the latest technology, we are taking guests inside a virtual Santander Arena. This web portal will allow guests to ?move? from table to table and connect with nearly 800 community and business leaders. Guests will still hear from best-selling author Wes Moore and take part in a live Q&A with him following his keynote, which would not have been possible in person.
 
Dinner is Still on Us!
To create a more dinner-like experience, our sponsors and ticket holders will receive a swag bag valued at $50 that will include a split of wine from Folino Estate and Vineyards, a $25 gift card to one of 19 GRCA member restaurants, an event program and GRCA-branded items. With this swag bag, we have the opportunity to support our members and still invite you to enjoy dinner with us for our annual signature event. We will be setting up a no-contact pick up of all swag bags at the Chamber's Center for Business Excellence in Wyomissing the week of the event. We will be contacting all guests to alert them of the date and time window for pick up. **Guests registering after 9/1/20 are not guaranteed a swag bag.**
 
Top 3 Businesses Receive Award in Person
Prior to The Virtual Dinner, GRCA will be hosting the Top 3 in each business category at the GRCA headquarters to physically present them with their award. This pre-recorded award ceremony as well as videos featuring the winners will be integrated into the overall guest experience. These winners deserve their time in the spotlight and we are happy to provide this at an in-person, smaller, event.


More about Moore

Wes Moore is the CEO of Robin Hood, one of the largest anti-poverty forces in the nation. Wes' first book, The Other Wes Moore, a perennial New York Times bestseller, captured the nation's attention on the fine line between success and failure in our communities and in ourselves. That story has been optioned by executive producer Oprah Winfrey and HBO to be made into a movie. He is also the author of the bestselling books The Work, Discovering Wes Moore, and This Way Home. His newest book, Five Days: The Fiery reckoning of an American City was released in April and is expected to be another bestseller. The book explores the uprisings in Baltimore in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody through a kaleidascope of perspectives and examines critical questions about the deeper causes of violence and poverty.

Wes grew up in Baltimore and the Bronx, where he was raised by a single mom. Despite childhood challenge, he earned an MLitt in International Relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 2004. Wes then served as a captain and paratrooper with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan. He later served as a White House Fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
 
Before becoming CEO at Robin Hood, Wes was the founder and CEO at BridgeEdU, an innovative tech platform addressing the college completion and job placement crisis.
 

 

     


PLATINUM SPONSORS
Met-Ed, A FirstEnergy Company