What will business in Montgomery County look like five or ten years from now?

Will new technology reshape the way we work? Will we have enough people to fill the jobs we create? Can employees afford to live where they work? And as the region grows, how do we make sure we preserve the qualities that made people want to build their lives here in the first place?

Those questions were at the center of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce’s September Eggs & Issues conversation, The Future of Business in Montgomery County.

And one theme became clear very quickly: the future of business is about much more than business.

Growth Depends on the Systems Around It

There was plenty of optimism in the room.

Our region benefits from major educational institutions, an established manufacturing base, growing technology companies, agriculture, new development, future passenger rail service, and a culture of collaboration among businesses, government, education, and community organizations.

But opportunity alone does not guarantee growth.

Panelists repeatedly returned to housing as one of the greatest pressures facing employers. Affordable housing is not limited to one type of development. A recent graduate looking for a first apartment, a skilled employee hoping to purchase a home, and a family relocating to the New River Valley all need different options.

When employees have to travel greater distances to find housing they can afford, the effects reach far beyond their commute. It influences recruitment and retention, household spending, quality of life, and ultimately the strength of the local economy.

Childcare emerged as another piece of that same equation. If businesses want to attract and retain working families, childcare cannot be viewed solely as a family issue. It is increasingly a workforce and economic development issue as well.

The Workforce Challenge Is More Than Finding People

Finding workers matters. But so does developing them, retaining them, and creating a community where they want to stay.

Katherine Schlee of Corning and Sara Lyon-Hill of Virginia Tech both discussed another important challenge: transferring knowledge from an aging workforce to the next generation.

That requires mentorship, but it also requires employers to adapt.

Industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, skilled trades, and technology are changing rapidly. Employers have an opportunity to show younger workers that these careers do not necessarily resemble the jobs of twenty or even ten years ago.

Scott Sink of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation pushed that conversation one step further by emphasizing experiential learning.

Students need opportunities to see workplaces, solve actual problems, make mistakes, adapt, and discover careers through experience. Internships, job shadowing, robotics competitions, work-based learning, and other hands-on experiences do more than build resumes. They develop critical thinking, accountability, adaptability, and problem-solving skills.

And they help young people discover opportunities that may already exist in their own backyard.

AI Is a Tool, Not the Entire Strategy

No conversation about the future of business would be complete without artificial intelligence.

But the panel’s discussion was refreshingly practical.

Rather than focusing on whether AI will replace jobs, the conversation centered on how businesses can use technology to make existing employees more effective.

Corning is already exploring ways to use AI and digital tools to better understand processes, analyze information, communicate across its workforce, and give operators information more quickly.

Henry Bass of Automation Creations, Inc. encouraged businesses to begin with a simpler question: What tasks consume employees’ time without requiring much creativity or adding significant value?

Those may be the best opportunities for automation.

The goal is not adopting technology simply because it is new. It is identifying where technology can remove repetitive work and give people more time to focus on the work that actually requires their expertise.

Growth Should Not Mean Losing What Makes This Place Work

Perhaps the most interesting discussion came when moderator Donna McCloskey asked panelists what they would change if difficulty and expense were no obstacle.

Their answers included stronger schools and childcare systems, infrastructure, amenities for families, expanded experiential learning, better communication between generations, and preserving the character and agricultural heritage of the region.

Those answers point toward an important distinction.

Growth and progress are not necessarily synonymous.

Montgomery County and the New River Valley will continue to change. The challenge for business and community leaders is making sure that change creates opportunity without sacrificing the qualities that make this a strong place to live, work, invest, and build a business.

That will require collaboration across industries and institutions—and conversations where manufacturing, banking, technology, higher education, agriculture, workforce development, housing, childcare, and community planning are allowed to intersect.

That is exactly why getting people in the same room matters.

Thank you to our moderator, Donna McCloskey, and panelists Katherine Schlee, Sara Lyon-Hill, Kelly Kendrick, Henry Bass, and Scott Sink for helping us look beyond the immediate challenges of today and toward the decisions that will shape our region tomorrow.

We also thank our Eggs & Issues presenting sponsor, Carilion Clinic New River Valley Medical Center, and event sponsor, Automation Creations, Inc., for supporting opportunities for our business community to learn, connect, and engage in the conversations affecting our region.

The future of business in Montgomery County is being shaped now.

The question is: what are we willing to build together?