For Donald Norcross, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce’s Walk to Washington event this week will feel a little different than it has in years past.
Having spent more than four years as a member of the state Legislature before being elected last November to longtime U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews’ vacant 1st District seat, Norcross will address guests at this year’s event as a member of Congress.
“After attending this event for years, it will be surreal to be seated on the other side of the table addressing attendees,” Norcross told NJBIZ. “New Jersey is home to some of our nation’s most successful businesses and organizations and each is unique in its background, concerns and viewpoints.
“I’m looking forward to meeting with them and hearing what Democrats and Republicans can do together to strengthen our state’s economy and grow jobs.”
A Garden State tradition now in its 78th year, the annual event kicks off Thursday, bringing together a slew of politicos and businesspeople from all corners of the state.
The event features a chartered Amtrak train that departs from points in Newark, Iselin, New Brunswick, Trenton, Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del., before continuing on to Washington, D.C., where guests attend a dinner at the Marriott Wardman Park featuring a keynote address from Gov. Chris Christie and speeches from other members of the state’s congressional delegation.
Guests attend a breakfast featuring a reporters’ roundtable Friday morning before boarding another chartered train back to New Jersey and points north. The event gets its “Walk to Washington” name from the networking that takes place aboard the train, suggesting that guests walk up and down the train cars mingling and passing out business cards before arriving in Washington.
If they haven’t done so already, people wishing to attend can register by email right up to the day of the event through the chamber’s website.
“This is the kind of super-networking that helps businesses grow,” Chamber CEO Tom Bracken said. “That is why we have been doing it for three-quarters of a century. It is New Jersey’s biggest and most prestigious business event of the year.”
Despite having to be rescheduled due to a snowstorm that ravaged the Northeast, last year’s event still drew more than 800 business executives and at least 40 members of the state Legislature, according to the chamber.
Christie’s keynote will come at an intriguing time for the second-term governor, as he continues to weigh a likely presidential bid and attracts national media attention in the process.
During last year’s keynote address that was carried live on C-SPAN, Christie, still embroiled in the fallout from the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, declared that New Jersey’s economic outlook was indeed brighter than when he had taken over four years prior.
The high costs of pension and health benefit payments were also a major discussion point for Christie as he invoked the cautionary tale of Detroit’s bankruptcy, an example he would continue to use in the months that followed.
In addition to Norcross, longtime U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone and U.S. Rep. Tom Mac Arthur will also speak Thursday.
Last year’s event saw speeches from U.S. Rep. Chris Smith and now-former U.S. Rep. Rush Holt.
Like Norcross, MacArthur is also a newcomer on the scene after being elected last November to the 3rd Congressional District seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan.
“I’m looking forward to getting some time with all of our business leaders (this) week in Washington,” MacArthur said in a prepared statement. “I’m especially thankful to the New Jersey chamber for organizing this event, as I know it will be a great opportunity to talk about our legislative priorities and goals for the year with the people on the ground who are actually creating jobs and growing the economy.
“I’m particularly excited to share some of my goals for the year, including protecting the biggest employer in our district, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and working to protect Sandy survivors as we rebuild and recover.”
More information about the event and a train schedule is available at chamberwalk.com. Follow NJBIZ for coverage from Washington.