More networking, fewer speeches – and the same high-level crowd of business leaders and government officials.
Officials at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce said the return of the Walk to Washington, Feb 6-7 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, is drawing lots of interest as it returns from a five-year hiatus.
The 84th version of the iconic event will make its usual stops – Newark, Metropark, New Brunswick, Trenton, Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del. – and is on pace to draw more than 900 attendees.
Those coming will get a slightly different format.
The event, now called New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Walk to Washington & Congressional Reception, no longer will have a formal dinner on the opening night. Instead, it will feature a continuation of the networking that took place on the train with a cocktail hour featuring plenty of food.
And because it’s an election year, the chamber is expecting to have all the top gubernatorial candidates on the train ride down then as part of a breakfast panel discussion on the morning of Feb. 7 – or before attendees board the train back home.
CEO Tom Bracken said the response to the event, last held right before the state shut down for the pandemic, has been positive.
“The enthusiasm has been great,” he said. “The rooms are selling out at a very rapid pace and we still have two months to go.”
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Bracken said he expects most of the members of the state’s congressional delegation to be part of the cocktail reception on the opening night. And while Gov. Phil Murphy will not be on the train – he is expected to be at the event.
Whether the trip becomes an annual event again will be determined at a later date, Bracken said.
Bracken said it’s unclear if it will run annually or every other year, along with the popular Atlantic City Business Summit and Expo that has been held in its place the past few years. In 2025, the Chamber is planning on having a smaller version of the A.C. Summit during the summer.
“We have a lot of options,” Bracken said. “Our biggest goal is to create opportunities where business leaders and government officials can meet to discuss the biggest issues facing the state.
“That’s the only way to keep the conversation moving in a positive direction.”
