THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, December 5, 1994               TAG: 9412030171
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY          PAGE: 4    EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY PAIGE FLEMING, SPECIAL TO BUSINESS WEEKLY 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   44 lines

IN BUSINESS: SESSION WILL HEAR CONCERNS

Virginia business operators frustrated by government regulations can speak out Tuesday when the White House Conference on Small Business convenes in Virginia Beach.

The statewide conference is part of a Clinton administration effort to gather suggestions from businesses throughout the nation.

The conference in the Cavalier Hotel represents a planning meeting in preparation for a national meeting set for August. Area business organizations have been preparing for the session for weeks.

``We had a September meeting to do preplanning with older delegates in order to gather content and issues for the December meeting and to talk about issues leading up to the summer meeting,'' said Bob Holloran, vice president of small business in the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, which is housed in Norfolk.

Tuesday's agenda includes the topics of regulation and paperwork, community development, taxes, technology, and procurement, said Bob Heffley, vice president of the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. The Peninsula chamber sponsored a meeting in Hampton last month to organize for Tuesday's event.

``We used a voting process to identify the top three issues important to attendees,'' Heffley said.

Issues that stood out were regulations, taxation, to venture capital, and topics such as health care, Heffley said.

``We talked about the issues and from that came up with six pages of comments and points,'' Heffley said. ``Now several people from the Peninsula plan to go to the state conference and run as delegates. This way we know our voice is being heard.''

``Attendees will create their own agendas and the state conference will create their own legislative agenda,'' said Mary Blazevich, a White House spokeswoman. ``Once this agenda is finalized it will be sent to a regional conference with delegates. From there regions will be formed and (they will) create coalitions.

``All along the way the issues will be honed and fine-tuned until the top concerns from around the country are represented,'' she said. by CNB