U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, right, speaks with Frank Rodano, left, and Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Wico van Genderen at Rodano’s on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday.
                                 Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, right, speaks with Frank Rodano, left, and Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Wico van Genderen at Rodano’s on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday.

Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

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<p>Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross holds up a face mask with the City of Wilkes-Barre logo presented to him by Mayor George Brown, left, as Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Wico van Genderen, center, looks on.</p>
                                 <p>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader</p>

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross holds up a face mask with the City of Wilkes-Barre logo presented to him by Mayor George Brown, left, as Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Wico van Genderen, center, looks on.

Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

<p>Civic leaders gather with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at Rodano’s in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday afternoon. From left are: Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Wico van Genderen, Secretary Ross, U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, and Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri.</p>
                                 <p>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader</p>

Civic leaders gather with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at Rodano’s in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday afternoon. From left are: Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Wico van Genderen, Secretary Ross, U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, and Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri.

Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

<p>U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, left, talks with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at Rodano’s restaurant in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Thursday afternoon as business owner Frank Rodano and Mayor George Brown listen.</p>
                                 <p>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader</p>

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, left, talks with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at Rodano’s restaurant in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Thursday afternoon as business owner Frank Rodano and Mayor George Brown listen.

Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

WILKES-BARRE — Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is visiting the city this afternoon to meet with local business, community and Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce leaders.

The purpose of his visit is to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the response of our area’s business community and local efforts to restart the region’s economy as Luzerne County moves into the state’s green phase of recovery on Friday.

Paramount to the reopening of the economy is a plan for the health and safety of the region’s workforce, consumers and community, according to chamber officials.

“Recovery speed has a lot to do with public health and safety, confidence with consumers, and our labor force,” said chamber President and CEO Wico van Genderen. “It is the prime impetus behind the Luzerne County Ready Pledge program, a proactive joint program between the county and our local businesses.”

The pledge helps to ensure that CDC, OSHA and the governor’s health/safety protocols are in place for workers and consumers “to help restore a level of confidence as we re-engage in our daily routines,” van Genderen said.

Secretary Ross joined Frank Rodano, in the outdoor courtyard at Rodano’s Restaurant on Public Square, to commend the eatery and the local business community’s sustainability efforts as downtown businesses reopen under the green phase.

“I applaud the commitment of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce as they work to connect local companies to national assets to help them through this crisis,” Ross said. “As we continue to safely and carefully reopen our communities, it is encouraging to see the unemployment rate fall and retail sales rise, proving the true resilience of Pennsylvanians and all Americans.”

Following the Rodano’s visit, Ross headed to The Westmoreland Club to host a roundtable with business leaders.

The discussion was to center on the chamber’s Respond/Return/Re-Imagine COVID Recovery Plan to focus on safely reopening the workplace, on-boarding the workforce, and the region’s path forward to growth and sustainability.

Scheduled to be included were ongoing discussions with the Commerce Department about the development of local initiatives, including NEPA Works, Project EVOLVE, and Project PIVOT, which are focused on assisting businesses with adjusting to the post COVID-19 economy, identifying critical workforce needs, aligning industry needs to workforce skill-sets, providing training, up-skills, and certifications, and accelerating the process of bringing displaced workers back into the labor force.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created devastating unemployment numbers,’ van Genderen said. “These numbers represent real people who have lost their jobs. We need to get them back to family sustaining jobs for a real rebound to take place in the region. We are working with the county, the state, PA CareerLink, and The Institute, in collaboration with the U.S., Economic Development Administration to look at aligning jobs, skill-sets and critical needs to ensure we are in front of a labor force recovery for our area.”