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China Travelers to Get Instructions Tonight
Wolf Furniture to Host October 5th "Business Before Hours"
Chamber Seeking Board of Director Nominations
Leadership Adult Class to Embark on 2-day Retreat
Chamber Members Can Win One-Year of Free Electric Generation
State FFA President to speak at Chamber Breakfast Club
"Issues" Program on Higher Education Continues on Channel 14
L.R. Webber Offering Free Seminat to Chamber Members
Have You Registered for the Regional Expo?
Flood Insurance is Topic of October Lunch 'n' Learn
Chamber Again Supporting "Operation S.O.S"
Congratulations...
Blue Card Discounts

China Travelers to Get Instructions Tonight
The Blair County Chamber is taking one hundred people to China for nine days beginning on November 3rd and those people need to attend an important meeting tonight at the Hollidaysburg Junior High School beginning at 6:00 p.m. At that meeting, travelers will be issued all instructions related to departure and arrival, bus assignments, luggage tags, etc. “It’s critical that those making the trip attend this meeting or at the very least have someone represent them,” emphasized Chamber President Joe Hurd. “It is our intention that everything runs smoothly from start to finish.” Anyone traveling on The Chamber trip with any questions should call The Chamber at 943-8151.

Wolf Furniture to Host October 5th “Business Before Hours”
Wolf Furniture, located at 4 Sellers Drive in Altoona, will be the host of the next Chamber “Business Before Hours,” set for Wednesday, October 5 from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Wolf Furniture is very excited to be hosting the event. They will offer “a first-class display” of food and drinks. Handouts will be given to all attendees with significant discounts that they can use later. There is no cost to Chamber Members to attend and a $10.00 cost for non-members. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Chamber Seeking Board of Director Nominations
The Blair County Chamber is seeking nominations to its 2012 Board of Directors. Nominees must be a member of The Chamber in good standing. Self-nominations are welcome. To submit a nomination, email Joe Hurd. Please indicate within the nomination why you believe that the nominee would be a good addition to The Chamber Board. Nominations must be received by October 14th.

Leadership Adult Class to Embark on 2-day Retreat
The adult class of The Chamber’s Leadership Blair County program will travel to The Lodge at Camp Woodward in Centre County for a retreat this Thursday and Friday. The facilitated retreat is designed to help the class gain a better understanding of the various backgrounds of its members and to begin discussions related to the challenges and opportunities synonymous to Blair County. For more information on Leadership Blair County, visit The Chamber website.

Chamber Members Can Win One-Year of Free Electric Generation
Chamber Members who register for commercial electric coverage through the ChamberChoice program by October 14th will qualify for the chance to receive free electric generation for one year (a $5,000 value). Residential customers can win a similar prize (worth $1,000). Enrollment is easy. Simply go to fes.com/chamberchoice, select your utility, and get the special pricing available to members in our area. Call 1-866-699-9968 to speak to a program representative.

State FFA President to Speak at Chamber Breakfast Club
Casey Hall, State President of the Future Farmers of America, will be the keynote speaker at the next Chamber Breakfast Club, to be held on October 13th. Hall is a high school senior from Roaring Branch, PA in Bradford County. She plans to attend Penn State to major in Bioengineering with a concentration in Chemical Engineering. Her presentation at The Chamber Breakfast Club will focus on the responsibilities that all Blair County residents have to keep agriculture at the forefront of business activities. The Breakfast Club begins at 7:45 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park. The cost to attend is $16 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

"Issues" Program on Higher Education Continues on Channel 14
The Chamber’s latest “Issues” program is being aired on the Altoona Public Access Channel (14) on Mondays at 9:00 p.m. and Wednesday’s at 9:00 a.m. throughout the months of September and October. “The Role of Higher Education in Regional Development” is the title of the hour-long program that is moderated by WTAJ’s Carolyn Donaldson. Panelists are: Dr. Lori J. Bechtel-Wherry, Chancellor of Penn State Altoona; Dr. Wayne Powel, Provost of Saint Francis University; Dr. Walter Asonevich, President of Pennsylvania Highlands Community College; John Hille, Executive Vice-President of Juniata College; and Dr. Thomas Foley, President of Mount Aloysius College. Sponsors for the “Issues” program are: Altoona Mirror, Keller Engineers, McCartney’s, Inc., Mount Aloysius College and Penn State Altoona.

L.R. Webber Offering Free Seminar to Chamber Members
L.R. Webber Associates of Duncansville will offer a free seminar to Blair County Chamber Members on October 24th at The Casino at Lakemont Park. The seminar will focus on what retirement plan fiduciaries need to know right now and what resources are available to assist them. Registration for the seminar will begin at 8:30 a.m. and a free lunch will be served at its conclusion. To register, please email Brad Webber at bwebber@lrwebber.com.

Have You Registered for the Regional Business Expo?
The Blair County Chamber will once again partner with twelve other chambers throughout the region in presenting the Central PA Regional Business & Industry Expo, to be held Thursday, November 3rd from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College. Despite the fact that the event is more than six weeks away, initial registration has been somewhat heavy, according to The Chamber’s Stacy Hoover. “The event has been in play for the past couple years and businesses see the value in either exhibiting or attending,” Hoover pointed out. “We’re expecting our best year yet.” Hoover encouraged members of the Blair County Chamber to register early. “Some pretty good spots are still open but they’ll close quickly,” she noted. To obtain a registration form for the event, click here.

Flood Insurance is Topic of October Lunch 'n' Learn
Recent hurricanes and other types of weather-related disasters makes it more important than ever that businesses and homeowners understand the financial and property repercussions of flooding. For that reason, The Chamber is holding a Lunch ‘n’ Learn program on Thursday, October 27th from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Park Hills Country Club entitled, “Flood Insurance and Mortgages: Keeping Your Head Above Water.” Presenters will be: Theodora (Teddie) Kreitz of Keller Engineers, State Farm agent Lisa Mancinelli, Donna Myers of Reliance Bank, Cassandra Schmick of Logan Township and A. Jane Beveridge of the City of Altoona. The topic to be discussed will be the National Flood Insurance Program and its impact on local communities and residential and commercial property owners. The cost to attend is $22 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. Lunch is included. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Chamber Again Supporting "Operation S.O.S."
For the third consecutive year, The Chamber will assist in the promotion of Operation S.O.S. (Support Our Soldiers). This is the eighth year of the campaign which last year sent 277 holiday care packages to soldiers in the 298th Maintenance Company from Altoona who were stationed in Iraq. For information on how you or your business can participate in this tremendous project, contact Gary Clare at 695-5635.

Congratulations...
. . . to the Van Zandt VA Medical Center in Altoona which is one of 20 VA medical centers across the nation being recognized by The Joint Commission as Top Performers on Key Quality Measures for 2010.
. . . to Coldwell Banker Town & Country Real Estate of Altoona which ranked fifth in the country for August in total units sold among affiliate offices with 21 to 35 sales associates. There are 351 affiliate offices nationally in that category.

Blue Card Discount offers
Here are a few of the discounts you can receive with your Chamber Blue Card. Click here to see the full list of Blue Card Discounts. To have an offer listed contact Stacy Hoover at The Chamber at 943-8151.

Advanced Chiropractic
Present your Blue Card for first day services including a consultation, examination and x-rays (if necessary) for a $10 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation! Valued at over $150. Come and see if chiropractic can help you!

Gardner's Candies, Inc. Present your Blue Card at any Gardners Candies Company Owned Retail Stores and receive 10% off your purchase.

SNAP Fitness of Duncansville Present your Blue Card to receive FREE enrollment, 10 percent off Membership and 1 FREE personal training session at SNAP.

South Hills School of Business & Technology Present your Blue Card to receive 10 percent off of any Professional Development classes. (The Microsoft Office Series)

State Chemical Solutions Chamber Members who are non-state funded agencies can present their Blue Card and receive 25% on products. State-funded agencies are eligible for other discounts and benefits.

October 3, 2011

Upcoming Events
Register online

Business Before Hours

Wednesday, October 5, 2011
7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Wolf Furniture

Register Here

GRYP 'next' Seminar

Friday, October 14, 2011
8:15 a.m. - Noon
Ramada Altoona Conference Center

Register Here

Hall of Fame Dinner

Monday, October 17, 2011
5:30 p.m. - Reception
6:45 p.m. - Dinner
Blair County Convention Center

Register Here

GRYP Networking

Thursday, October 20, 2011
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
US Hotel Restaurant & Tavern

Register Here

Safety Program

Friday, October 21, 2011
7:45 - 9:30 a.m.
Hampton Inn

Register Here

Farm-City Dinner

Tuesday, October 25, 2011
6:30 p.m. - Milk/Punch Reception
7:00 p.m. - Dinner
The Park at Morrisons Cove

Register Here

Business After Hours

WEDNESDAY, October 26, 2011
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Hosted by:

Register Here

Lunch 'n' Learn

Thursday, October 27, 2011
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Park Hills Country Club

Register Here

Upcoming Committee Meetings
Week of 10/3/11

Chamber Ambassadors
Tuesday, October 4, 8:00 a.m.
Devorris Center

Business Hall of Fame Committee
Wednesday, October 5, 8:00 a.m.
The Chamber

GRYP Steering Committee
Thursday, October 6, 8:30 a.m.
Tom & Joe's

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