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"Operation Our Town" Topic of Thursday's Breakfast Club
"Partners in Small Business" to Hold First Meeting Tomorrow
Leadership Youth Session Will Focus on Substance Abuse
WE-LEaD Networking Slated for February 13th
Four Weeks to Go: Home & Garden Show Booths Nearly Gone
Safety Program to Address Reasonable Suspicion
Nomination Forms Available for Business Excellence Award
Have You Received Your Certifichecks Reimbursement?
A Big "Thank You" to American Eagle Paper Mills
Congratulations...
Blue Card Discounts

"Operation Our Town" Topic of Thursday's Breakfast Club
The tradition continues. This Thursday, February 9th, The Chamber will once again partner with Operation Our Town on a Breakfast Club presentation to be held at 7:45 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park. The program will begin with a short video and power point presented by Randy Feathers of the PA Attorney General’s Office. Feathers will then confer Law Enforcement Awards to Deputy Attorney General Patrick Leonard, Agent Thomas Moore and Detective Sgt. Troy Johannides. Following those presentations, the 2012 Community Partnership Award will be presented by the Operation Our Town Board to the County of Blair. Corporate Sponsor for Breakfast Club is First National Bank. The cost to attend the Breakfast Club is $16.00 for anyone attending. Non-members must pay in advance. To register, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

"Partners in Small Business" to Hold First Meeting Tomorrow
The newly-formatted “Partners in Small Business” Committee of The Chamber will have its initial meeting tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. at The Chamber Office. The committee will take a look at strategies that will assist small businesses in functioning more effectively by having greater access to resources and educational opportunities. Any Chamber small business person is invited to participate on the committee. Call The Chamber (943-8151) to be added to the roster or just show up.

Leadership Youth Session Will Focus on Substance Abuse
The next session of the Chamber’s Leadership Blair County Youth program will be held this Wednesday, February 8th, beginning at 8:00 a.m. at the Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center. The title of the session is “Perceptions: Drugs, Alcohol & Mental Health Issues.” Presentations will focus on identifying signs of depression and suicide as well as awareness related to internet issues. Among the speakers will be a recovering drug addict and staff from the PA Attorney General’s Office. For more information on Leadership Blair County Youth, contact Judy Juda or visit The Chamber website.

WE-LEaD Networking Slated for February 13th
The Chamber’s Women Encouraging Leadership, Education and Development (WE-LEaD) will hold a networking event on Monday, February 13th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Marzoni’s in Duncansville. The cost to attend is $12 for Chamber Members and $20 for non-members. The corporate sponsor is Advantage Resource Group. To register for the event, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Four Weeks to Go: Home & Garden Show Booths Nearly Gone
If booth registration is any indication, the 2012 Blair County Home & Garden Show should be the place to be the first weekend of March. “With less than a month to go we’ve already surpassed last year’s exhibitor numbers. We only have six booths left and I can’t imagine that they will last very long,” reported Stacy Hoover, The Chamber’s Vice-President of Events & Technology. "New features have been added to this year's show that are sure to please attendees of all ages as well as the chance to win a $5000 exhibitor gift certificate." To reserve one of the few remaining booths, call Hoover at 943-8151 or email her at shoover@blairchamber.com. Sponsors for this year’s Home & Garden Show are: CCS Custom Builders, Furniture Unfinished, Home Depot, Re-Bath, Superior Walls by Advanced Concrete, and Wolf Furniture.

Safety Program to Address Reasonable Suspicion
A common misconception with employers is that if you have evidence an employee is abusing drugs on the job, you can just take them in for a drug test. This of course is not true. There needs to be a proper policy in place to legally comply with employment rules and regulations. To help understand the importance of a reasonable suspicion policy, The Chamber’s Safety Committee will present a workshop Friday, February 17th, at the Comfort Inn, Duncansville. Featured speakers for this workshop include Kimberly Balamuta, Occupational Health Specialist from WorkPlace Health and Jamie Miller, Director of Employee Screening Services from Advantage Resource Group. The workshop will start promptly at 7:45 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. and will include a continental breakfast. Cost to attend is $15 for Chamber Members, $25 for non-members. Register online or by calling The Chamber at 943-8151.

Nomination Forms Available for Business Excellence Award
Even though The Chamber’s Business Excellence Dinner won’t be held until June, the process has begun to determine the honoree for the Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Excellence, the highlight of the event. Nomination forms are online or can be obtained at The Chamber Office, located in the Devorris Center for Business Development. The deadline to nominate someone for the award is noon on February 29th.

Have you Received Your Certifichecks Reimbursement?
The bankruptcy hearings have been completed and people holding Chamber Certifichecks when the company ceased operations are starting to receive checks in the mail for a small portion of what the actual value of their Certifichecks had been. Since The Chamber paid-out, at full face value, all unused Certifichecks, any checks received should be turned-over to us. A few people have already done that and we hope everyone who had previously been reimbursed by us would do the same. Thanks for your understanding!

A Big "Thank You" to American Eagle Paper Mills
Last Tuesday, thirty-eight Chamber Members with an interest in sustainability had the opportunity to tour the American Eagle Paper Mills in Tyrone to witness, first-hand, the impressive number of “green” accommodations that the business has made to help save the environment. “It was a terrific tour,” admitted Katrina Pope, who chairs The Chamber’s Coalition on Sustainability. “We greatly appreciate the people at American Eagle who did such a great job organizing everything and even feeding us when it was over. American Eagle is a great example of a company with an understanding of what is necessary to be environmentally responsible.”

Congratulations...
. . . to First National Bank, which was recognized in multiple customer service categories in the 2011 Greenwich Excellence in Banking Awards.

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.

Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries

Present your Chamber Blue card to receive 10% off first month of in-home services provided by ALSM at Home. Offer limited to new ALSM at Home participants.

Sam's Club

Present your Chamber Blue Card to receive a $25 gift card when you join or renew as an Advantage Plus or Business Plus Member. Receive a $10 gift card when you join or renew as an Advantage or Busniess Member.

ARC Federal Credit Union

Present your Blue Card and your first book of checks are FREE when you open a new checking account at ARC Federal Credit Union.

Blair Mill Outlet

Present your Blue Card for 10% off the entire stock, excluding clearance items. (Blue Card must be presented at the time of purchase.)

Culligan Water Conditioning Sales & Service

Present your Chamber Blue Card to receive $100 off a Water Conditioning System or Drinking System.

February 6, 2012

Upcoming Events

Register online

Breakfast Club

Thursday, February 9, 2012
7:45 - 8:55 a.m.
The Casino at Lakemont Park

Topic: Operation Our Town

Sponsored By:

Register Here

GRYP Networking Event

Thursday, February 16, 2012
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

The Knickerbocker Tavern

Register Here

Business After Hours

Thursday, February 23, 2012
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Sponsored by:

1003 N. 4th Avenue, Suite D, Juniata

Register Here

GRYP Snow Tubing

Friday, February 24, 2012
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Blue Knob All Seasons Resort

Register Here

Blair County Home & Garden Show

March 2, 2012 - 1:00 - 9:00 p.m.
March 3, 2012 - 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
March 4, 2012 - Noon - 5 p.m.

Jaffa Shrine

Upcoming Committee Meetings
Week of 2/6/12

Chamber Ambassadors
Tuesday, February 7, 8:00 a.m.
Devorris Center

GRYP Steering Committee
Tuesday, February 7, 8:30 a.m.
Tom & Joe's

Partners in Small Business
Tuesday, February 7, 11:00 a.m.
Devorris Center

BASICS Subcommittee on Early Childhood Ed.
Thursday, February 9, 9:30 a.m.
The Chamber

Legislative Action Committee
Thursday, February 9, 11:00 a.m.
Devorris Center

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