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Chamber Office Closed for President's Day
Informational Meeting on Chamber's Italy Trip Set for Tomorrow
"Green Drinks" Tomorrow at Jack & George's
Seven Businesses Approved for Chamber Membership
Chamber Board Approves New BASICS Subcommittee
Allegheny Ballet Hosting Thursday's "Business After Hours"
Non-Profits to Hear Time Management Presentation
Foundation Board Encouraging LBC Youth Sponsorships
Seminars Will Help Businesses Save Energy
Only Two Weeks Remain Until Home & Garden Show
Nomination Forms Available for Business Excellence Award
Have You Received Your CertifiChecks Reimbursement?
Central Blair Recreation Dinner to Honor Irwin
Congratulations...
Blue Card Discounts

Chamber Office Closed for President's Day
The Blair County Chamber Office will be closed on Monday, February 20th in commemoration of Presidents’ Day. The office will re-open on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. For information on The Chamber or to register for Chamber events, visit The Chamber Website.

Informational Meeting on Chamber's Italy Trip Set for Tomorrow
The Chamber is offering its next exciting trip – Italy’s Great Cities – from October 7-14. To help people get a better sense of the trip, a meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow, February 21st at 6:00 p.m. at the Devorris Center for Business Development. Cindy Sullivan from Globus will be on hand to do a presentation and answer questions. There is no obligation to sign-up for the trip and the meeting will last only about an hour. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151. To obtain a brochure about the trip, call Classic Travel at 696-3558.

"Green Drinks" Tomorrow at Jack & George's
Do you care about ways to help preserve the environment but can’t seem to find people with that same passion? Have we got an event for you! “Green Drinks,” sponsored locally by The Chamber’s Coalition on Sustainability, meets each month to create an informal, non-threatening forum for discussion about anything “green.” The next Green Drinks will be held tomorrow, February 21st, from 6:30 p.m. until you feel like leaving at Jack & Georges, 2400 Fourth Avenue in Altoona. There’s no need to register – just show-up.

Seven Businesses Approved for Chamber Membership
The Chamber’s Board of Directors approved seven businesses for membership at its February 16th meeting. The new members are: American Heart Association; Arrow Child and Family Ministries; Carlsson Real Estate, LLC; Gardner Denver, Inc.; Platinum Wealth Strategies; Razor’s Edge Salon and Hair Loss Center; and Safelite Glass Corp. The new members will be officially welcomed to the organization at the March 8th “Breakfast Club.”

Chamber Board Approves New BASICS Subcommittee
The Chamber’s BASICS (Businesses And Schools Investing in Cooperative Solutions) program has been an effective way to help young people to learn more about careers that exist in Blair County. Now many of those students will have an opportunity to experience those careers thanks to an effort know as the Next Generation Workforce. To help develop and promote NGW, the Chamber Board of Directors has approved a request to add the new program as a subcommittee of BASICS. “It’s a logical move in terms of what BASICS offers and where we still have important niches to fill,” admitted Chamber President Joe Hurd. “We’re extremely happy to add Next Generation Workforce to our already impressive array of programs. Many of Blair County’s young people will benefit from opportunities that haven’t existed in the past.” For more information on BASICS, contact Hurd at 943-8151.

Allegheny Ballet Hosting Thursday's "Business After Hours"
The next Chamber “Business After Hours” will be held this Thursday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Allegheny Ballet Company, located at 1003 North 4th Avenue in Altoona. The cost to attend is $6.00 for Chamber Members in advance and $7.00 at the door. Non-members can attend for $12.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door. To register, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Non-Profits to Hear Time Management Presentation
The Internal Education Subcommittee of The Chamber’s Community Benefits Coalition of Non-Profits will hold a Best Practices Forum for Coalition members and their staffs on Friday from 8:15 to 9:30 a.m. at the Devorris Center for Business Development. The focus of the Forum will be on Time Management. Alex Seltzer of Priority Management will present “Organize or Agonize” and will then facilitate the best practices discussion. There is no cost to attend. Any member of The Chamber that is a non-profit business or organization may also attend. To register, contact The Chamber at 943-8151.

Foundation Board Encouraging LBC Youth Sponsorships
The Chamber’s Leadership Blair County Youth program has been funded for several years by monies donated to the Blair County Chamber Foundation through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program. Future funding through that program is unknown and the Foundation has begun to sell scholarship packages at either $250 or $500 to defray the cost of LBC Youth, should the EITC funds be reduced or eliminated. To obtain information on the scholarship program, email Cindy Cessna.

Seminars Will Help Businesses Save Energy
OnDemand Energy, the Blair County Chamber’s partner on the ChamberChoice Energy Program, is offering Chamber Members the opportunity to learn more about ways to save energy through Act 129 programs. Sixteen seminars are being offered that will talk about incentives and rebate programs for commercial and industrial energy efficiency projects as well as technical assistance, training workshops, energy assessments, utility bill analysis, bulk purchase consortiums and new laws concerning lighting that will take effect later this year. There is no cost to attend any of the seminars. The complete list of seminar sites is listed here.

Only Two Weeks Remain Until Home & Garden Show
The 42nd Annual Blair County Home & Garden Show will be held at the Jaffa Shrine from March 2-4 and it promises to be one of the best shows in many years. As of last Friday, only two display booths were still available even though twelve additional booths had been added. Topping the list of new features is the “Home Treasures Boutique” which showcases specialty vendors selling items that add to home décor in ways that are often hard to describe. Also this year, children who attend with their parents can participate in the Home Depot Craft Area and take part in a treasure hunt. The cost to attend the Home & Garden Show is just $3.00 for adults and children 12-and-under are free. For more information, contact Stacy Hoover 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!

Central Blair Recreation Dinner to be Held Saturday
The Central Blair Recreation and Park Commission’s Community Classic Dinner will be held this Saturday February 25th beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Bavarian Hall. Tickets for the event are $30 each and includes a meal. The highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Respected Citizen Award to Thomas Irwin, Jr. Guest speaker will be Adam Taliaferro. For tickets, contact the Recreation Office at (814) 949-2231 or email Michael Hofer.

Congratulations...
. . . to the Comfort Inn of Duncansville which was recently named as a recipient of a 2012 Platinum Hospitality Award from Choice Hotels International, Inc. The award is based on an examination of guest satisfaction and dedication to providing superior service.
. . . to Wessel & Company of Johnstown, which was recently named as one of the Top Five Fastest Growing Firms in the nation by Inside Public Accounting. The award was based on performance in specific areas of management and growth.

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.

Fellabaum & Co., Inc./dba Jackson Hewitt Tax Service

Present your Blue Card to receive 15% off of tax preparation services. (Offer is valid at Blair County locations: Station Medical Center, Greenwood and Claysburg.)

Firestone Complete Auto Care

Present your Blue Card to receive a standard lube, oil & filer change for $21.99 + tax OR receive a PA state inspection and emissions test for $39.99 + tax.

Foxtrot Runners Inc.

Show your Chamber Member Blue Card at checkout and receive 10% off each individual pair of shoes.

Franklin Frames

If you can hold it, we can frame it! Present your Chamber Blue Card to receive 10% off your custom framing order

Gardner's Candies, Inc.

Present your Blue Card at any Gardners Candies Company Owned Retail Stores and receive 10% off your purchase.

February 20, 2012

Upcoming Events

Register online

Italy Informational Meeting

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
6:00 p.m.
Devorris Center for Business Development

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

Register Here

Upcoming Committee Meetings
Week of 2/20/12

Golf Committee
Wednesday, February 22, 9:00 a.m.
The Chamber

Transportation Committee
Thursday, February 23, 8:15 a.m.
Devorris Center

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