WE-LEaD Networking is Tonight at Marzoni’s
Farm-City Dinner Set for Tomorrow in Martinsburg
Small Business Partners to Hold “Speed Networking” Session
Chamber Looking to Fill Staff Position
New Board Members Elected for 2014
Chamber Board Approves 2014 Legislative Priorities
Have a Question to Ask Senator Eichelberger?
Presidents’ Forum to Hold Informational Meeting
Businesses Needed to Host Students for “Career Shadowing Week”
Role Models to Feature Bechtel-Wherry, Sissler
“Issues” Program on Agriculture Concludes Today
Small Businesses Invited to Join the State Chamber at No Cost
Place the “Buy Here. Live Here.” Logo on Your Ad Copy
Chamber’s China Trip is Opportunity of a Lifetime
Chamber, Altoona Mirror Partnering to Encourage Local Buying
Congratulations . . .
Blue Card Discounts
WE-LEaD Networking is Tonight at Marzoni’s
The Chamber’s Women Encouraging: Leadership, Education and Development (WE-LEaD) will hold a networking event this evening from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Marzoni’s in Duncansville. The cost to attend is $15 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. Registration deadline is today at noon. Call The Chamber at 943-8151 to register. WE-LEaD Networking is sponsored by Tammy Kehr and Lisa Mancinelli of State Farm Insurance.
Farm-City Dinner Set for Tomorrow in Martinsburg
The Chamber’s Annual Farm-City Dinner will be held tomorrow night at The Park at Morrisons Cove. A milk/punch reception begins at 6:30 p.m. and the dinner (family style turkey dinner) and program begin at 7:00 p.m. Guest speaker for the event is Hannah Smith-Brubaker of the Pennsylvania Farmers Union. The ACE Award will be presented to the Bigelow Family following the dinner. Registration for the Farm-City Dinner is closed and no tickets will be sold at the door.
Small Business Partners to Hold “Speed Networking” Session
More businesses join The Chamber each year for the opportunity to network with others in the business community. To help accelerate that opportunity, the Small Business Partners committee has planned a “Speed Networking” event for tomorrow, October 29th from 7:45 to 9:00 a.m. at the Devorris Center for Business Development. Limited to the first 40 attendees, the format will allow you to get your message (done in about 30 seconds) to a variety of potential clients/customers. So prepare your message and call The Chamber (943-8151) today so that you don’t miss-out. The cost to participate is just $10 for Members and $15 for non-members. A continental breakfast is included.
Chamber Looking to Fill Staff Position
The Blair County Chamber has an opening for the fulltime position of Vice-President of Membership Services & Development. Applicants should possess strong organizational and interpersonal skills, have sales experience and be an above-average writer. To apply, email a resume and cover letter by November 1st to Joe Hurd at jhurd@blairchamber.com. The Chamber is an equal opportunity employer.
New Board Members Elected for 2014
The Chamber will welcome three new members to its Board of Directors in 2014 and three current members have been extended additional terms. Dr. Thomas Foley, President of Mount Aloysius College, Michael Grimm, President/CEO of American Eagle Paper Mills and Matt Stuckey of Stuckey Ford and Stuckey Subaru have been elected to three year terms. Kate Shaffer, Executive Director of Blair County Arts Foundation, who is serving a one-year term during 2013 has been elected to a three-year term beginning in January. And current board members, Carol Gensimore of Value Drug Company and Andrew Ritchey of Ritchey’s Dairy have been elected to second three-year board terms.
Chamber Board Approves 2014 Legislative Priorities
The Blair County Chamber’s Board of Directors has given the thumbs-up to a list of legislative priorities submitted by the organization’s Legislative Action Committee. The committee pared-down a list of nineteen legislative issues, first to ten and then to five. The top priorities for 2014 will be: Municipal Shared Services, Pension Reform, Business Tax Reform, Unfunded Mandates, and Prevailing Wage. For more information on the Legislative Action Committee, contact Joe Hurd.
Have a Question to Ask Senator Eichelberger?
Senator John Eichelberger will be the guest speaker at the November 14th Chamber Breakfast Club. The format for the Senator’s presentation will be a Q&A with questions being asked by Legislative Action Committee Chair Richard Fiore, Jr. If you would like to submit a question for consideration, please send it to Joe Hurd at jhurd@blairchamber.com. To register for the Breakfast Club, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online. Corporate Sponsor for the Breakfast Club is Wessel & Company.
Presidents’ Forum to Hold Informational Meeting
The Chamber’s Presidents’ Forum is planning to expand its reach within the upper management end of the local business community. For the past fourteen years, The Chamber has featured a program to assist upper management business people in gaining valuable insight through interaction within a small group format.
To provide more business professionals with the opportunity to learn more about the Presidents’ Forum, an informational meeting will be held on Friday, November 1st at 8:00 a.m .at the Devorris Center for Business Development. There is no cost to attend but registration is encouraged. Simply call The Chamber at 943-8151 or email Joe Hurd.
Businesses Needed to Host Students for “Career Shadowing Week”
The Annual BASICS “Career Shadowing Week” will take place from November 18-22 and businesses are being sought that are willing to host high school juniors from throughout Blair County for at least one-half day. “We have a large number of students who really want the experience of seeing first-hand what these careers entail,” admired Judy Rossi of the BASICS Steering Committee who is helping to coordinate the event. Any businesses willing to host should contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register on the BASICS website at www.blairbasics.net.
Role Models to Feature Bechtel-Wherry, Sissler
The Blair County Chamber’s successful “Role Models” program will feature two of the area’s most recognizable business and education leaders as Dr. Lori J. Bechtel-Wherry and Timothy Sissler will share their insights and experiences with the local business community. The program will be held on November 21st from noon until 1:30 p.m. at Blair County Convention Center. Bechtel-Wherry is Chancellor at Penn State Altoona; Sissler is Vice-Chairman of the Board and CEO of Reliance Bank. The two are the ninth and tenth designees to be featured in the Role Models program since its inception a year ago and are the first two who are not part of a family business. The cost to attend Role Models is $25 for Chamber members and $30 for non-members. Lunch is included. To register, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.
“Issues” Program on Agriculture Concludes Today
October is Farm-City Month and The Chamber is drawing additional attention to the importance of agriculture as Blair County’s number one industry by producing an “Issues” program entitled, “The Opportunities and Challenges of Blair County Agriculture.” The program will be shown today at 9:00 p.m. on Public Access Channel 14. Panelists are: Sarrah Biddle of Mill Hill Farm Supply, Dan Brogdon of AgChoice Farm Credit, Sinking Valley Retired Farmer Jim Crawford, Joe Diamond of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and Andrew Ritchey of Ritchey’s Dairy. Carolyn Donaldson of WTAJ Your News Leader moderates the program. Sponsors for this Issues program are: Altoona-Blair County Development Corporation, Altoona Mirror, Blair County Farm Bureau, Juniata College and Ritchey’s Dairy.
Small Businesses Invited to Join the State Chamber at No Cost
The Chamber Board of Directors has approved the organization’s participation in a new program being offered by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry. That program would make it possible for any member of the Blair County Chamber with ten employees or fewer to become members of PCBI as no cost. “This program will provide valuable information to our smaller businesses as they deal with issues of great importance,” explained Chamber Board Chair Doug Mingle. “From what we see, there is no ulterior motive by the State Chamber other than being able to reach out to a segment of the business population that has been difficult from them to reach in the past.” The Chamber Board approved a similar program at its August meeting that made it possible for members in certain categories to gain free membership in the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. Any Chamber member-business with ten or fewer employees that would not wish to participate in the PCBI program should contact Joe Hurd at 943-8151.
Place the “Buy Here. Live Here.” Logo on Your Ad Copy
If your business or organization runs advertising in either the Altoona Mirror or the Morrisons Cove Herald, would you consider including the “Buy Here. Live Here.” logo on your ad copy? It reminds people about the importance of supporting local businesses when they purchase products or services. Simply mention to your advertising rep that you’d like the logo on your ad and they’ll be happy to accommodate your request. Remember, the logo is also available for you to use on your letterhead. Contact Linda Stotler at The Chamber (943-8151) to secure an official copy.
Chamber’s China Trip is Opportunity of a Lifetime
The Chamber’s next China Trip (April 4-12, 2014) is an opportunity for people to broaden their perspectives on what is happening in the world. It is also a whole lot of fun. If you haven’t secured information on what the trip entails and haven’t marveled at its ridiculously low price, simply stop-by the Chamber Office, located in the Devorris Center for Business Development. This will be the third trip to China in the past four years and the cost is just $2,399 pp/dou.occ., which includes all flights, meals and 5-star hotels. It’s the trip of a lifetime!
Chamber, Altoona Mirror Partnering to Encourage Local Buying
For the second consecutive year, the messages “Buy Here. Live Here.” and “I Shop Locally” will resonate in perfect harmony as the Blair County Chamber and the Altoona Mirror will renew their partnership to encourage local buying throughout the holiday season. Once again that message has a special emphasis on supporting the thousands of small businesses located here. “We have such a great partnership with The Chamber on so many other levels, that it’s just natural to work together to support such a vital mutual interest – the long-term health and success of our small business community here in Blair County,” acknowledged Altoona Mirror General Manager Ray Eckenrode. “I Shop Locally and Buy Here. Live Here. both recognize that small businesses are so important to our economic welfare, not just because of what they contribute but because of all the spin-off opportunities they create.” While the Buy Here. Live Here. is more of a community awareness effort, I Shop Locally is a seasonal program of relatively short duration that offers incentives to shoppers who purchase products from local businesses. Those shoppers get a Rewards Card stamped following each of those purchases and then drawings are held for cash prizes. The more purchases that are made, the greater the chance of winning. On November 29th – the day before “Small Business Saturday” – the Altoona Mirror will publish a tabloid featuring the message, “Shop Your Hometown: BUY LOCAL.” The Chamber will actively participate in that tabloid as well.
Congratulations . . .
. . . to Samuel Buckley from PNC Bank, Amy Mearkle of DelGrosso’s and Michael Pennington of Juniata College who were recognized by Pennsylvania Business Central magazine in its “Foremost Under 40” list for 2013.
. . . to Juniata College, which placed 81st in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranking for “Best Values in Private Liberal Arts Colleges for 2014. The 2014 rankings mark the third time that Juniata has been included in the annual rankings by the business publication.
Blue Card Discounts
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 Christine Perkins at The Chamber at 943-8151.
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Blair County Chamber of Commerce
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Chamber Members who present their Blue Card can receive $1 off walkin admission to a Business After Hours event. (Not for pre registered attendees, normal walkin cost is $7.)
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Blair Mill Outlet
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Receive a 10% Discount on In Stock Merchandise only. Cash and Checks Only for discount. Blue Card must be present at time of Purchase no exceptions!
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Corl-Grove Services Inc.
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Blue Card holders and their businesses qualify for 10% off standard fees when certifying 5 or more employees per session. CPR and First Aid Certifications are issued through the American Heart Association and are valid for 2 years.
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Courtyard by Marriott
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Experience the new Courtyard Bistro, open 7 days a week for Breakfast, Dinner & Cocktails. Starbucks serves 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. daily. Open to the public. Present your Chamber Blue Card to receive 10% off all food purchases.
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Culligan Water Conditioning Sales & Service
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Present your Chamber Blue Card to receive free installation on any Culligan Rental Equipment or $200 off any Culligan Equipment purchase.
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For more information, visit the website
To subscribe or unsubscribe please email us.
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October 28, 2013
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Upcoming Events
Register online
Speed Networking Blair County
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
7:45 - 9:00 a.m.
Devorris Center for Business Development
Register Here
WE-LEaD Networking
Monday, October 28, 2013
5:00 -7:00 p.m.
Marzoni's
Register Here
Farm-City Dinner
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
6:30 p.m.- Reception
7:00 p.m. - Dinner/Program
The Park at Morrisons Cove
Register Here
Business After Hours
Graystone Manor Bellmeade
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
5:00- 7:00 p.m.
Register Here
WE-LEaD Lunch 'n' Learn
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
The Blairmont Club
Register Here
Upcoming
Committee Meetings
Week of 10/28/2013
Hotel Roundtable
Wednesday, October 30, 8:15 a.m.
The Park at Morrisons Cove
Attractions Roundtable
Wednesday, October 30, 3:00 p.m.
Ramada Altoona
Transportation Committee
Thursday, October 31, 8:15 a.m.
Devorris Center
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