No Business Bulletin Next Week
Holiday Schedule Set for Chamber Office
Chamber Welcomes New Vice-President
Board of Directors Approves Five New Members
Television Program Recognizing Role of Young Professionals
Nominations Deadline Approaching for Annual Meeting Awards
Athena Award Nomination Deadline Also December 31st
Update Your Information for the Chamber’s Membership Directory
Congratulations . . .
Blue Card Discounts

No Business Bulletin Next Week
The Business Bulletin is published each Monday throughout the year except for the first week in July and the last week in December.  So there will be no newsletter next Monday.  The next Business Bulletin will be published January 6, 2014.

Holiday Schedule Set for Chamber Office
The Blair County Chamber will close at noon tomorrow and remain closed on December 25th and 26th.  The office will re-open at 8:30 a.m. on December 27th.  The following week, the office will close at noon on December 31st and be closed on January 1st.  The office will re-open at 8:30 a.m. on January 2nd.

Chamber Welcomes New Vice-President
Rachel Litzinger, a former intern with The Chamber, has been hired as its new Vice-President of Membership Services & Development.  She begins her job today.  Litzinger will be responsible for sponsorship sales and will oversee the GRYP, Small Business Partners and Safety committees.  She will also assist in new member orientation and write for the Blair Business Mirror.

Board of Directors Approves Five New Members
At last Thursday’s Chamber Board of Directors meeting, the following new members were approved: 321 Gallery, LLC of Hollidaysburg; Central PA Cardiology & Vascular Center, LLC of Altoona; First Class Painting, LLC dba/Fresh Coat of Bedford; True Advantage Group of Hollidaysburg; and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Local Home Mortgage Consultant of Altoona.

Television Program Recognizing Role of Young Professionals
The Chamber’s “Issues” program is being aired on the Altoona Public Access Channel.  It focuses attention on The Chamber’s Growth and Relationships of Young Professionals (GRYP) program. That program, created by The Chamber, is currently in its 10th year. “The Essential Role of Blair County’s Young Professionals” is the title of this 35-minute panel discussion show that is moderated by Carolyn Donaldson of WTAJ Your News Leader. Panelists are: Amanda Drumm of Saint Francis University, Pam Jones of Net Health Solutions, Mandy Lauber of Preferred Healthcare System, Ban Mazur of Intelmarx and Andrew Snare of S&T Bank. Sponsors for this “Issues” are: Juniata College, Keystone Environmental, Health & Safety Services, Lee Industries, Reliance Bank, S&T Bank and UPMC Altoona.  The Issues program will air every Monday at 9:00 p.m. and every Saturday at 9:00 a.m. throughout the month of December.

Nominations Deadline Approaching for Annual Meeting Awards
The Blair County Chamber’s Annual Meeting & Awards Presentation is one of the most popular events among attendees that the organization holds. Much of its popularity centers on the fact that the awards presented that morning are to unsuspecting recipients. That practice will not change. At this year’s Annual Meeting, set for January 31st at 7:30 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park, the number of awards presented will be reduced by two. The Athena Award and the George Award will be presented at the February and June Breakfast Clubs respectively to allow them to have a more singular focus. Both award recipients will be announced in advance.
The awards that will be presented at the Annual Meeting are: The Small Business Person of the Year, the Donna D. Gority Servant Leader Award, the Joseph P. Rosenhamer “Chamber Spirit Award” and the GRYP Impact Award. To make a nomination, call The Chamber and a nomination packet will be sent to you.  Or you can pick one up at the Chamber Office. Or, better yet, you can go to the Chamber Website and download an application.

Athena Award Nomination Deadline Also December 31st
Even though the prestigious Athena Award will not be presented until the February Breakfast Club, the nominations for that award must be received in the Chamber Office by no later than December 31st. Visit The Chamber Website to download a Nomination Form.

Update Your Information for the Chamber’s Membership Directory
The Chamber is heading into the final stages of preparing the member information for the 2014 Chamber Membership Directory and it’s important that members visit the Chamber Website and determine if any of the information listed there has changed.  If any has, please contact Cindy Cessna at 943-8151 or email her at ccessna@blairchamber.com.

Congratulations . . .
. . . to NPC Inc., which was named #12 on the list of Best Places to Work in PA in the large-sized company category.
. . . to the Mountain Lion BackPack program, which was recently selected as the recipient of a $25,000 grant from Morgan Stanley through the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.

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 The Chamber at 943-8151.     

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