Chamber Board Approves New Members
Seitz, White Approved as Committee Vice-Chairs
WE-LEaD Networking Event is Tonight
Young Professionals “Activity Fair” Scheduled for Tomorrow
Wednesday’s Safety Program to Focus on Culture, Best Practices
Altoona Community Theatre to Host “Business After Hours”
Informational Meetings Set on Empower3 Healthcare Program
Small Business Partners Seeking New Committee Members
Check-Out the Chamber Job Board!
“Buy Here Bucks” a Win-Win for Buyers, Sellers
Save the Dates!!!
Congratulations . . .
Chamber Board Approves New Members
The Blair County Chamber’s Board of Directors met last Thursday at 7:30 a.m. at the Devorris Center for Business Development and approved the follow businesses for membership: CapozziGroup & Survival Mindset of Hollidaysburg, Champion Roofing of Altoona, Escape Rooms Altoona, Impressions WHQ, Inc. of State College, and Omni Home Care of Tyrone.
Seitz, White Approved as Committee Vice-Chairs
The Chamber Board approved vice-chairs for two Chamber committees at its March meeting. Paul Seitz of Phoenix Rehabilitation and Health Services will hold that position on the Safety Committee; Greg White of Forney Financial Solutions will serve as vice-chair of the Public Policy Committee.
WE-LEaD Networking Event is Tonight
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce WE-LEaD (Women Encouraging – Leadership, Education and Development) program will host a networking event tonight, March 19, from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Altoona Grand Hotel. The networking event, sponsored by Blair Companies, will feature hot hors d’oeuvres and cold beverages. WE-LEaD is an innovative program of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce that provides networking and educational programs throughout the year. WE-LEaD focuses on issues that women in business typically face on a daily basis. The cost to attend is $20 for Chamber Members and $40 for non-members and includes two complimentary beverage tickets. To register, contact The Chamber by noon today at 943-8151.
WE-LEaD Networking Event is March 19th
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce WE-LEaD (Women Encouraging – Leadership, Education and Development) program will host a networking event on Monday, March 19, from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Altoona Grand Hotel. The networking event, sponsored by Blair Companies, will feature hot hors d’oeuvres and cold beverages. WE-LEaD is an innovative program of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce that provides networking and educational programs throughout the year. WE-LEaD focuses on issues that women in business typically face on a daily basis. The cost to attend is $20 for Chamber Members and $40 for non-members and includes two complimentary beverage tickets. To register, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.
Young Professionals “Activity Fair” Scheduled for Tomorrow
The Chamber's Young Professionals of Blair County will be holding a “Get Rooted” Activity Fair on March 20th. Come learn about ways you can get involved in our community! The event is open to all ages and is free to attend. If your club or organization would like to have a booth at the event, contact Tori Liebal today at 943-8151.
Wednesday’s Safety Program to Focus on Culture, Best Practices
At its next educational program, the Blair County Chamber’s Safety Committee will feature a local business that has successfully built a safety culture and then follow-up the presentation with a “best practices” session, led by a safety practitioner. Entitled, “The Road to Safety Excellence,” the Chamber program will be held this Wednesday, March 21st from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Hoss’s Steak & Sea House in Duncansville. The first part of the program will be led by Ned Oliphant, Vice-President & COO of Small Tube Products in Duncansville, who will detail his company’s change in culture, engineering solutions to ergonomic issues, employee involvement as well as other efforts that have resulted in dramatic safety improvements. Bryan Goodlin, Manager of Safety Services for East Coast Risk Management, will oversee the best practices portion of the program. Goodlin and his team work with more than 200 companies in many different industries to provide specialized risk management services. The cost to attend the safety program is $20 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. A full breakfast buffet is included. To register, contact the Chamber at (814) 943-8151 or register online. Corporate sponsor of the program is Leonard S. Fiore, Inc.
Altoona Community Theatre to Host “Business After Hours”
The next Blair County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours will be held this Thursday, March 22nd, from 5 -7 p.m., at Altoona Community Theatre, located at 1213 12th Street. Door prizes, food and beverages will be provided. Cost to attend is $10 for Chamber Members and $20 for non-members. Reservations can be made by calling the Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.
Informational Meetings Set on Empower3 Healthcare Program
Many businesses in Blair County offer healthcare insurance to their employees through a number of providers. Many more, however, have either never offered such insurance or have recently discontinued their programs due to rising costs. Not surprisingly, a large number of those are small businesses. For more than a year, the Blair County Chamber has participated in a healthcare program through the Empower3 Center for Health, headquartered in Altoona. That program, in which a number of Chamber-member businesses participate, has added a number of key benefits and has recently opened a second office in Murraysville. “We offer the program for a number of reasons,” acknowledges Chamber President Joe Hurd. “The majority of our membership are small businesses that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to offer coverage to employees. Most of the services in the Empower3 program are ones that are in highest demand. And, as equally important, participation in the program is discounted for those who are members of our Chamber.” Besides offering a qualified dietitian and an onsite pharmacist, Empower3 also offers imaging and diagnostic testing, physical therapy, exclusive specialist telemedicine consultations, psychiatric and behavioral health visits, durable medical equipment and supplies, cardiology and pulmonary testing and expansive generic medications formulary. An informational meeting for employers about Empower3 will be held on March 27th at both 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at the Devorris Center for Business Development. There is no cost or obligation to attend. Anyone interested in learning how to integrate Empower3 into their current group health insurance plan should contact Ian Foor at 1-800-925-0611.
Small Business Partners Seeking New Committee Members
If you represent a Chamber small business and want to help make the programs and events directed at small businesses more effective, the Small Business Partners Committee would love to have you as a member. The committee meets once-a-month for about one hour. Your input would be greatly appreciated as the Chamber looks to beef-up its offerings to its small businesses. If you’re interested, contact Stacy Hoover at (814) 943-8151 or email her.
Check-Out the Chamber Job Board!
The Blair County Chamber Website at www.blairchamber.com features a Job Board where member businesses can place up to three positions at no cost. The Job Board concept came about as the result of a meeting held at the Chamber in which local retailers and employment agencies discussed the trials and tribulations of finding interested and qualified employees. The decision to limit businesses to posting only three positions at one time was a recommendation by the Chamber’s Board of Directors who was concerned that larger businesses with multiple openings would make the task of overseeing the Job Board rather labor intensive. Tori Liebal, the Chamber’s Vice-President of Website Development and Social Media, is the staff member assigned to maintain the Job Board. Jobs will remain on the Board for one month unless the employer asks that they be removed or extended. At the present time, Job Board postings are limited to Chamber Members only. (For more information on the Job Board, contact Tori Liebal at 814-943-8151 or email her at tliebal@blairchamber.com.)
“Buy Here Bucks” a Win-Win for Buyers, Sellers
The Blair County Chamber’s new gift certificate program, known as “Buy Here Bucks,” is a way for local businesses to gain new customers and an even better way for people to give gift certificates with more than just a few places to redeem them. The larger the list of participating businesses, the greater the value of the certificates. For a business to register to be on that list (it costs Chamber Members nothing), contact Tori Liebal at (814) 943-8151 or email her at tliebal@blairchamber.com. To purchase Buy Here Bucks, visit the Chamber Website at www.blairchamber.com. You can also get them at the Chamber Office, located in the Devorris Center for Business Development.
Save the Dates!!!
Some big things will be happening at the Chamber over the next couple of months and it’s important that you add them to your calendar as soon as possible:
* On April 3rd at 6:00 p.m. at the Devorris Downtown Center, the
Chamber’s “Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!)” students will
present their business projects to a panel of investors. The public is
invited. There is no cost to attend.
* On May 7th is the Highmark/Chamber Golf Classic at Iron Masters
Country Club. Teams and individuals golfers are now being
registered. Call Stacy Hoover at the Chamber at (814) 943-8151.
* The Early Childhood Summit is May 22nd from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at
the Blair County Convention Center. Cost to attend is $18/person.
* Home Run for Safety event will be held on May 23rd from 7:30 a.m.
to 12:45 p.m. at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
* The Chamber’s Tax Law Seminar will be held on May 31st from 8:00
to 9:30 a.m. at a location to be determined.
* The Chamber’s Annual Business Excellence Dinner will be held on
Monday, June 11th at The Casino at Lakemont Park.
Congratulations . . .
. . . to the Chamber members that were recently included in . . . to the Chamber members that were recently included in Pennsylvania Business Central’s “Women in Business Top CEO’s for 2018.” They are: Jayme Orr Rhodes of Serviam Construction, Ann Benzel of Benzel’s Bretzel Bakery, Bobbie Miller of Advantage Resource Group and Jane Grebenc of First Commonwealth Bank.
. . . to Robert Beck of Beck Financial and Wealth Management of Altoona, who was honored as Advisor of the Year by the Atlantic Coast region of Principal Securities.
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March 19, 2018
Upcoming Events
YP "Get Rooted" Activity Fair
Tuesday, March 20
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Hollidaysburg Area YMCA
Safety Program
Wednesday, March 21
7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Hoss's Steak & Sea House Duncansville
Register Here
Business After Hours
Thursday, March 22
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Altoona Community Theatre
Register Here
YEA! Investor Panel
Tuesday, April 3
5:00 p.m.
Devorris Downtown Center
Business BEFORE Hours
Thursday, April 5
7:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries
Register Here
Small Business Partners Workshop
Wednesday, April 11
3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Devorris Center for Business Development
Register Here
Breakfast Club
Thursday, April 12
7:45 - 9:00 a.m.
The Casino at Lakemont Park
Register Here
Business After Hours
Thursday, April 19
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Seltzer Financial Strategies
Register Here
Upcoming Committee Meetings Week of 3/19/18
Presidents' Forum Steering Committee
Monday, March 19, 1:30 p.m.
The Chamber
Board Recruitment Subcommittee
Tuesday, March 20, 8:30 a.m.
The Chamber
Board Retention Subcommittee
Tuesday, March 20, 9:30 a.m.
The Chamber
Sustainable Balir County Committee
Tuesday, March 20, 1:30 p.m.
The Chamber
CEO Executive Roundtable
Wednesday. March 21, 7:30 a.m.
The Blairmont Club
Chamber Foundation Board of Directors
Wednesday, March 21, 8:00 a.m.
Devorris Center
LBC Youth Committee
Wednesday, March 21, 3:30 p.m.
Devorris Center
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