Chamber Board of Directors Approves Nine New Members
Young Entrepreneurs to Hold Trade Show at PNG Field
Patosky Named to Chamber Foundation Board
Reserve Your Business Excellence Sponsorships Now!
BASICS/Rotary Career Fair is Wednesday at the Convention Center
Committee of Non-Profits Holding Breakfast With Candidates
Sustainability Certification Survey Now Available
Nomination Forms Available for Business Hall of Fame
Student Showcase Will Focus on Best and Brightest
“Get Rooted” Activity Fair An Excellent Opportunity for Vendors
Home Run for Safety Event Set for May 23
Check-Out the Chamber Job Board!
“Buy Here Bucks” a Win-Win for Buyers, Sellers
Chamber Board of Directors Approves Nine New Members
The Blair County Chamber Board of Directors met on April 19th and approved the following new members: Allied Mechanical & Electrical of Altoona, Appliance Outlet of Duncansville, BrandDemon Strategy+Design of Altoona, The Film Center of Altoona, Great Commission Schools of Altoona, Greenland’s Lodge of Tyrone, Top Hat Chimney Sweeps of Bedford, Trendz by Poppy Ltd of Altoona, and John Wolf of Altoona.
Young Entrepreneurs to Hold Trade Show at PNG Field
The Blair County Chamber’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) students will hold a trade show on April 24th beginning at 6:00 p.m. at PNG Field. This will be an opportunity for the students to debut their products and services for the first time to their local community. The Altoona Curve host the Erie Sea Wolves that night.
Patosky Named to Chamber Foundation Board
Julie Patosky of Pennsylvania Highlands Community College has been named to the board of directors of the Blair County Chamber Foundation. Patosky replaces Lou Kanzleiter of the Logan Valley Mall, who resigned from the board. For more information on the Blair County Chamber Foundation, contact Cindy Cessna at (814) 943-8151 or email her.
Reserve Your Business Excellence Sponsorships Now!
On June 11th, Ann Benzel of Benzel’s Bretzel Bakery will receive the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Excellence. That event will be held at The Casino at Lakemont Park. Sponsorship opportunities as well as ads in the program book are now available by contacting Jessie Covert at (814) 943-8151 or emailing her. If you’d like to attend the dinner, either call the Chamber or register online.
BASICS/Rotary Career Fair is Wednesday at the Convention Center
The 5th Annual BASICS/Rotary Career Fair will be held on Wednesday at the Blair County Convention Center. There will be two sessions – 9:00 to 11:00 and noon to 2:00. Nearly 1,200 high school sophomores from throughout the area will have the opportunity to learn about careers from more than eighty business presenters. Sponsors of the Career Fair are: ARC Federal Credit Union, Altoona Area School District Foundation, AmeriServ Bank, Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center, Hollidaysburg Area School District Foundation, Mount Aloysius College, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, S&T Bank, Sheetz, Inc, and South Hills School of Business & Technology. BASICS (Businesses and Schools Investing in Cooperative Solutions) is a program of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce.
Committee of Non-Profits Holding Breakfast With Candidates
This Friday, the Chamber’s Committee of Non-Profit Businesses will hold a Legislative Breakfast from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Altoona Grand Hotel. The program will be a Q&A with the candidates who are running for the three state offices in May’s primary. Seven of the eight candidates have confirmed that they will be attending. If you are a non-profit and are concerned about your tax exempt status or simply a voter who would like to learn more about the candidates, you may want to attend this event. The cost to attend is $20/person and includes a full buffet breakfast. To register, call the Chamber at (814) 943-8151 or register online.
Sustainability Certification Survey Now Available
Chamber-member businesses interested in assessing where they are from a sustainability standpoint will have the opportunity to complete a Sustainability Certification Survey beginning today. The survey can be completed online and the results will be compiled and the business notified of the results within a two-month period. One of the other benefits of completing the survey is that the committee will then assign a certification level – gold, silver or bronze – which businesses can then use for marketing purposes. While the committee is still working out the details of the certification process, it’s also looking to compile a Resource List to help businesses who will be looking for assistance in raising their scores. Any Chamber-member business interested in accessing the Sustainability Certification Survey should click here.
Nomination Forms Available for Business Hall of Fame
Although the Blair County Chamber’s Business Hall of Fame Dinner won’t take place until October, the nomination process has officially begun. Individuals may nominate businesses for any of eight different awards by downloading a Nomination Form from the Chamber Website. Self-nominations are also accepted. The deadline to nominate is June 14th at noon.
Student Showcase Will Focus on Best and Brightest
The first Penn State Altoona Student Showcase of the year will take place this Friday, April 27th from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Devorris Downtown Center. Presented by the Division of Business, Engineering and Information Services and Technology, this year’s Showcase focuses on a number of areas including: Pechter Business Plan Competition, Security and Risk Analysis, Rail Transportation Engineering, Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology, Business Internship and Research and Business Honor Society Induction. It’s important that the business community allocates some time to view the presentations believes Associate Teaching Professor David Barnes. “The student Showcase gives our students the opportunity to demonstrate their work to the local community,” Barnes explained. “It helps our students to develop speaking and communication skills and it forces them to articulate their work in ways that will be meaningful to others. In addition, it informs the community of our capabilities and fosters the development of relationships which can grow beyond the projects into jobs, internships, education and resources that can benefit community organizations and companies.” Besides witnessing the presentations, business leaders are invited to attend a free networking lunch that will allow them to interact with the students. To attend the Showcase and the lunch, contact Judy Paul at 940-3400 or jap24@psu.edu. The Blair County Chamber is once again a partner in the Penn State Altoona Student Showcase.
“Get Rooted” Activity Fair An Excellent Opportunity for Vendors
The “Get Rooted” Activity Fair, an event put together by the Young Professionals of Blair County, will feature vendors representing non-profits and for-profits, looking to make connections with people in the community either looking for volunteer opportunities or just seeking information on the many resources located here. The Activity Fair, scheduled for May 2nd, begins at 5:00 p.m. and concludes at 7:00. A number of businesses have already registered to be vendors. The cost to do that is just $20 for Chamber-member non-profits, $25 for Chamber for-profits and $30 for non-Chamber members. There is no cost for people to attend the Fair and all ages are welcome. For more information on the Activity Fair, contact Tori Liebal at (814) 943-8151 or email her.
Home Run for Safety Event Set for May 23
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce Safety Committee will hold a Home Run for Safety event on Wednesday, May 23, 7:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m., at Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of the Altoona Curve. The event will include a keynote speaker from OSHA, area director, Christopher M. Robinson, CSP. Breakout sessions led by representatives from local and regional companies will be of interest to employees of all levels of an organization in their quest for safety excellence. The cost to attend the event at the Spring Training Early Discount is $10 for Chamber Members and $20 for non-members. The Spring Training Early Discount expires on May 1. After May 1, the cost to attend is $20 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. A continental breakfast and Altoona Curve Game ticket is included. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.
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.
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April 23, 2018
Upcoming Events
Non-Profit Legislative Breakfast
Friday, April 27
7:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Altoona Grand Hotel
Register Here
YP "Get Rooted" Activity Fair
Wednesday, May 2
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Hollidaysburg Area YMCA
Highmark/Chamber Golf Classic
Monday, May 7
11:00 a.m. - Lunch/Registration
Noon- Start
Iron Masters Country Club
Breakfast Club
Thursday, May 10
7:45 - 9:00 a.m.
The Casino at Lakemont Park
Register Here
WE-LEaD Lunch 'n' Learn
Tuesday, May 15
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Altoona Grand Hotel
Register Here
Small Business Partners Workshop
Wednesday, May 16
3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Devorris Center for Business Dev.
Register Here
Business Before Hours
Friday, May 18
7:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Homewood at Martinsburg
Register Here
Home Run for Safety Event
Wednesday, May 23
7:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
PNG Field
Register Here
Breakfast Club
Thursday, June 7
7:45 - 9:00 a.m.
The Casino at Lakemont Park
Register Here
Business Excellence Dinner
Monday, June 11
5:30 p.m. - Reception
6:45 p.m. - Dinner
The Casino at Lakemont Park
Register Here
Upcoming Committee Meetings Week of 4/23/18
Workplace Wellness Committee
Monday, April 23, 10:00 a.m.
Devorris Center
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