Blair Business Mirror to feature "Staying Fit"
Home & Garden Show discount ends Tuesday
Altoona Hotel to host Green Drinks
Chamber Board to decide on transportation request
Economic Outlook & Job Expo targets Blair County's future
Board subcommittees to begin meetings this week
Financial empowerment topic of WE-LEaD Lunch 'n' Learn 
Trade show offering free marketing workshop
Drugs in the Workplace is September safety program 
GRYP offering "next" Leadership Conference  
Chamber supporting Operation S.O.S. again in 2010
Congratulations. . .

Blair Business Mirror to feature "Staying Fit"
The September edition of the Blair Business Mirror will hit the newsstands Tuesday as a supplement to the Altoona Mirror. The cover story focuses on the importance of business people staying fit and the many Chamber Members who operate exercise-related businesses to help make fitness happen. Other stories include a retrospective look at the Blair County Business Hall of Fame, a feature on Tyrone Hospital ’s emergence from bankruptcy and the first look at a Legislative Action Committee effort to encourage municipal cooperation. If you’d like to advertise in future issues of this publication, simply contact Mike McMullen at 943-8151.  

Home & Garden Show discount ends Tuesday  
The 41st Annual Blair County Home & Garden Show will be held on March 4, 5 and 6, 2011, at the Jaffa Shrine. One immediate advantage for anyone completing an exhibitor application and submitting a deposit by Sept. 14 is a 5 percent discount off the booth price. As far as booth locations, past exhibitors will have until Sept. 30 to retain their previous spots. After that, new exhibitors can select where they’d like to be. To receive an application or for more information, contact Stacy Hoover at 943-8151.

Altoona Hotel to host Green Drinks 
The monthly gathering of sustainability advocates, headed by The Chamber’s Coalition on Environmental Sustainability, will meet this Tuesday beginning at 6:30 p.m. for “Green Drinks.”  The Altoona Hotel will be this month’s host.  Drop-by and engage in some green conversation with anyone interested in ways to preserve the environment.  There are currently 430 cities worldwide with Green Drinks chapters.  Altoona is one of the newest!  Pay for what you eat and drink and nothing more.  Stay as long as you like.  See you Tuesday!  

Chamber Board to decide on transportation request 
When The Chamber’s Board of Directors meets on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. at the Devorris Center , one sizeable issue will need special attention. The Chamber’s Transportation Committee recently passed a resolution calling for a $3.5 billion increase in taxes and fees to fund the state’s transportation highway and infrastructure system. The resolution, which passed by a 19-0 vote, is expected to be the catalyst for a grassroots effort statewide if it gets Board approval. “While controversial, this issue is one that Pennsylvania can no longer afford to ignore,” explained Eric Wolf of AMTRAN, who chairs the Transportation Committee.  “In Blair County alone, we are looking at a 63 percent reduction in transportation funding for 2011. That will impact business, travel and tourism -- practically everything that makes our economy viable. Groups like The Chamber need to take the lead. I applaud our committee for making it a priority.” (For more information on the Transportation Resolution, contact Joe Hurd at 943-8151.)  

Economic Outlook & Job Expo targets Blair County's future
What are the challenges and opportunities presented by the Blair County economy and what part will employment play in our ability to move our agenda forward?  Those are among the key questions that will be addressed next Monday as The Chamber, ABCD Corporation and the Allegheny Mountains Convention & Visitors Bureau present the 2010 Blair County Economic Outlook & Job Expo at the Blair County Convention Center . The Economic Outlook will begin at 7:30 a.m. with a buffet breakfast followed by a presentation on Blair County economic data by David Passmore and Rose Baker of Penn State University . Rich Overmoyer from GSP Consulting in Pittsburgh will analyze the data and speculate on future opportunities for Blair County . A video presentation will follow and the event will conclude with a keynote address by Congressman Bill Shuster. At 10 a.m., the Job Expo will open and will stay open until 1 p.m. It will re-open at 4 p.m. for an additional three hours. The cost to attend the Economic Outlook is just $25-per-person. The cost to be an exhibitor at the Job Expo is $125 and includes one registration for the Economic Outlook.  To register for either, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.   

Board subcommittees to begin meetings this week 
The Chamber’s Board of Directors has identified four issues that the Board would like to address in some fashion before the end of 2010 and the subcommittee meetings to begin to address those issues will take place this week. The issues are: Member Ethics, Strategic Planning, Board Development and New Member Recruitment. To provide input into these or other issues, contact Joe Hurd at 943-8151.

Financial Empowerment topic of WE-LEaD Lunch 'n' Learn
Women need to take control of their financial futures if they hope to achieve financial independence. How? That question and much more will be answered at the next “WE-LEaD” Lunch ’n’ Learn program, scheduled for Sept. 22 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at The Blairmont Club.  Barbara Kooman, financial advisor at Kooman & Associates, will present, “The Female Factor – Financial Empowerment.” The cost to attend is $22 for Chamber Members, $17 if three or more from the same Chamber-member business attends and $30 for non-members.  To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online. Space is limited. Register today!  

Trade show offering free marketing workshop

Have you already made your plans to exhibit at the 2010 Central PA Regional Business & Industry Expo? Are you thinking about exhibiting?  Then you should attend the free workshop being offered in cooperation with the Expo. The date is Sept. 30 from 9 to 11:30 a.m., the venue is the boardroom of the Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County and the title of the workshop is, “Effective Marketing Through Trade Shows.” The workshop will help you with all aspects of marketing before, during and after the trade show. Call the CBICC today to register for the workshops at 234-1829. To register for the Expo, download and return a registration form. For more information, contact Stacy Hoover at 943-8151.  

Drugs in the Workplace is September safety program
The Chamber’s Safety Committee will open its 2010-11 workshop series on Sept.24 with a half-day event at the Ramada Altoona Conference Center . The program, entitled “Drugs in the Workplace,” will begin with registration and a buffet breakfast at 7:30 a.m. followed by the program which runs until 11:30 a.m. Speakers for the workshop are Tom Churbock, Safety Coordinator at Appleton; Bobbie Miller, President/Owner of Advantage Resource Group; and Keynote Speaker Randy Feathers, Narcotics Agent in the Office of Attorney General. The cost to attend is $25 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online. 

GRYP offering "next" Leadership Conference
The Chamber’s Growth and Relationships of Young Professionals (GRYP) will hold its first-ever Young Professional’s Leadership Conference on Oct. 1 from 7:45 a.m. to noon at the Ramada Altoona Conference Center . The conference titled “next” will feature speakers who will share experiences, skills and innovative strategies to help professionals prepare to take the next step in their organizations. Speakers are: Brian Brumbaugh from Preferred Healthcare System, Corey Gibbons from Veeder Root and John Apa from Sheetz, Inc. Keynote speaker for the event is Dr. Lori J. Bechtel-Wherry of Penn State Altoona. The cost to attend is $30 and $25 if three or more people attend from the same business. College students who wish to attend can do so for a special discounted rate of $15. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet and refreshment break.  Saint Francis University is corporate sponsor of next. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Chamber supporting Operation S.O.S. again in 2010
For the third consecutive year, The Chamber has committed its support to assist Operation S.O.S. (Support Our Soldiers). The effort was created to help make the holiday season a little brighter for American troops stationed overseas. Last year, Operation S.O.S. was able to send 327 holiday care packages to 475 soldiers in both the 82nd Airborne and the 96th Sustainment Brigade stationed in Iraq . To secure a list of desired items to be sent, call Gary Clare at Smith Furniture in Duncansville at 695-5635 or visit the website.  Monetary gifts also are appreciated to help defray mailing costs. 

Congratulations . . .
. . . to Blair Auto Service and Power Equipment which has been awarded the title of Briggs & Stratton Diamond Dealer. 

For more information, visit the website 

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