Chamber plane full for China trip

Now there are none. Last Wednesday, The Chamber officially booked the 100th passenger for its November trip to China. Now, anyone interested in going on the trip must call the Chamber Office at 943-8151 to either be put on a waiting list or to be given information about traveling with a group of passengers from the Huntingdon County Chamber. “Our plane had 100 tickets and we have deposits from 100 people,” Chamber President Joe Hurd said. "However, full payment for the trip is due by no later than July 15th so it’s possible some people may have a change of plans and spots may open up. Otherwise, Huntingdon has several spots still open. We’re hoping to accommodate as many people as possible who have an interest in taking this fabulous trip.”

Third meeting with school directors set for today

The third meeting of The Chamber’s Legislative Action Committee with representatives from Blair County's seven public school districts will take place this morning at 8 a.m. at the Devorris Center. The meeting will continue to look at ways that the business community can help school districts to face the many challenges to providing quality, affordable education to local students. "Our first two meetings have been extremely productive," acknowledged Committee Chair Thad Will of M&T Bank. "We're fortunate to have schools that have solid track records of performance and we’d like to help keep them that way." The breakfast meeting is sponsored by Reliance Bank.

Chamber to partner with AMCVB on Hotel Roundtable

As another example of its willingness to work more closely with area agencies, the Executive Committee of the Chamber Board of Directors last week approved a recommendation from President Joe Hurd to create a partnership with the Allegheny Mountains Convention & Visitors Bureau to oversee the Hotel/Motel/Lodging Property Roundtable. The Roundtable was created by The Chamber in 2010. "The Chamber and the AMCVB have strong interests in helping the lodging property industry to be successful and it makes sense to collaborate on that effort," Hurd explained. Hurd and AMCVB Executive Director Mark Ickes will formulate details on how the partnership will work.

Executive Committee approves appointments

The Executive Committee of The Chamber’s Board has approved the following committee appointments: Tom Hite of Concurrent Technologies – chair of Golf Committee; Randy Smithmyer of Smithmyer Lawn Care – chair of Blair County Home & Garden Show Committee; Amanda Drumm of Saint Francis University – chair of Leadership Blair County Adult Committee and Paul Kirby of Keller Engineers – vice-chair of Leadership Blair County Adult Committee.  Becky Crilly of Reliance Bank was appointed to the LBC Youth Committee and Jodi Cessna of the Central Pennsylvania Community Foundation was appointed to the LBC Steering Committee.

Non-Profit Roundtable gets new name

The Chamber’s Non-Profit Roundtable has been officially re-named “Community Benefit Coalition of Non-Profits.” The new moniker was approved last Thursday by the Executive Committee of the Chamber Board.  “As the group begins to pursue some advocacy opportunities, the feeling is that it needs a name that more effectively speaks to its purpose,” admitted Chamber President Joe Hurd. The new name was selected from a number submitted by non-profit members.

Green Drinks tomorrow at Marzoni’s

The Chamber’s Coalition on Sustainability will hold its monthly Green Drinks networking get-together tomorrow beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Marzoni’s in Duncansville. “Green Drinks” provides a casual forum for any Chamber Member with an interest in sustainability issues to discuss those issues with others who share similar concerns. There is no charge to attend.

Received your Chamber Membership Directory?

The 2011 edition of the Blair County Community Profile & Membership Directory has been mailed and each Chamber Member business should have received the publication within the last week. The directory is the most comprehensive promotional piece on Blair County and The Chamber and is a handy reference for contact information consistent with The Chamber’s effort to keep more business-spending local. If your business hasn’t received the directory or would like an additional copy, visit the Chamber Office, located in the Devorris Center for Business Development.

Leadership Blair County application deadline approaching

The deadline for people interested in applying for the 2012 Leadership Blair County Adult program is June 30. "We’re extremely fortunate that the success of the LBC program continues to yield a large number of applicants," reported Judy Juda, The Chamber’s Vice-President of Programming & Membership Education who oversees both the LBC Youth and Adult programs. “We expect that trend to continue and I would encourage anyone with an interest in LBC to apply as soon as possible." For more information on Leadership Blair County, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or visit the Chamber website.

Residential electric program drops rate for summer months

Chamber Members who still haven't signed-up for a discounted residential electric program can still get a great deal. If you enroll in The Chamber’s Residential Energy Program through OnDemand Energy and are a Penelec customer, you can lock-in a special introductory summer price of 6.99 cents per kilowatt hour until the September 2011 meter-read date. That rate then adjusts to 7.25 cents until June 2013. With summer’s high temperatures and increased electric use, this is the perfect time to secure your home electric savings. To enroll, visit fes.com/chamberchoice and click “Select Savings Program” under Residential Electric Savings.

Congratulations . . .

. . . to S&T Bank which recently received the Pillars of the Community Award for its work across the region in the areas of affordable housing and community revitalization. The award was presented by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.

. . . to Penelec which has been recognized for outstanding safety performance by the Energy Association of Pennsylvania.