Chamber to Partner With Dale Carnegie on "Skills For Success"
The Chamber and Dale Carnegie Training will once again partner on a program that will begin on January 26th and run for the following eight weeks. “Skills For Success” will provide attendees an extensive background on things like effective networking, relationship building, stress management and leadership development – just to name a few. Sessions will be held at the Comfort Inn Hotel in Duncansville. For more information or to register, contact Jeff Davis at (814) 931-1963.

Bahamas, Italy Next Two Chamber Destinations
The popularity of The Chamber’s trip to China has led to numerous requests from Chamber Members for the organization to do future trips. Beginning in March, those requests will be honored. The Chamber will work with two of its travel agency members – Heritage Travel and Classic Travel – to provide fun and relaxation at prime destinations. From March 18-25, travelers can cruise from Baltimore to the Bahamas on Carnival Cruise Lines, visiting Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport. For details contact Heritage Travel Agency at (814) 946-1600. From October 7-14, it’s “Italy’s Great Cities” with Classic Travel. The trip includes visits to Rome, Pisa, Florence, Verona, Venice and Ferrara. Call Classic Travel at 696-3558. Informational meetings about both trips will be held in either mid-December or early January.

Home & Garden Show Booths Available
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce and the Blair Bedford Builders Association have announced that booths are available for the 42nd Annual Blair County Home & Garden Show to be held March 2, 3, & 4, 2012 at the Jaffa Shrine in Altoona. Booths and more information can be secured by calling Stacy Hoover at The Chamber, 814-943-8151.

3rd Annual Canstruction® Competition Set- Call for Entries
It starts with one can to feed the hungry. To lift the spirit. To change the world.  Canstruction®, a charity committed to ending hunger, is using ‘one can’ as a catalyst for change. 

The Blair County Home & Garden Show is pleased to be hosting its third Canstruction® competition to help fight hunger in Blair and
surrounding counties, one can at a time, during the 42nd Annual Home & Garden Show to be held March 2-4 at the Jaffa Shrine. 

Think you have what it takes to design and build a structure made with nothing more than canned food, ingenuity, and luck?  Enter today.  Get creative, help stop hunger. For more infromation, please contact Stacy Hoover at The Chamber, 814-943-8151.

A Celebration for a Lifetime Public Servant
You are invited to attend a celebration for a Lifetime Public Servant, Donna D. Gority, as she retires from the Blair County Board of Commissioners after 28 years of service. The event will be held at the Blair County Convention Center on December 17, 2011.  A reception will begin at 4:30 p.m. with the dinner and program to follow.  The cost to attend is $45 a person. A scrapbook will be made for Donna and you can email your congratulatory message to gorityretirement@gmail.com. For more information on attending the event and or available sponsorships, please contact JoEllen Steinbrunner at 814-932-0859 or jemstein@atlanticbb.net.

Congratulations....
. . . to New Pig Corporation, whose PIG Form-a-Funnel Flexible Draining Tool received recognition from “This Old House” magazine as one of its top 100 products for 2011.
. . . to Sheetz, Inc., which has been named one of 2011’s “Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania.”  This is the tenth consecutive year that Sheetz has made the list – one of only three companies in the state to boast that accomplishment.
. . . to The Allegro Restaurant, which was the winner of the 2011 Foodservice Beef Backer Contest, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Beef Council.  The prestigious award recognizes restaurants that go the extra mile in marketing beef in their establishments and on their menus.

Blue Card Discount offers
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 Stacy Hoover at The Chamber at 943-8151.

Firestone Complete Auto Care	Present your Blue Card to receive a standard lube, oil & filer change for $21.99 + tax OR receive a PA state inspection and emissions test for $39.99 + tax.
Forney Financial Solutions, LLC	Present your Blue Card to receive a FREE financial planning/wealth management review OR receive a FREE Retirement Plan/401(k) Benchmarking.
Foxtrot Runners Inc.	Show your Blue Card at checkout and receive 10% off each individual pair of shoes.
Franklin Frames	Present your Blue card to receive 10% off any custom framing order at Franklin Frames.
Freedom Rentals	Present your Blue Card to take 20% off any rental.