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The Long-Awaited Day Has Come for "Buy Here. Live Here."
Imler to Receive 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award
Register Your Cell Phone for "Alert Blair County" Today
Chamber Sets Meetings on "Navigating the Electricity Market"
WE-LEaD Holding Lunch 'n' Learn on Social Media
Safety Program to Address Workers' Comp Liability
Congratulations...
Blue Card Discounts

The Long-Awaited Day Has Come for "Buy Here. Live Here."
By now, most people in Blair County have at least heard the name “Buy Here. Live Here.” The details surrounding that name will be the focus of the next Chamber Breakfast Club, set for this Thursday, March 8th beginning at 7:45 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park. A special presentation to include footage of upcoming video advertising, a quiz on local buying with exciting prizes for those who answer questions correctly, exciting door prizes and a testimonial from a longtime business leader G. William Ward will highlight the morning event. “Unlike most Breakfast Club programs, this one will be more of a celebration,” explained Linda Stotler, The Chamber’s Vice-President of Communication & Marketing. “Buy Here. Live Here. will have such a dramatic impact on our local economy that it will give rise to more efforts aimed at community revitalization. This is an event that all Chamber Members should make a special effort to attend. It’s about our businesses and the people who live here.” The cost to attend Breakfast Club is $16 for Chamber Members as well as for non-members. Non-members must pay in advance. To register, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Imler to Receive 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award
Fred Imler of Imler’s Poultry is the 2012 recipient of The Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Excellence. The award will be presented at the Business Excellence Dinner in June. Imler will be the eleventh recipient of the award. Previous award recipients are: Ernie Wissinger (2002), Bill Ward (2003), Steve Sheetz (2004), Donald Devorris (2005), Bill Campbell (2006), John Wolf (2007), Lee Hite (2008), Don Detwiler (2009), Michael McLanahan (2010) and Barry Smith (2011).

Register Your Cell Phone for "Alert Blair County" Today
The Chamber has partnered with the Blair County Local Emergency Planning Committee to alert Blair County residents and their families of important local level emergencies. In all probability, your residential and business telephones are already on the contact list. But your cellular telephones and smart phones are not. To register them, log on to www.blairco.org and click on the “ALERT BLAIR COUNTY” icon. Persons without Internet access can contact EMA Administrative Assistant Cris Stacey at 940-5901 for assistance.

Chamber Sets Meetings on "Navigating the Electricity Market"
Since The Chamber introduced its ChamberChoice program on electric savings through OnDemand Energy, more than 300 member-businesses have saved considerable dollars. “The savings on commercial electricity rates have been so significant that the burning question is why more of our members haven’t signed-on to the program,” admitted Chamber President Joe Hurd. If the reason is that they weren’t aware of the program, that has a chance to change. The Chamber is holding two meetings on March 20th for members (and non-members) to attend to learn more about the program. The first is at 9:00 a.m.; the second at 1:00 p.m. Both meetings will be held at the Devorris Center for Business Development. Neither meeting should last more than one hour. Cheryl Hefft, Senior Energy Advisor with OnDemand Energy Solutions, will be the presenter. “If your business’s savings on electricity aren’t what you’d like them to be, it’s important that you attend one of these meetings,” Hurd pointed out. It is not necessary to register for the meetings and there is no cost to attend.

WE-LEaD Holding Lunch 'n' Learn on Social Media
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce WE-LEaD (Women Encouraging Leadership, Education and Development) program will host a Lunch ’n’ Learn program on March 15th from noon to 1:30 p.m. at The Blairmont Club in Hollidaysburg. The program, “Solving the Social Media Puzzle,” will be presented by Amanda McClellan of Magnetic Marketing Unlimited. McClellan will explain the key components of an effective internet and social media marketing program as well as how to easily update platforms. Cost to attend is $22 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Safety Program to Address Workers' Comp Liability
“Limiting Liability on Workers Compensation Claims” will be the next program hosted by The Chamber’s Safety Committee. The program will be held on Friday, March 16th from 7:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott and will focus on reducing recordables, ultimately reducing employer cost. Speakers will be Monica Meyer of East Coast Risk Management who will talk about the OSHA 300 Log; Darin Lusch of Phoenix Rehabilitation and Health Services who will touch on HIPAA post/pre-employment screening and direct access; and Anthony DiNallo of the Hartman Group who will address timelines/flow for Workers Compensation. Corporate sponsor for the program is Blair Orthopedics. The cost to attend is $15 for Chamber Members and $25 for non-members. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Congratulations...
. . . to Steve Seltzer Honda of Altoona which received honorable mention recognition during the 2012 Top 100 Dealer of the Year awards ceremonies at the Indiana Convention Center.

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.

Indoff - Lori Beck

Present your Blue Card to receive a free box of letter size, 1/3 cut, manila folders (item # UNV-12113). Excludes ink and toner purchases.

K & C Denture Center

Present your Blue Card to receive $100 off a set of deluxe line of dentures or higher. Blue card must be presented on first visit. Cannot be combined with any other offer or discount.

Kopp Drug, Inc.

Present your Blue Card for a free membership to the Kopp Drug RX Rewards Plus Club Card.

Mattress World

Present your Blue Card to receive 10% off any purchase excluding coupon offers.

Oak Spring Winery

Present your Blue Card to save 10% on your order at Oak Spring Winery.

March 5, 2012

Upcoming Events

Register online

Register Here

Safety Presentation

Friday, March 16, 2012
Courtyard by Marriott
7:45 - 10:00 a.m.

Topic: Workers' Comp Liability

Sponsored by:

Register Here

Business After Hours
Thursday, March 29, 2012
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Register Here

Upcoming Committee Meetings
Week of 3/5/12

Hall of Fame Committee
Wednesday, March 7, 8:00 a.m.
The Chamber

LBC Adult Committee
Wednesday, March 7, 3:30 p.m.
Devorris Center

Blair County Business Coalition
Friday, March 9, 9:00 a.m.
Joy Beans - Tyrone

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