Breakfast Club to Focus on Challenges Facing Education
Twenty-three to Graduate from Leadership Blair County Youth
Highmark/Chamber Golf Classic Sold Out!!
Golf Classic Sponsorships Sold Out Too!!
Reservations Being Accepted for Business Excellence Dinner
Check Out the "Buy Here. Live Here" Website
Safety Program Scheduled on Marcellus Shale
Child Abuse Training to be Offered
Chamber Members Encouraged to Complete Drug Testing Survey
Have You Submitted a Business Hall of Fame Nomination Yet?
Chamber Seeking Fall Intern
STEM Conference will Feature High Quality Speakers
Register Your Cell Phone for "Alert Blair County" Today
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Breakfast Club to Focus on Challenges Facing Education
Rodney Green, Superintendent of Schools for the Spring Cove School District, will be the featured speaker at the next Chamber Breakfast Club this Thursday, May 10th beginning at 7:45 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park.  Mr. Green has been employed in Public Education for the past 38-years and will retire at the completion of this school year.  In his Breakfast Club remarks, he will share some observations in regard to the challenge of improving education in the midst of declining financial resources.  Green has been quoted as saying, “It’s getting harder to pull a rabbit out of a hat at a time when it seems like there are many more hats than rabbits.”  The Breakfast Club will also feature the conferring of Attendance Counts Awards to students from nine Blair County Schools and also the presentation of Essay Contest Awards to three Blair County eighth grade students.  The cost to attend Breakfast Club is $16.00 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members.  To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online. Corporate sponsor for the May Breakfast Club is South Hills School of Business & Technology.

Twenty-three to Graduate from Leadership Blair County Youth
The eighth class of Leadership Blair County Youth will graduate on Wednesday.  A special graduation ceremony will be held at The Casino at Lakemont Park beginning at 11:30 a.m. As part of the ceremony, two grants will be presented to non-profit organizations from monies raised by the class. The grant recipients are the Family Services Teen Shelter ($500) and the Brian Morden Foundation ($400). The 2012 LBC graduates are: From Altoona Area High School, Alexis Palfey and Amber Boring; from Bellwood-Antis, Allison Morgan; from Bishop Guilfoyle, Jessica Boslet, Bailey DeLeo, Brennan Hurd and Alexis Wike; from Central High School, Lauren Aiello, Morgan Ebersole and Tristan Greenland; from Claysburg-Kimmel, Kaytlyn Morgan, Rachel Walter and Emily Weiland; from Great Commission, Alyssa Benton; from Hollidaysburg Area High School, Derek Carey, Kimberly Cooper, Jenna Irvin and Anna Springer; from Tyrone Area High School, Lucy Raftery and Eric Wagner; and from Williamsburg Community High School, Alyssa Bowmaster, Shannon Burket and Hayley Butcher.  

Check Out the “Buy Here. Live Here.” Website
The official web-location of The Chamber’s “Buy Here. Live Here.” program made its debut last week at buyherelivehere.com.  It features articles on local businesses that are making an effort to buy local products and services, special promotions and discounts, opportunities to win prizes for taking the BHLH Pledge to direct at least 10% more of your spending to local businesses and much, much more.  Visit the site often.  You’ll save dollars and learn which businesses are helping your community to grow.  You can also reach the site by going through the Chamber Website.

Safety Program Scheduled on Marcellus Shale
With all the news coverage on natural gas drilling, it’s not surprising that many perceive this industry with mixed emotions. The Chamber’s Safety Committee invites anyone wishing to learn more about the shale industry to join them on Friday, May 18th from 7:30 to 11:00 a.m. at the Ramada Altoona Conference Center for a presentation entitled, “Marcellus Shale: Frack or Fiction.”  The event will feature a host of knowledgeable speakers.  The cost is just $25 for Chamber Members and $35 for non-members and includes a buffet breakfast.  Register online or call The Chamber at 814-943-8151.

Child Abuse Training to be Offered
The problem of child sexual abuse has attracted a great deal of attention in our area. GRYP will host a training for anyone who works or volunteers with children to help identify the signs of a child that is sexually abused or for anyone wanting to gain the knowledge on how to deal with these tough situations. All participants will receive a certificate of completion and training materials. The 2 hour training counts for 3 contact hours of continuing education credits by the National Association of Social Workers and the National Board of Certified Counselors. The training will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 16th at the Penn State Altoona Devorris Downtown Center and is $10 per person or $5 per person for any group sending 5 or more people. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Chamber Members Encouraged to Complete Drug Testing Survey
A local strategy group that includes the Blair County Chamber is issuing a survey on drug testing in the workplace that will hopefully help to determine the frequency and effectiveness of the testing process and will assess how many businesses are currently utilizing some form of testing mechanism. The group, known as “The Healthy Blair County Coalition” has partnered with Penn State Altoona in creating the survey.  The Chamber Board of Directors has given a thumbs-up to inviting Chamber Members to complete the survey which is being done through Survey Monkey.  To participate, please click here. 

Have You Submitted a Business Hall of Fame Nomination Yet?
If you know of a business that deserves acclaim for having done something significant in the business community – even if that business is yours – it’s time to nominate that business for the Blair County Business Hall of Fame or for one of the General Business Awards of Distinction. The nomination process is underway and all nominated businesses must complete an application form and return it to The Chamber by noon on June 11th.  So don’t delay!  Nomination forms can be secured by calling The Chamber Office at 943-8151 or you can obtain a form online. Beside the Hall of Fame and its Heritage component, the business categories to be honored are: Safety Excellence, Sustainability, Technology, Community Service, Young Emerging Business and Excellence in Small Business.

Chamber Seeking Fall Intern
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce is seeking an intern for the Fall Semester.  The intern should be majoring in Business Management, Marketing or Communications.  The internship can be either for credit or personal enrichment.  Interested students should contact Linda Stotler at 943-8151 or email her.

STEM Conference will Feature High Quality Speakers
The Central PA STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) Conference will be held on June 14th at Milton Area High School.  The conference is strongly endorsed by The Chamber’s BASICS Committee which is working with local colleges to increase STEM awareness.  Among the keynote speakers at the conference are Ioannis Miaoulis, President and Director of the Museum of Science in Boston and Frederick Hess, a well-known educator, political scientist and author.  For more information on the conference, go to www.regonline.com/stemconference.  

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.

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