Highmark/Chamber Golf Classic Winners Announced
"Ball-Drop" Postponed Due to Weather
Board Okays Political Debate for 79th District Race
Seven New Members Approved by Chamber Board
Chamber Receives Award from ABCD
May's Business After Hours a Family Event
Reservations Period Continues for Business Excellence Dinner
Have You Visited the "Buy Here. Live Here." Website Yet?
Business Hall of Fame Nominations: Submit Yours Today!
STEM Conference will Feature High Quality Speakers
Save the Date: Early Childhood Education Summit
Save This Date Too: June 8th is Dairy Day
Register Your Cell Phone for "Alert Blair County" Today
Congratulations...
Blue Card Discounts 

Highmark/Chamber Golf Classic Winners Announced
One day after Mother’s Day, the Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield/Chamber Golf Classic turned out to be “Mudder’s Day” as the event was played in a steady downpour last Monday at Iron Masters Country Club.  “Despite the rain, the golfers seemed to have a pretty good time,” explained The Chamber’s Stacy Hoover.  “We had lots of positive comments.  And the scores were pretty good.”  The winning foursome in the “A” Flight, with 36-under-par was Jeff Adams, Ryan Dunkle, Ryan Strickler and Al Weyant.  In the “B” Flight, Peter Skoner, Randy Frye, Jim Logue and Mark Lynch prevailed with a score of 34-under.  Skill competition winners were: Jackie Rummel, Jeff Adams, Ross Blitz, Ryan Strickler, Bill Ritenour, Mike Settimio and Dan Neely.

"Ball-Drop" Postponed Due to Weather
Due to the poor weather conditions at last Monday's Golf Tournament, the Golf Ball Drop had to be postponed.  We are currently working with Pine Bottom Aviation on a date. Once a date is secured we will notify all members. For more information on the ball drop, please contact Stacy Hoover at The Chamber, 814-943-8151.

Board Okays Political Debate for 79th District Race
At last Thursday’s meeting, The Chamber’s Board of Directors approved a recommendation from the Legislative Action Committee to hold a political debate prior to the November general election between Republican John McGinnis and Democrat Richard Flarend.  The committee will now begin to consider dates and venues for the debate as well as recruiting a moderator.  For more information on the Legislative Action Committee, contact Joe Hurd at 943-8151.

Seven New Members Approved by Chamber Board
Seven applicants for Chamber membership were approved by the Chamber Board of Directors last week. The new members are: Anterior Marketing Solutions of Claysburg, Beatty’s Carpet Cleaners of Altoona, Corl-Grove Services of Hollidaysburg, Groundhog Solar of Altoona, International Association of Firefighters Local 299 of Altoona, Keystone Environmental, Health & Safety Services of Loretto and Ricoh of State College.  

May's Business After Hours a Family Event
On Thursday, May 31st, The Park at Morrisons Cove will be host to The Chamber's Business After Hours. The event will be held from 5:30 - 7:30 to allow additional travel time. Bring the whole family for FREE bowling, roller skating and swimming. Don't forget to check out Acorn Cove. The kids will love this playground. Cost to attend is $6 for Chamber Members and $12 for Non-Members pre-registered. Kids 10 years old and under will be FREE. To make reservations call The Chamber at 814-943-8151 or register online.

Reservations Period Continues for Business Excellence Dinner
Reservations continue to be taken at the Chamber Office for the 2012 Business Excellence Dinner which will be held on Monday, June 11th at the Jaffa Shrine. The event honors Fred Imler, Sr. of Imler’s Poultry with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Excellence.  A reception will be held beginning at 5:30 p.m. with dinner following at 6:45. The keynote speaker for the event will be Imperial Sir Raoul Frevel of Baltimore, Maryland, a member of the Board of Trustees at Shriners Hospital for Children and a former Imperial Potentate of Shriners International.  Dean McKnight, a retired banker with M&T Bank, will serve as Master of Ceremonies.  Providing testimonial comments on the life and career of Fred Imler will be G. William Ward, Chairman of Ward Transport and Logistics Corporation and a former Business Excellence honoree; Allan Hancock, President of the Hancock Group who also serves as President of the Central PA Community Foundation; and Richard Bice, Chairman of the Homewood at Martinsburg Board of Directors.  Al Holsinger of Grace United Church of Christ will provide the invocation.  The cost to attend the Business Excellence Dinner is $65/person.  To attend the dinner and the cocktail and hors d’oeuvre reception is $90.  To make reservations, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.  Attendance at this event is not limited to Chamber Members only.

Have You Visited the "Buy Here. Live Here" Website Yet?
The official web-location of The Chamber’s “Buy Here. Live Here.” program can be accessed 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.

Business Hall of Fame Nominations: Submit Yours Today!
If you know of a business that deserves acclaim for having done something significant in the business community during the past year – 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.

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.  

Save The Date: Early Childhood Education Summit
The Chamber’s BASICS Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education will hold a Summit on September 28th to raise awareness of the importance of early education to those in the 0-5 age range. More details about the Summit will be released as they become available. For more information, contact Joe Hurd.

Save This Date Too: June 8th is Dairy Day
The Chamber’s Farm-City Committee will be celebrating June as Dairy Month with free ice cream sundeas on June 8th.  The sundeas will be dished out infront of the Blair County Court House beginning at Noon and will last until the ice cream is gone. For more information on Dairy Day, contact Stacy Hoover at The Chamber, 814-943-8151.

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.

Congratulations . . .
. . . to Seven D Industries which recently received the SHARP (Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program) certification from the Occupational Health & Safety Administration.  Seven D, a subsidiary of the DeGol Organization, is one of only 50 companies in Pennsylvania to earn the certification.

Blue Card Discounts
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.