Sissler to Receive Chamber’s Business Excellence Award
Last Chance to Advertise in Chamber Membership Directory
Applications Being Accepted for YOung Professionals Steering Committee
Eichelberger to Addess Executive Roundtable
Chamber Foundation to Consider Promotional Strategy
Membership Recruitment to Be High Priority on Chamber Board Agenda
Informational Meeting Set for Chamber's "Five Rivers" Cruise
Small Business Partners to Hold Speed Networking
How's Your Memory? LBC Invites All Chamber Members to Learn Techniques
Safety Program Will Help Employers Avoid Hiring Mistakes
Chamber Sustainability Coalition to Partner on "Zero Waste" Event
WE-LEaD Program to Focus on Self-Defense for Women
Exhibitor Booths Now Available for WE-LEaD Spring Workshop
Congratulations...
Blue Card Discounts
Sissler to Receive Chamber's Chamber's Business Excellence Award
Tim Sissler of Reliance Bank will be the 14th recipient of the Blair County Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Excellence. The award will be presented at the Annual Business Excellence Dinner, set for June 15th at The Casino at Lakemont Park. Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award are: Ernie Wissinger (2002), G. William Ward (2003), Stephen Sheetz (2004), Donald Devorris (2005), Willard Campbell (2006), John Wolf (2007), Lee Hite (2008), Donald Detwiler (2009), Michael McLanahan (2010), Barry Smith (2011), Fred Imler (2012), Ben Stapelfeld (2013) and William Thompson, Jr. (2014). For sponsorship information or to make reservations for the Business Excellence Dinner, contact The Chamber at 943-8151.
Last Chance to Advertise in Chamber Membership Directory
One of the really great opportunities for Chamber Members to reach a wide audience is to advertise in the Annual Membership Directory and Buyers’ Guide that will be published by Barash Media and will be in circulation beginning April 16th. The final day to reserve ad space for that publication is March 19th and the ad copy will need to be to Barash by March 25th. Besides having a copy of the directory mailed to all Chamber member businesses, a copy will be placed in each hotel room in the county and will be strategically placed in high-visibility areas so that more people can learn about the Chamber and about Blair County. In all, 3,200 copies will be printed. If you’d like to place a last-minute ad, call Debbie Markel at (814)238-5051, (814) 222-0480 or email her at dmark@barashmedia.com.
Applications Being Accepted for Young Professionals Steering Committee
Young Professionals of Blair County, the newly-branded Chamber program that will replace GRYP (Growth and Relationships of Young Professionals) is accepting applications to be part of a steering committee that will help formulate a mission, set goals and oversee programs and events. Any Chamber Member between the ages of 21 and 35 is eligible to be on the committee. Applications can be obtained by clicking here.
Eichelberger to Address Executive Roundtable
State Senator John Eichelberger will be the featured speaker at Wednesday’s meeting of The Chamber’s Executive Roundtable. The meeting will be held beginning at 7:30 a.m. at The Blairmont Club in Hollidaysburg. Senator Eichelberger will update the group on key legislation affecting business and the likely potential for cooperation between a Republican-controlled General Assembly and Democratic Governor Tom Wolf. For more information on the Executive Roundtable, contact Joe Hurd at 943-8151 or email him at jhurd@blairchamber.com.
Chamber Foundation to Consider Promotional Strategy
The Blair County Chamber Foundation will meet on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. at the Devorris Center. The Foundation will undertake a short SWOT analysis that will likely serve as the basis of a promotional strategy. For more information on the Foundation, contact Cindy Cessna at 943-8151 or email her at ccessna@blairchamber.com.
Membership Recruitment to Be High Priority on Chamber Board Agenda
When the Blair County Chamber’s Board of Directors meets on Thursday, it will get its first look at a membership recruitment tool that is expected to assist in identifying prospective members. The Board will play an integral part in that recruiting effort. “We’re excited to work with the Board on this project,” explained Jessie Covert, The Chamber’s Vice-President of Sales and Membership Development. “We recognize that many businesses haven’t joined, simply because they haven’t been asked. We want to correct that problem as soon as possible.” The Board of Directors meeting begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Devorris Center.
Informational Meeting Set for Chamber’s “Five Rivers” Cruise
The Blair County Chamber is heading to Europe in late Fall for its first-ever river cruise. The cruise is being done in cooperation with Heritage Adventures Travel Agency. The special wine-themed “5-River European Cruise” will depart from the Chamber Office in the Devorris Center for Business Development on November 3rd, will fly from Dulles International Airport for an overnight flight to Prague and will return on November 13th from Paris. The trip will include one-night sightseeing stays at 5-star hotels in both Prague and Paris with the river cruise in-between. The Chamber trip will feature excursions on the Vistava, Main, Rhine, Moselle and Seine rivers via Avalon Waterways “Visionary,” considered the finest river vessel in Europe. The Visionary accommodates just 128 guests. An informational meeting on the cruise will be held on April 28th at 6:00 p.m. at the Devorris Center for Business Development. Brochures on the 5-River European Cruise are available at the Chamber Office and at Heritage Adventures Travel Agency.
Small Business Partners to Hold Speed Networking
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce Small Business Partners program will host a Speed Networking event on Tuesday, March 24th, from 8-9:30 a.m., at the Devorris Center for Business Development, located at 3900 Industrial Park Drive, Altoona. This high-energy event provides professionals with the opportunity to make valuable business contacts. “We’ve held several of these programs and they’ve all been successful,” explained Michael Eardley, who co-chairs the Small Business Partners. “Small business people don’t always get the opportunity to gain clients and make valuable new contacts in a relatively short period of time. This event allows them to do that.” The Chamber’s Small Business Partners committee emphasizes the importance of small businesses to the Blair County business community through various educational and networking programs. The cost to attend the Speed Networking event is $10 for Chamber Members and $20 for non-members. For additional information or to register, contact the Blair County Chamber of Commerce at 814-943-8151 or register online.
How’s Your Memory? LBC Invites All Chamber Members to Learn Techniques
Members of the Leadership Blair County Alumni and all Chamber members will have an opportunity to learn how to enhance their memories at a program to be held on March 26th from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park. The keynote speaker of the program will be Rick Capozzi who has been delivering personal growth and development training as well as providing global marketing services since 1991. A native of Franklin, PA, Capozzi has worked with small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. His primary focus as a speaker deals with soft skills such as time management, etiquette, non-verbal communication, memory, life balance and creativity. In the presentation to the LBC Alumni, members will learn techniques that will help them to remember a person’s name, reduce the time that it takes to recall facts and figures and create memorable passwords that meet security requirements. The cost to attend the program is $20 for Chamber Members and non-dues-paying alumni and $18 for those who have paid their LBC alumni dues. A full buffet breakfast is included in the cost. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.
Safety Program Will Help Employers Avoid Hiring Mistakes
One of the great laments of employers is hiring new people and then finding out that they aren’t able to handle the physical demands of the job. To help employers avoid that predicament, the Blair County Chamber’s Safety Committee is holding an educational program entitled, “Can Your New Employees Measure-Up?” That program is set for March 27th from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Hoss’s Steak & Sea House in Duncansville. The keynote speaker is Jeff Hiserman, a physical therapist with Phoenix Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Services. Hiserman is a Certified Ergonomics Technician with the National Association of Safety Professionals. He has done dozens of Job Site Analyses, hundreds of post-offer screenings and treated thousands of patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Hiserman’s presentation will help employers decrease injury risk and workers compensation costs, reduce turnover, improve productivity and increase profit margin. The cost to attend this program is $20 for Chamber members and $30 for non-members. A full breakfast buffet is included. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.
Chamber Sustainability Coalition to Partner on “Zero Waste” Event
Blair County Chamber of Commerce's Coalition on Sustainability is proud to announce the first ever “ZERO WASTE” event to be held at the Penn State Altoona Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence on March 27, 2015 from noon-1pm. This event will include a tour of the Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence, a light lunch, and a presentation by the Penn State Altoona Enactus team. The tour and the Enactus team presentation will focus on sustainability, both economic and environmental. Chamber members will hear about the economic sustainability efforts of Penn State Altoona in the Ivyside Campus, the downtown campus and in downtown Altoona. The presentation by the Penn State Altoona Enactus team will highlight their social entrepreneurship projects focusing on people, planet, and profit - the triple bottom line. The Enactus team has worked with a number of local businesses to complete "green" projects concentrated around energy conservation and changes in the waste stream. “We’re delighted to work with the students at Penn State Altoona on such an important event,” explained Donna Fisher of the Blair County Conservation District who chairs the Coalition on Sustainability. “We’re hoping that business people who have never seen the Sheetz Center or who have an interest in sustainability will capitalize on this chance to learn more about how efforts like these will impact our community.” There is a nominal fee of $5.00 to attend the event to help offset the cost of the lunch. To register for the event, contact The Chamber at 943-8151.
WE-LEaD Program to Focus on Self-Defense for Women
The Chamber’s WE-LEaD (Women Encouraging – Leadership, Education and Development) Committee will hold a special program on “Women’s Self-Defense” to be held Tuesday, March 31st from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Park Hills Country Club. The program will focus on ways that women should prepare themselves for threatening situations, particularly in locations in which others are not in a position to provide help. The hands-on demonstration of self-defense will be presented by Rocco Alianiello, who is the owner and head martial arts instructor of Progressive Martial Arts and Fitness Center. Alianiello is internationally certified under the Zen Do Kai International federation and holds a 4th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. The cost to attend this program is $25 for Chamber members and $30 for non-members. Lunch is included. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online. Sponsors of the WE-LEaD program are Marianna’s Fundraisers and DelGrosso’s Amusement Park.
Exhibitor Booths Now Available for WE-LEaD Spring Workshop
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce WE-LEaD program is hosting its annual Spring Workshop featuring internationally known speaker Ron Culberson. The Chamber is offering businesses the opportunity to exhibit their company/products at the event Wednesday, May 6, at the Heritage Discovery Center, Altoona. The cost per booth is $120 for Chamber Members and $170 for Non-Members and includes admittance for one to the workshop (a $70 value), an eight-foot skirted table with chair and pre-event publicity. For more information or for reservations call The Chamber at 943-8151 or email Judy Juda.
Congratulations . . .
. . . to the six Chamber-member businesses that participated in the 6th Annual “Engineers Fight to Can Hunger” event which delivered 15,735 pounds of non-perishable food to the American Rescue Workers Food Pantry. Those businesses are: Gwin, Dobson & Foreman, Keller Engineers, McLanahan Corporation, P. Joseph Lehman, Inc., Stiffler McGraw and The EADS Group.
. . . to John Madey of Blair County Golf, who was awarded PING Golf’s “Top 100 Clubfitter of the Year.” Madey was selected from over 6,000 PING club fitting professionals from across the country.
Blue Card Discounts
To see a compplete listing of the Blue Card discounts available, please click here. To have an ffer listed, contact The Chamber at 943-8151. There is no fee to offer and have a discount listed.
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March 16, 2015
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Upcoming Events
Register online
Small Business Partners Speed Networking
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
8:00 - 9:30 a.m.
Devorris Center
Register Here
LBC Alumni Breakfast
Thursday, March 26
7:30 - 9:00 a.m.
The Casino at Lakemont Park
Register Here
Business After Hours
Thursday, March 26
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Stuckey Ford Stuckey Subaru
Register Here
Safety Program
Friday, March 27
7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Hoss's - Duncasville
Register Here
WE-LEaD Lunch 'n' Learn
Tuesday, March 31
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Park Hills Country Club
Register Here
Upcoming Committee Meetings
Week of 3/16/2015
Legislative Action Committee
Monday, March 16, 8:00 a.m.
Devorris Center
Non-Profit Marketing Subcommittee
Tuesday, March 17, 10:00 a.m.
Home Nursing
Non-Profit Steering Committee
Tuesday, March 10, 11:00 a.m.
Home Nursing Agency
Executive Roundtable
Wednesday, March 18, 7:30 a.m.
The Blairmont Club
LBC Youth Committee
Wednesday, March 18, 3:30 p.m.
The Chamber
Small Business Partners Committee
Wednesday, March 18, 3:30 p.m.
Devorris Center
BASICS Subcommittee on Early
Childhood Education
Thursday, March 19, 10:00 a.m.
Devorris Center
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