Home & Garden Show is This Weekend at the Jaffa Shrine
Chamber Recognizes “All-Stars” for February
March Breakfast Club to Focus on “Operation Our Town”
Nomination Period for Business Excellence Award Concludes Wednesday
Strategic Planning is Topic of Non-Profit “Best Practices”
Informational Meeting on Chamber’s Ireland Trip Set for March 13th
Check-Out the Chamber Job Board!
“Buy Here Bucks” a Win-Win for Buyers, Sellers
Congratulations . . .
Home & Garden Show is This Weekend at the Jaffa Shrine
The 48th Annual Blair County Home & Garden Show will be held March 2, 3 & 4 at the Jaffa Shrine in Altoona. Admission is only $3.00 for adults and children 12 & under are Free. A special thank you to our show sponsors: Deer Meadow A 55+ Gated Community, Holiday Pools & Spas, Home Depot, Lakeview Sheds & Vinyl Products, PennCrest BANK, and Window World. The Blair County Home & Garden Show is brought to you by the Blair County Chamber of Commerce and the Blair-Bedford Builders Association. For more information, contact Stacy Hoover at 814-943-8151 or visit www.blairhomeshow.com.
Chamber Recognizes “All-Stars” for February
The Blair County Chamber’s ability to offer quality programming, events, recognition and advocacy efforts depends largely on the willingness of sponsors to step up to help underwrite the costs associated those efforts. So at the end of each month, we publish a list of businesses or individuals who sponsored anything Chamber-related during the month. They have helped us to make a difference in the business community. All-Stars for February are: Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries, Altoona-Blair County Development Corporation, Atlas Therapy, Colonial Courtyard at Tyrone, Contact Altoona, First Commonwealth Bank, First National Bank, P. Joseph Lehman, Inc., Reliance Bank and Stuckey Ford & Stuckey Subaru.
March Breakfast Club to Focus on “Operation Our Town”
The next Blair County Chamber Breakfast Club, set for March 8th beginning at 7:45 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park, will focus on the Operation Our Town program. OOT has effectively addressed the many challenges that substance abuse has brought to our community and it continues the fight with the help of a committed business community. Among the awards being presented at the Breakfast Club that morning is the 2018 Community Partnership Award that will go to The Nehemiah Project. Law enforcement awards will also be presented. First Assistant District Attorney Peter Weeks from the Blair Co. District Attorney's will be on-hand to do their annual review of drug trends. To register to attend the Breakfast Club, call the Chamber at (814) 943-8151 or register online. The cost to attend is $20. Corporate sponsor of the March Breakfast Club is Leonard S. Fiore, Inc.
Nomination Period for Business Excellence Award Concludes Wednesday
Nominations are being accepted for the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Excellence until this Wednesday, February 28th. That award will be presented on June 11th at the Chamber’s Business Excellence Dinner. To access a nomination form, visit the Chamber Website.
Strategic Planning is Topic of Non-Profit “Best Practices”
Tired of Big Ideas with little follow through? Create a compelling strategic plan that rallies the team and allows you to move forward with positive energy. This session with Kevin Sensenig, Ph.D., President of Interaction Dynamics Group will introduce ways to make strategic planning more interactive and action oriented. Sensenig will recommend tools to use in preparing for the planning session and assuring solid execution of the plan. Come prepared for a lively and interactive session and bring your questions about challenges non-profit organizations face in strategic planning. Best Practices are designed to be interactive, short bursts of information and are held at the Devorris Center for Business Development, 3900 Industrial Park Drive, Altoona, PA 16602. The forum will be held on March 9 and begins at 8:15 a.m. and concludes at 9:45 a.m. The cost to attend is $5.00 for Chamber Members and $10 for non-members. To register for this event, contact the Chamber at (814) 943-8151 or register online.
Informational Meeting on Chamber’s Ireland Trip Set for March 13th
If you’re looking for great trip for the Fall, the Chamber’s trip to Ireland might just be what you’re looking for. “Celtic Adventure” departs on October 4th and returns on October 13th. It features Belfast, Galway, Killarney and Dublin with many attractions including Titanic Museum, Giant’s Causeway (with Shuttle Bus), Guinness Storehouse, Trinity College, Cliffs of Moher, Connemara Marble and Galway Crystal. There are city tours of both Belfast and Dublin. The Ireland Trip, offered through Classic Travel, is $2,939/per person including airfare, hotels, full Irish breakfast daily and five hotel dinners. An informational meeting on the trip will be held on March 13th beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Devorris Center for Business Excellence. If you’d like to attend that meeting, contact the Chamber at (814) 943-8151. There is no cost or obligation.
Check-Out the Chamber Job Board!
The Blair County Chamber Website at www.blairchamber.com features a Job Board where member businesses can place up to three positions at no cost. The Job Board concept came about as the result of a meeting held at the Chamber in which local retailers and employment agencies discussed the trials and tribulations of finding interested and qualified employees. The decision to limit businesses to posting only three positions at one time was a recommendation by the Chamber’s Board of Directors who was concerned that larger businesses with multiple openings would make the task of overseeing the Job Board rather labor intensive. Tori Liebal, the Chamber’s Vice-President of Website Development and Social Media, is the staff member assigned to maintain the Job Board. Jobs will remain on the Board for one month unless the employer asks that they be removed or extended. At the present time, Job Board postings are limited to Chamber Members only. (For more information on the Job Board, contact Tori Liebal at 814-943-8151 or email her at tliebal@blairchamber.com.)
“Buy Here Bucks” a Win-Win for Buyers, Sellers
The Blair County Chamber’s new gift certificate program, known as “Buy Here Bucks,” is a way for local businesses to gain new customers and an even better way for people to give gift certificates with more than just a few places to redeem them. The larger the list of participating businesses, the greater the value of the certificates. For a business to register to be on that list (it costs Chamber Members nothing), contact Tori Liebal at (814) 943-8151 or email her at tliebal@blairchamber.com. To purchase Buy Here Bucks, visit the Chamber Website at www.blairchamber.com. You can also get them at the Chamber Office, located in the Devorris Center for Business Development.
Congratulations . . .
. . . to Nathaniel Smith of the law firm of Goldstein, Heslop, Steele, Clapper, Oswalt & Smith, who was recently certified as a life-member of both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
. . . to Jesse Ickes, a financial advisor with Beck Financial and Wealth Management, LLC in Altoona, who recently received recognition as the second highest production leader for first-year financial advisors in the Mid-Atlantic region.
. . . to Scott Gottshall of Reliance Bank, who was recently installed as the new president of the Blair-Bedford Builders Association. He is the first-ever non-builder member to hold this position in the organization.
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February 26, 2018
Upcoming Events
Blair County Home & Garden Show
Friday, March 2, 1:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 3, 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 4, Noon - 4:00 p.m.
www.blairhomeshow.com
Jaffa Shrine, Altoona
Breakfast Club
Thursday, March 8
7:45 - 9:00 a.m.
The Casino at Lakemont Park
Register Here
Non-Profit Best Practices
Friday, March 9
8:15 - 9:45 a.m.
Devorris Center
Register Here
YP "Get Rooted" Activity Fair
Tuesday, March 20
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Hollidaysburg Area YMCA
Safety Program
Wednesday, March 21
7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Hoss's Steak & Sea House Duncansville
Register Here
Business After Hours
Thursday, March 22
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Altoona Community Theatre
Register Here
YEA! Investor Panel
Tuesday, April 3
5:00 p.m.
Devorris Downtown Center
Business BEFORE Hours
Thursday, April 5
7:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries
Register Here
Breakfast Club
Thursday, April 12
7:45 - 9:00 a.m.
The Casino at Lakemont Park
Register Here
Business After Hours
Thursday, April 19
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Seltzer Financial Strategies
Register Here
Upcoming Committee Meetings Week of 2/26/18
BHLH/Retail Committees
Monday, February 26, 8:30 a.m.
Devorris Center
LBC Alumni Committee
Tuesday, February 27, 7:30 a.m.
Reliance Bank, Lakemont
Public Policy Committee
Thursday, March 1, 8:00 a.m.
Devorris Center
YEA! Committee
Friday, March 2, 8:30 a.m.
Devorris Center
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