Business Hall of Fame honorees announced
New Leadership Blair County Youth class begins this week
GRYP holding Lunch 'n' Learn on Energy for Performance 
Registration opens for 2010 Central PA Expo
GRYP softball team raising money for Easter Seals 
Filled out your sustainability survey yet?
Marcellus shale to be topic of August Breakfast Club
ACE Award nominations now being accepted
Chamber seeking fall intern
Chamber makes publications available to members
"Issues" trilogy on healthcare runs throughout July 

Business Hall of Fame honorees announced
The Chamber’s Blair County Business Hall of Fame will add a manufacturer, an industry innovator, a distributor, a school district and a historical meeting venue when the 2010 Hall of Fame Dinner convenes on October 18^th at the Blair County Convention Center. A panel of judges from outside Blair County worked diligently to pore through large stacks of applications, not only for Hall of Fame consideration but for the General Awards of Distinction as well.  The 2010 Hall of Fame class will consist of Boyer Candy, Digital Solutions/Inmate Telephone, Inc., Spring Cove School District and U.S Foodservice – Western PA Group. The Logan House enters the Hall in the Heritage category. The General Awards of Distinction also consist of some familiar names. In the Excellence in Small Business Category, Allegheny Supply and Maintenance Company and Beatty’s Carpet Cleaners will be honored. Young Emerging Business honorees will be art4...inc. and Freedom Excursions by Scully, LLC.  AMTRAN and PC Works Plus will receive Technology awards and the Committee Choice Award will go to The Miracle League. Invitations to the Business Hall of Fame will be sent to Chamber Members in early September. The Business Hall of Fame Dinner is open to members and non-members.  

New Leadership Blair County Youth class begins this week 
The eighth class of The Chamber’s Leadership Blair County Youth program launches this week with a two-day retreat at the Laurel Lodge in Duncansville. Members of the 2011 Class are: Shania Feathers, Tommi Howard and Sarah Oswalt from Altoona Area High School; Miranda Adams and Noah Davis of Bellwood-Antis; Zane Clarke, Adam Evanko, John Hazenstab and Patrick Irwin of Bishop Guilfoyle; Andrew Brumbaugh, Alyssa Clark and Aaron Kreider of Central High School; Jordan Dawson of Great Commission School; Matt Barton, Chelsey Clark, Daniel Fleck, Katey Fox, Taylor McCready and Kristin Reed of Hollidaysburg Area High School; Angela Hewett of Tyrone Area High School and Rachel Baker, Sydnee Ellis, Jessi Kizina and Sean McCaulley of Williamsburg Community High School.

GRYP holding Lunch'n'Learn on Energy for Performance  
As a business person, would you like to manage and increase energy, balance life and work, manage stress and connect to a purpose? If so, then The Chamber’s Growth and Relationships of Young Professionals (GRYP) has a great Lunch'n'Learn program for you. On Aug. 11, from noon until 1:30 p.m. at Outback Steakhouse, Joel Stewart of Janus Capital Group will present “Energy for Performance.” The Human Performance Institute has studied elite athletes and what makes the best the best. HPI and Janus Labs have partnered to offer the tools to achieve greater success in your personal and professional life. The cost to attend this great program, which includes a delicious lunch, is just $22 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. Wells Fargo Advisors is the sponsor of the event. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or click here.

Registration open for 2010 Central PA Expo  
The Chamber is pleased to announce that it will once again be partnering with 13 other area Chambers to offer the 2010 Central PA Regional Business & Industery Expo. The expo will be held from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Registration is now open for the event. Booths will go fast since last year's event sold out. Register today by downloading and returning a registration form. For more information, contact Stacy Hoover at 943-8151.

GRYP softball team raising money for Easter Seals 
In an effort to raise money for the Easter Seals Softball Marathon, The Chamber's Growth and Relationships of Young Professionals will participate in a "Give Back Night" at Chili's Grill & Bar this Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m. The GRYP softball team will receive 10 percent of all purchases made for the program. Supporters must present a "Give Back Night" coupon with each check for GRYP to receive credit for the sale. 

Filled out your sustainability survey yet?  
With more environmental issues coming to the forefront of business with each passing day, The Chamber’s Coalition on Environmental Sustainability is anxious to help members to better understand how to prioritize those issues and ultimately how to address them. The real challenge for the Coalition, though, is to ascertain which businesses already are aware of how to proceed and which have no clue. Thus, a survey has been compiled by the Coalition which takes only a few minutes to complete but will help define the scope of future educational efforts. “We’re really interested in doing whatever we can to help businesses to sort out what can become very confusing,” remarked Amie Myers of Your Green Life, who chairs the Coalition.  “We just need to know where that help is needed most.” To access the survey, click here.  

Marcellus shale topic of August Breakfast Club 
Pennsylvania ’s most significant economic opportunity, perhaps in its history, already is making inroads throughout the Commonwealth. But what will Marcellus Shale mean to Blair County and what can businesses here be doing to participate in the process? Those answers and more will be part of a presentation by Jason Fink, Executive Vice-President of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, at the Aug. 12 Chamber Breakfast Club. Fink will present, “Impacts of Marcellus Shale and Opportunities for Blair County .” He’ll focus on what services already are being accessed in the county related to the mammoth project and where additional services will be needed. The cost to attend the Breakfast Club, which is held at The Casino at Lakemont Park beginning at 7:45 a.m., is $16 for Chamber Members and $25 for non-members. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online. Holiday Inn Express is the corporate sponsor for the Breakfast Club.  

ACE Award nominations now being accepted 
The Chamber’s Farm-City Committee currently is accepting nominations for the Agricultural Community Excellence (ACE) Award to be presented at the Farm-City Dinner on Oct. 26. Nomination forms will be included in the mailed copies of the Blair Business Mirror and were also faxed to Chamber Members. You also can access a form on The Chamber’s website. Nominations for the ACE Award will be accepted until Aug 13. For more information, contact Stacy Hoover at 943-8151.

Chamber seeking fall intern 
The Chamber will offer an internship to a deserving college student for the Fall Semester. The internship can be for credit or non-credit and should be for students in either marketing or some business-related major. Contact Linda Stotler at 943-8151 for details.

Chamber makes publications available to members 
The Chamber recognizes that many businesses, particularly small businesses, have a difficult time in things like hiring, regulatory compliance and recordkeeping. For that reason, the organization has purchased several publications that it is willing to lend to interested Chamber Members. The publications are: Principles of Payroll Administration, Pennsylvania Human Resources Manual, Model Policies and Forms for Pennsylvania Employers, An Employer’s Guide to Employee Benefits, Guide to FMLA and ADA , Employment Verification and Employer’s Guide to Wage and Hour. To borrow a publication, contact Joe Hurd at 943-8151.

"Issues" trilogy on healthcare runs throughout July
The final of three “Issues” programs on Healthcare Reform, being broadcast on the Altoona Public Access Channel, will air every Monday at 11 a.m. and every Tuesday at 9 p.m. throughout the month of July. The focus of this third show is on healthcare providers and includes a panel consisting of Christine Cox of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Maureen Frucella of Preferred Healthcare System, David Duncan of Blair Medical Associates, Dr. Zane Gates, and Dr. J. Grant Hormell. Carolyn Donaldson of WTAJ Your News Leader serves as moderator. Sponsors of the program are: Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Preferred Healthcare System and Young, Oakes, Brown & Company. 

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