Breakfast Club to feature Blair County Commissioners
Submit a question to County Commissioners
Deadline is today for first round of "Blue Card" offers 
The caps are off: It's time to take action on electricity costs
Chamber Annual Meeting is Jan. 28
InfoLaunch program helps protect businesses from data breaches
Television program on local retail runs through January
Lodging properties featured on "Blair County: It's Our Business"
Chamber to offer Quickbooks® Seminar in January
Chamber, Dale Carnegie to partner on "Skills for Success"
After Hours door prizes can benefit your business
Deadline for Canstruction® entries is Jan. 14
Register your co-workers for the "Business Bulletin"

Breakfast Club to feature Blair County Commissioners
The next monthly Chamber Breakfast Club, set for Thursday, Jan. 13, will feature a question and answer session with the Blair County Commissioners. The questions for the Commissioners will be submitted by Chamber Members and through the collective efforts of The Chamber's Legislative Action Committee. Thad Will of M&T Bank, Chair of that committee, will moderate the Q&A session. The Breakfast Club begins at 7:45 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park . The cost to attend is $16 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Submit a question to County Commissioners  
Want to learn more about county government and how it affects your business and the community? Then submit a question to The Chamber to be asked at the Jan. 13 Breakfast Club. The Blair County Commissioners will answer as many questions as time permits.  Send questions to Joe Hurd by no later than this Friday.  

Deadline is today for first round of "Blue Card" offers
When the Blair Business Mirror is published next Tuesday, it will include a listing of the first round of “Blue Card” offers that Chamber Members can access to save money on a variety of discounted products and services. If you'd like to have an offer included on that list, contact The Chamber by 3 p.m. today or submit a Participation Agreement by that same deadline. New offers will be published in future Chamber publications but why not have your offer included from the very start of the program? There’s no cost involved and nearly 44,000 Chamber Members will have the Blue Card.  

The caps are off: It's time to take action on electricity costs
Two days ago, the cost of electricity for businesses and consumers in the Penelec region took a considerable jump. The removal of the rate caps on electricity means you’ll pay more. How much more depends on your ability to access an energy plan that provides rates below the ones set by Penelec. The Chamber’s Energy Program, through OnDemand Energy, guarantees your business a lower rate. In the near future it will allow you to offer that rate to your employees for their residences. Interested? Call The Chamber at 943-8151 and we’ll send you more information. Why pay more for electricity than you need to? Let The Chamber provide you just one more compelling reason for why you invest in the organization that is the “Voice of Business” in Blair County .   

Chamber Annual Meeting is Jan. 28 
As a member of the Blair County Chamber, we invite you to attend our Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation, to be held on Friday, Jan. 28 at The Casino at Lakemont Park . The event, which takes a retrospective look at the accomplishments of 2010, is a perfect venue for celebration and future business aspirations. To register, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.    

InfoLaunch program helps protect businesses from data breaches
The Chamber’s newest affinity program will help Chamber Members to be protected in the event of data breaches associated with their businesses. The InfoLaunch Breach Ready program is accepting customers and the cost to participate - only $700 annually - is less than one-third of the cost for non-members. "This is true peace-of-mind," related Chamber President Joe Hurd. "So many of our businesses are vulnerable to breaches of data that they need some sort of protection. InfoLaunch is that protection." For further information, contact The Chamber at 943-8151.    

Television program on local retail runs through Janaury
"Retail and the Blair County Economy," a Chamber program in the "Blair County:  It's Our Business" series will run throughout December and January on Altoona Public Access Channel 14. The program will run on Mondays at 9 p.m. and on Wednesday’s at 11 a.m. Panelists for the retail program are: Don Beerbower of Beerbower Jewelers, Tom Irwin, Jr. of Fiore True Value, Matthew Miller of Best Buy, Dave Robbins of Martin's Food Store and Bill Thompson, Jr. of Thompson Pharmacy.  Carolyn Donaldson of WTAJ Your News Leader served as moderator.  Sponsors for the retail program are: Ace Fix-It Hardware, Altoona Wal-Mart, East Freedom Wal-Mart and Sprint.

Lodging properties featured on "Blair County: It's Our Business"
Another of The Chamber's television programs in the "Blair County: It's Our Business" series features the challenges and opportunities of Blair County's hotels, motels and lodging properties. "Staying Overnight in Blair County" will air every Wednesday at noon and 9 p.m. throughout December and January. Panelists for this program are: Dolly Kozlovac of Super 8 Motel, Rachael Lenhart of Ramada Altoona Conference Center, Sue St. Martin of Holiday Inn Express, Angelica Schaefer of Courtyard by Marriott and Kurt Stull of Comfort Suites Altoona. Carolyn Donaldson of WTAJ Your News Leader served as moderator. Sponsors of the program on hotels, motels and lodging properties are: A1 Altoona Taxi, Blair County Notary, Holiday Inn Express, Sprint, Super 8 Motel and Yellow Cab & Transfer.     

Chamber to offer Quickbooks® seminar in January
The Chamber and CPA Associates will offer a seminar on Quickbooks® to be held on Jan. 11, 2011 at The Casino at Lakemont Park . The program will be offered in two phases. Phase One will include a buffet breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. and a presentation enitled "Manage Your Business Better in 2011 Using All the Capabilities of Quickbooks®."  Phase One will conclude at 9 a.m. From 9:15 to 11:30 a.m., Phase Two will feature a two-hour, in-depth overview of Quickbooks® that will cover topics like keeping track of accounts receivable and accounts payable by customer or vendor, how to pay employees correctly and assure accurate withholdings, how to generate the best reports for your needs and how to track deductible business expenses for easier tax preparation. The cost to attend just Phase One is $20 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. The cost to attend just Phase Two is $25 for Chamber Members and $35 for non-members. The cost to attend both is $40 for Chamber Members and $60 for non-members. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.     

Chamber, Dale Carnegie to partner on "Skills for Success"
The Chamber and Dale Carnegie Training are once again partnering on an educational program to assist in personal development. "Skills for Success" is an eight-week course that will be held at the Comfort Inn in Duncansville beginning on Jan. 25 and continuing each Tuesday from 6 to 9:30 p.m. The sessions include: Building a Foundation for Success, Putting Stress in Perspective, Inspiring Others and Demonstrating Leadership. To register, contact Jeff Davis at 931-1963.  

Register your co-workers for the "Business Bulletin"
If you’re reading this Business Bulletin, you’re getting the up-to-date information on upcoming Chamber events and programs, recognition of the outstanding accomplishments of Chamber Members and much, much more. Is there someone else at your business who could benefit from this same insight and information? Simply send us their contact information (name and E-mail address) and we’ll add them to the contact list that now includes more than 3,000 Chamber members.  It’s free! Simply send your email address to be added.  

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