Breakfast Club: Tough questions to face Commissioners
Blair Business Mirror to be published tomorrow
Deadline for Quickbooks® Seminar is noon today 
Non-Profit Roundtable to have inaugural meeting
Applications due Friday for Canstruction® contest 
Safety Committee/HRMA holding workers' comp presentation
Less than 3 weeks until Chamber's Annual Meeting
Why pay more for electricity? Call The Chamber today!
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"
"Skills for Success" to begin Jan. 25
Congratulations . . .
Special Thank You . . .

Breakfast Club: Tough questions to face 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. 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.

Blair Business Mirror to be published tomorrow
The January issue of the Blair Business Mirror hits the streets tomorrow as an insert to the Altoona Mirror. The cover feature provides an in-depth look at The Chamber’s new “Blue Card” program and includes the initial list of discounted offers that Chamber Members can access to save money on products and services while supporting local companies and organizations. Inside features in the Blair Business Mirror focus on Gordon’s Therapeutic Massage and Food Service Solutions as well as on a variety of upcoming Chamber programs and events. If you don’t receive the Altoona Mirror, don’t despair. A copy of the Blair Business Mirror is mailed directly to every Chamber business.  

Deadline for Quickbooks® Seminar is noon today
The Chamber and CPA Associates will offer a seminar on Quickbooks® to be held on Jan. 11 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 by noon today at 943-8151 or register online.  

Non-Profit Roundtable to have inaugural meeting
The first-ever meeting of The Chamber’s Non-Profit Roundtable will be held this Friday, Jan. 14, at 8:15 a.m. at the Devorris Center. Non-profit organizations from throughout the Chamber Membership were invited to attend this meeting and the advance sign-up has been extensive. If your non-profit organization was inadvertently overlooked, please contact Joe Hurd at 943-8151 to get registered. 
 

Applications due Friday for Canstruction® contest  Anyone interested in having an entry in this year's Canstruction® contest at the 2011 Blair County Home & Garden Show needs to have their application turned in by Jan. 14. The contest uses canned goods to build elaborate sculptures. The canned goods are then donated to local food banks. The contest will be held and judged during the Home & Garden Show to be held March 4-6, 2011. Canstruction® is in its second year as an event at the Home Show. Last year, the team, Canned Architects, received national mention for their local display. Anyone interested in entering Canstruction® should contact Stacy Hoover at 943-8151.    

Safety Committee/HRMA holding workers' comp presentation
The Chamber’s Safety Committee and the Human Resources Management Association of Blair County are co-sponsoring a presentation entitled, "Having a More Effective Workers Comp Program." The presentation will be held on Friday, Jan. 21 at the Jaffa Shrine. Registration and breakfast begin at 7:30 a.m. The program runs from 8 to 11 a.m. Guest speakers are Kim Hannegan of Procura Management, Inc.; Darlene Vila of East Coast Risk Management and Attorney Mike Wagner of the Law Firm of Wagner & Finn. The cost to attend is $25 for Chamber Members and $40 for non-members. To register, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.    

Less than 3 weeks until Chamber's Annual Meeting
As a member of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce, it’s important that you understand how the organization works and how you can use your membership to maintain or grow your business. To get off to a great start in 2011, we suggest that you attend The Chamber Annual Meeting & Awards Presentation which will be held on Friday, Jan. 28 from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park. The cost to attend is just $20-per-person and includes a great buffet breakfast. Call The Chamber at 943-8151 to register or register online. 

Why pay more for electricity? Call The Chamber today!
Ten 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.     

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 January
"Retail and the Blair County Economy," a Chamber program in the "Blair County: It's Our Business" series will run throughout 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.  

"Skills for Success" to begin Jan. 25
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 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.  

Congratulations . . .
. . . to Katz Financial of Duncansville, a local representative of Prospera Financial Services which was recently named Investment Advisor Magazine’s 2010 Broker/Dealer of the Year. This is the second consecutive year that Prospera has attained the industry honor.   

Special Thank You . . .
. . . to Peoples Natural Gas, which made a $10,000 donation to the Blair County Chamber Foundation to help fund youth education programs including BASICS and Leadership Blair County Youth.   

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