Chamber Office closed Monday

The office of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day. The office will re-open on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. For information about The Chamber whenever the office is closed, visit The Chamber website.     

Reservations end Wednesday for Business Excellence Dinner

If you still haven’t made reservations for The Chamber’s 2011 Business Excellence Dinner, set for June 7 at The Casino at Lakemont Park, you need to know that Wednesday at noon is the deadline to do so. No reservations will be taken at the door. Barry Smith, founder and owner of Smith Transport in Roaring Spring, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Excellence at the event and he will have an impressive array of friends to sing his praises. Keynote speaker will be longtime NASCAR driver Mike Wallace who has been a key figure in the Nationwide Series since his debut in 1990. Wallace and Smith have been close friends and business associates for several years. Among the three people providing testimonial comments about Smith at the dinner are NPC Chairman of the Board Mark Barnhart, retired U.S. Congressman Bud Shuster and legendary automotive designer Carroll Shelby.  Shelby will be unable to attend the dinner so his comments will be videotaped and played at the event. The Master of Ceremonies for the Business Excellence Dinner will be Attorney Mark Gordon of the law firm of Pietragallo, Gordon, Alfano, Bosick & Raspanti, LLP. Invitations to the Business Excellence Dinner have been mailed to Chamber Members. Non-members also can attend but must pay in advance. To register, contact The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.    

Park Audio & Video to host Business Before Hours

The Chamber will hold its next Business Before Hours on Wednesday morning from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Park Audio & Video, 2134 Plank Road in Duncansville. The event will feature cooking demonstrations by two appliance representatives – Howdy Mynihan of Viking Appliance and Rob Danzik of Wolf/Subzero. The event is free to Chamber Members and $10 for non-members. For more information or to make reservations, call The Chamber at 943-8151 or register online.

Penelec lowers rate – still no time to panic

The announcement by Penelec on May 26 that the company would lower its residential rate on electricity from 7.68 cents/kwh to 6.99 came as a surprise to The Chamber although, according to Chamber President Joe Hurd, it probably shouldn’t have. "We were told going into this program that there would be some peaks and valleys," Hurd pointed out. "Most of our members locked-in that 6.99 and will have that rate until the end of the year. We feel strongly that the 6.99 will look pretty strong for the duration of that program. If the Penelec rate drops again in September, I’ll be stunned. That hasn’t happened in any of the other regions where the caps have come off. As for those who locked-in either the 7.15 or the 7.25, I think those people also will be satisfied over the long haul because they’ve got a really good rate for two years. It makes sense, even today, to lock that rate in because it does cover a substantial time period.” To sign-up for either the commercial or residential program, Chamber Members should go online to www.fes.com/chamberchoice. From there, the promotional code is chamberchoice. Businesses can access an enrollment form; individuals looking to lock-in a residential rate can do so by entering the customer number on their electric bill. Direct any questions to 1-866-699-9968.    

LBC Adult session to focus on program feedback

One of the ongoing strengths of The Chamber’s Leadership Blair County program has been its ability to process input from those who have completed the program and turn that input into constructive change. When the 2011 LBC adult class meets at the Sheetz Distribution Center in Claysburg on Friday for its last session prior to graduation, it will spend considerable time debriefing and offering feedback to the LBC Steering Committee on how to make a good thing even better. "This session is therapeutic for the class and the committee," remarked Judy Juda, The Chamber’s Vice-President of Programming & Membership Education. "It helps the class members to reflect on what they’ve experienced and it creates positive interaction at a critical time." The Leadership Class will graduate on June 9.

China trip called "life altering"

Thousands of chamber members from across the country have traveled to China on tours arranged through Citslinc and the common theme seems to be that the perspective that the trip provides is "life altering." Sally Haas of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber, which has done three tours to China, is amazed by her own reaction. "People who know me, know that I'm a tough sell," Haas points out. "I don't do anything even once that makes me feel uncomfortable or has no real appeal, much less doing it three times. This trip makes you look at the world in an entirely different way. It’s why people who were reluctant to travel to China once, insist on going back again." If you think that a trip like this one might be worth considering, call The Chamber at 943-8151 and we’ll send you information at no obligation.

Hall of Fame application deadline is next Thursday

Still haven’t nominated a Blair County business for the Business Hall of Fame? Your time is running out. Nominated businesses must submit completed applications by June 9. So the closer to that date you nominate them, the less time they have to complete the applications. The Business Hall of Fame Dinner will be held on Oct. 17 at the Blair County Convention Center. Nominate your own business or somebody else’s but do it today! Download nomination forms online.   

Congratulations . . .

. . . to New Pig Corporation which received top honors at the 26th Annual Multichannel Merchant Retail Marketing Conference. For the 10th consecutive year, New Pig’s “Big Pigalog Buying Guide” was honored as a gold award winner in the Industrial Supplies category.