Governor Rendell to Visit Chamber on Thursday
Limited Opportunities Remain for Electric Savings Program 
Ribbon Cutting Scheduled for New Altoona Restaurant
Marcellus Shale to be Topic of August Breakfast Club
GRYP Holding Lunch 'n' Learn on "Energy for Performance" 
Registration Opens for 2010 Central PA Expo
Attractions Roundtable Sets First Meeting
ACE Award Nominations now Being Accepted 
Chamber Maps Find Heavy Demand
Chamber Makes Publications Available to Members
Congratulations!! . . .

Governor Rendell to Visit Chamber on Thursday
Governor Ed Rendell will visit the Devorris Center for Business Development on Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. to meet with key business people about transportation funding issues.  The Governor’s Office contacted The Chamber and asked that a breakfast meeting be scheduled to allow the Governor to state his position on what it will take to offset the huge deficit being created by the Commonwealth’s deteriorating transportation infrastructure.  Seating for the meeting is limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.  To reserve a seat, contact Marilyn Templon at The Chamber at 943-8151.  

Limited Opportunities Remain for Electric Savings Program 
The Chamber Energy Program, which concluded its initial phase on June 30^th for Chamber Members in the Penelec region was extremely successful with more than 2,500 meters taking advantage of guaranteed savings on electricity.  OnDemand Energy and ChamberChoice are working on a second phase of discounted power that will launch again by the end of August under a similar guaranteed savings contract.  In the meantime, First Energy Services has indicated that there is still some limited power available from the first phase that can be accessed on a first-come, first served basis.  Interested Chamber Members should submit the existing Guaranteed Savings contract form.  To acquire a form, contact The Chamber at 943-8151.  

Ribbon Cutting Scheduled for New Altoona Restaurant
The Chamber will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday at 11:30 a.m. for a new Downtown Altoona restaurant called Bill Sell’s BOLD.  The restaurant, located at 1413 Eleventh Avenue, will offer lunch, dinner and off-premise catering and will feature flavors of the Southwest, Caribbean and Spain.  It will also boast “new world” wines of Argentina, South Africa and Australia.  Bill Sell, co-owner of the restaurant along with his wife Brooke, has previously worked as a chef at the Altoona Hotel, the U.S. Hotel and the Johnstown Marriott.  

Marcellus Shale to be 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 $30 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.   

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 are sponsors 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 & Industry 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 was sold out. Register today by downloading and returning a registration form. For more information, contact Stacy Hoover at 943-8151.

Attractions Roundtable Sets First Meeting  
Do you consider your business to be a local or regional attraction?  If so, you may want to be part of one of The Chamber’s newest roundtable groups.  The Attractions Roundtable will bring together representatives from area attractions to discuss issues of mutual interest, challenges that attractions face in flourishing in a down economy and anything else that may prove helpful.  Roseanne Conrad of The Park at Morrisons Cove will chair the Attractions Roundtable; Barry Kumpf of the Blair County Convention Center is vice-chair.  The inaugural meeting will be Tuesday, September 21^st at 2:00 p.m. at the Devorris Center.  Interested attractions should contact Joe Hurd at 943-8151. 

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 were faxed to Chamber Members last week. 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 Maps Find Heavy Demand 

The new Blair County Chamber map is attracting a great deal of attention.  After all, it’s the area’s most current map, containing all the new 911 address information.  Don’t have yours yet?  As a Chamber Member, your business is entitled to ten free maps as long as you stop by The Chamber Office to secure them.  If you’d like additional maps, you can purchase them for just $2.00 each.  Non-members can purchase them for $4.00.

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.

Congratulations!!
. . . to McIntyre’s Candies who last week officially opened its new Mansion Park location at 3511 Sixth Avenue in Altoona.

. . . to Tyrone Hospital who will announce at a news conference tomorrow that it is completely out of bankruptcy.

. . . to Altoona Area High School, Bellwood-Antis and Tyrone Area High School who were listed as among America’s Best High Schools by U.S. News & World Report.  The schools were honored in the bronze medal category along with 67 other Pennsylvania High Schools.

. . . to Nason Hospital Laboratory which has been awarded accreditation by the Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists, based on the results of a recent onsite inspection.

. . . to Juniata College which was among 39 four-year and two-year colleges and universities nationwide to merit placement on the Honor Roll in the Chronicle of Higher Education 2010’s “Great College’s to Work For” survey.

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