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The Blount Chamber has partnered with Target Marketing to do another county map for distribution this summer. Information about participating with an ad will be faxed to you within the next 7-10 days. If you have any further questions, please contact the Chamber at 865.983.2241.
Additionally, the Blount Partnership office will be closed on Monday, Jan. 18 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. There's plenty of local activities to commemorate his legacy. See details below in this email.
Also check out this week's edition of The Dialogue with Jeff Jones of LC Fence at the bottom of this email. This feature is a question-and-answer session with a new Blount County Chamber member.
TICKETS ON SALE FOR 96TH CHAMBER ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
 Tickets for the
96th Blount Chamber Anniversary Celebration sponsored by AMI, LawlerWood, Blount Excavating, TVA, Unified AV Systems, C2RL, Inc., CSX, Hickory Construction, Pinnacle Financial Partners and Spectrum Business, with a James Bond Casino Royale theme are on sale now. So get dressed up and join the celebration on Friday, January 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Airport Hilton. It will be an evening of live music with Jessie's Girls, a national party band, food and networking with Blount County business professionals. Tickets are $100 each and can be
purchased online or by calling 865.983.2241.
PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS...PARTICIPATE IN "OPERATION THANK YOU"
 Participate in the Chamber's 18th annual "Operation Thank You" set for February 16-18 and meet other business people on a one-on-one basis. During this three-day event, Chamber members, the Chamber staff and Board of Directors will personally deliver Chamber member information packets for 2016. We invite you to join us in this three-day effort. You can agree to call on as many or as few members as your schedule permits. If you, someone (or several people) from your business, organization or group is interested in participating, please contact
Amy Lawson or call 865.983.2241.
Promote your business during "Operation Thank You" by sending 1250 gift certificates, brochures or business promotional pieces to us and we will distribute them during "Operation Thank You." Your Chamber constantly looks for ways to help you promote your business and the ABC theory - Always Buy Chamber. We do ask that your enclosure piece be a 4"x9" brochure or a size not to exceed 8 ½"x11" and be no more than 1 page or sheet. These inserts should be delivered to the Chamber no later than 5:00 p.m. Thursday, February 4. Please contact
Amy Lawson or call 865.983.2241. There is a small charge of $175 for insert enclosure.
SOFT SKILLS CLASSES OFFERED THIS SPRING
 It's Your Career! That's the focus of four free soft skills sessions offered in partnership by the Blount County Public Library, the Adult Education Foundation of Blount County and the Blount County Chamber of Commerce that are scheduled over the next five months.
With more and more millennials entering the workforce, employers have noticed many workers in a variety of professions are lacking in several areas, including problem solving, conflict resolution and critical observation. But, even though they possess the hard skills to get an interview, it's the important soft skills that will land the job and help them keep it.
All classes are conducted at the library located at 508 N. Cusick in Maryville and limited to 30 participants. Those interested must register online at
www.blountchamber.com/community/soft-skills. A complete class description is located on the registration site. All classes run from 8-10 a.m. with networking beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Registrations are currently being accepted for:
Feb. 9 - Information Management
March 18 - Team Building
April 15 - Conflict Management
May 20 - Mentoring
MLK LUNCHEON SET FOR JAN. 15
 The annual MLK Luncheon that kicks off a full weekend of activities leading up the MLK Day is set for Friday, Jan. 15 from noon-1 p.m. at the Clayton Center for the Arts. Tickets are $35 each or $275 for a table of eight. Call the Chamber at 865.983.2241 to reserve your spot.
Additional events on MLK weekend include a viewing of the movie "Selma" on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Clayton Center. On Sunday, Jan. 17 a community worship service will be held at the First Baptist Church Alcoa at 4 p.m. with guest minister, Rev. Dr. Cordell Simpson. He is Pastor of the Eighth Street Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville. The MLK Parade is Monday, Jan. 18 at 12:30 beginning at the MLK Center with a walk to Maryville College. Following the parade, Dr. Barbara Hampton, Professor of Music at Hunter College of the City University of New York, will be the keynote speaker at the Clayton Center at 2 p.m. All events are free and open to all.
IT'S A NEW YEAR SO SHOP LOCAL
As a business owner it would be wise if, like everyone else, you made a list of New Year's resolutions. Here are a few that we found to be worthwhile:
Assess your online presence: Are consumers finding you by searching online? In addition to your website search engines also reward you for social media activity. Keep your business promotions up-to-date and relevant across as many online marketing channels as possible.
Enhance your online presence: Start with your free digital marketing member benefit, Save Local Now. Make sure your profile is in tip-top shape, including a 250 word business description (Google will love this!) and at least 10-20 keywords. From there, create posts that promote specific products or services and share them to social media.
Put a plan in place: A huge benefit to any business is organization and preparation for the year ahead. TIP: Create a content calendar. What do you want to promote month by month? What will your messaging be? Handling this at the start of the New Year will make the year's promotions much easier to accomplish, with messaging on point across the board.
If you have any questions regarding your free digital marketing member benefit (
Save Local Now), your digital platform, or online marketing in general please reach out the Blount Chamber's
Rachel Coffman. She is here to help you in the year ahead and will keep you on track as you fulfill your resolutions in 2016.
REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL
 Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!
Locally owned businesses pick the items and products they sell based on what they know you like and want. Local businesses carry a wider array of unique products because they buy for their own individual markets.
GOT AN EVENT OR NEWS? WE'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT
Is your organization hosting an event in the community? Submit it
here on our community calendar. If it's a tourism event, please email
Ashlee so she can post it on
www.SmokyMountains.org.
Also, please
send us any news releases or good news about your business. We'd love to share it with the community.
REMEMBER WHEN
"The Joker," by the Steve Miller Band topped the Billboard Music Charts this week in 1974. More than 16 years later, in September 1990, it reached number one in the UK Singles Chart for two weeks after being used in "Great Deal," a television advertisement for Levi's, thus holding the record for the longest gap between transatlantic chart-toppers.
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