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Happy New Year. It's 2015 and the Blount County Chamber is off and running with an afternoon mixer at Staffing Solutions this Thursday, January 8 beginning at 3:45 p.m. Use this opportunity to get out and see what happened over the holidays.
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION TICKETS ON SALE NOW
 Tickets for the 95th Blount Chamber Anniversary Celebration are on sale now. The celebration is Friday, January 30 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.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO SUBMIT YOUR SELFIES
 Now's your opportunity to be featured during the 2015 Blount Chamber's Annual Celebration set for Jan. 30 at the Airport Hilton. We want your selfies. Any selfie of you, taken any time and any place. (Please take your pictures safely; especially not while driving.)
How it Works: Be a part of our selfie collage by following these 3 easy steps: 1. Take a selfie 2. Tag #BPAM2015 3. Post your pic to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or email. Don't forget to use the #BPAM2015 tag on ALL your selfies and look for them at the Annual Celebration!
PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS ... PARTICIPATE IN "OPERATION THANK YOU"
 Participate in the Chamber's 17th annual "Operation Thank You" set for February 17-19 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 2015. 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 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"x 9" brochure or a size not to exceed 8.5" x 11" 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 5. Please contact Amy or call 865.983.2241. There is a small charge of $175 for insert enclosure.
MLK WEEKEND EVENTS ARE SET
 A full slate of events are set for the Martin Luther King, Jr., celebration weekend, January 16-19.
The rememberance kicks off at noon on January 16 with the MLK Business Luncheon at the Airport Hilton. Former University of Tennessee football All-America and current Vol For Life Coordinator Antone Davis will deliver the keynote address. Tickets are $35 and available at the Chamber by calling 865.983.2241.
Later that evening, it's free movie night at the Lambert Recital Hall in the Clayton Center for the Arts. "The Great Debaters," starring Denzel Washington, begins at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, January 17, the Spelman College Glee Club will perform at the Clayton Center's Nutt Theatre. Tickets are available at the Clayton Center box office for $7-25.
A community worship service at the St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Alcoa is set for Sunday at 4 p.m.
The celebration concludes Monday, January 19 with a parade from the MLK Center in Maryville to Maryville College at 12:30 p.m., followed by a program at the Clayton Center at 2 p.m., with Phyllis Nichols, President/CEO Knoxville Area Urban League.
GOT AN EVENT? 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
As we enter a new year of looking back on No. 1 hits on the Billboard Singles Chart, let's begin with a little silence. "The Sound of Silence," by Simon and Garfunkel, topped the music world this week in 1966. Generally considered a classic folk rock song, the song was added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" in 2013.
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