If your business is interested in hosting a Blount Chamber afternoon mixer in 2016, the following dates are available: January 14, April 14, July 14 and October 13. The cost is $400. Mixers are designed to offer our members the opportunity to build business relationships with other members and to gain exposure for their business or organization in an open setting. Please email Amy for more information.

 

Please note that the Blount County local briefing with Mayor Ed Mitchell scheduled for July 24 at 8 a.m. will now be held at the Blount Partnership office located at 201 S. Washington St., Maryville, Tenn.

 

CHAMBER BENEFIT OF THE WEEK

Offer your employees the opportunity to receive discounts on prescription drugs and other health care services, regardless of any health insurance program you offer. The Blount Partnership Discount Prescription Drug Card is free and there is no enrollment. Simply create and print your FREE Prescription Drug Card and receive savings of up to 75% (discounts average roughly 30%) at more than 56,000 national and regional pharmacies. This card can be used as your primary plan and/or it can be used on prescriptions not covered by your insurance plan. PRINT YOUR CARD HERE.
 

Please Rate This Benefit 

 

SOOOIE! PIGS AND POLITICS RETURNS IN AUGUST

The fourth annual Pigs & Politics Legislative Day returns to the Clayton Center for the Arts courtyard on the Maryville College campus Thursday, August 13 from 4:30-7:30 p.m.

 

This is a great opportunity for the public to visit with candidates and elected officials as they mingle in a summer pig roast setting with the community. There are no speeches; just a lot of Calhoun's BBQ, beer provided by Smoky Mountain Brewery and a live performance by the Jeff Jopling Band.

 

Elected officials will once again be serving BBQ while collecting "tips" for their respective non-profit organizations.

 

Tickets, which are $25 (public), $20 (Chamber) and $10 (kids), are available by calling 865.983.2241 or ONLINE.

 

LACE UP THOSE SHOES FOR THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS HALF MARATHON

Following a successful run last year, the Great Smoky Mountains Half Marathon presented by Vacation Races returns to the Townsend area Sept. 12 at 7:30 a.m. Register online.

 

The course is a beautiful run through the woods just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The course begins near Heritage High School in the Hubbard Community outside Maryville and ends in Townsend, just under a mile from the National Park boundary. The finish line is at the lot next to the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend with beautiful views of the mountains.

 

BE SURE YOUR BUSINESS IS PARTICIPATING IN SAVE LOCAL NOW

The Blount Partnership is thrilled to announce Save Local Now, our newest FREE member benefit! We at the Blount Chamber chose to partner with Save Local Now for many reasons. Here are the top three:
1. Save Local Now brings our community a proven "Buy Local initiative.
2. Save Local Now provides our members with free digital marketing tools.
3. Save Local Now offers our members effective time management solutions.

 

Chamber members can use Save Local Now to create, manage and analyze their very own digital marketing campaigns. Bundled together on one single platform, Save Local Now includes live business listings, deal and event publishing, email marketing, iPhone and Android apps, social media sharing, SEO, and real-time analytics. After receiving an activation email, members of the Blount Chamber are eligible to create unlimited digital marketing campaigns using the Save Local Now platform.

 

For consumers, Save Local Now ( www.savelocalnow.com) is a website and iPhone and Android app that gives people access to exclusive offers from their favorite businesses. Locals and tourists alike can use Save Local Now to access deals, events and savings where they shop, eat and play from any browser on any device. Access local deals, events, and promotions by visiting savelocalnow.com, or by downloading the free SLN app on your iPhone or Android. Saving money and buying local in Blount County has never been easier.

 

FREE BUSINESS OPERATION WORKSHOPS

The Blount County Chamber of Commerce and the Blount County Library have partnered with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center to present free business operation workshops on Google, social media, business marketing and planning, starting a business and government contracting for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

 

Workshops are held at the Blount County Chamber, 201 S. Washington St., Maryville, TN, and at the Blount County Library, 508 North Cusick Street, Maryville, TN. Participants are free to bring their own lunch.

 

For more information or to attend any of the following workshops, participants are asked to register by clicking on the Training tab at www.tsbdc.org.

 

Location	Date	Seminar Topic	Time
Library	Aug. 6	Growth Wheel - Business Processes	11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Register Here
Chamber	Aug. 20	Google-ize Your Business	11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Register Here
Library	Sept. 10	Growth Wheel - Choosing Employees	11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Chamber	Sept. 24	Starting a Business	9 a.m.-Noon
Chamber	Oct. 8	Social Media	11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Library	Oct. 22	Growth Wheel - Ownership & Management	11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Chamber	Nov. 12	Business Planning	9 a.m.-Noon

 

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

Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill," the theme for the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, topped the Billboard Music Chart this week in 1985. It remains the only James Bond theme song to have reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Duran Duran - A View to a Kill