Blount Partnership News & vents

 
Please join us for Blount County Eye Center's ribbon cutting and grand opening at 702 S. Foothills Plaza, Maryville, on Wednesday, Sept. 2 from 2-5 p.m.
 
Don't forget to check out The Dialogue at the bottom of this email. It's a question-and-answer session with a new Blount County Chamber member. So here we go with our fourth installment with Renee Taylor, Director of Business Development at CBI.
 
TASTE OF BLOUNT IS HERE
A tasty way to sample flavorful cuisine is back for the 14th consecutive year as Taste of Blount, hosted by the Blount Partnership and the city of Maryville and sponsored by MK Russell & Abbott, Citizens Bank of Blount County, Clayton Homes and Partners Development, is being held at the Theater in the Park in Maryville (across from the Blount County Courthouse) Thursday, Sept. 3 from 6-8 p.m. You can also experience a NEW beverage area for $10.
 
Twenty-one restaurants, caterers and gourmet grocers are participating this year's event. They include: Apple Valley Country Store & Cafe, Buffalo Wild Wings, Calhoun's, Chadwick's Churn, Chick-fil-A Hunter's Crossing, Dead End BBQ, Dominos, Hilton Knoxville Airport, Honey Baked Ham, Full Service BBQ, Jet's Pizza, Kroger of Maryville, Lambert's Southern Pies & Bake Shop, Lemon Grass of Maryville, McAlister's Deli, Miss Lily's Cafe, Rocky's Jamaica Sunrise, Roland's Bistro, Ruby Tuesday, Smokin' Joe's Bar-B-Que and Vienna Coffee House.
 
Advance tickets, which are $25 for chamber members, $30 for the public and $15 for students 17 and under, are available at the Chamber office (201 S. Washington St., Maryville, Tenn.), by phone 865.983.2241 or online. Ticket prices go up $5 at the gate on the night of the event.
 
BE SURE TO ATTEND PROCUREMENT DIVISION'S VENDOR DAY
The Procurement Division of the Blount County Government will host an Introduction and Business Information Event on Wednesday, September 23 from 8-10 a.m. at the Blount County Courthouse in room 315.
 
We are very excited to provide this exceptional opportunity for community businesses to enjoy a coffee and meet & greet with the Purchasing Agent, Katie Branham and the procurement team. In addition, end-users will be on hand such as the Facilities Coordinators for the Schools and County.
 
The purpose of the event is simply to meet our vendors and to match businesses with our team. We aspire to promote local contract opportunities for products/services and to create relationships to build future business opportunities. In addition, we will have a computer on site to set up and/or update businesses on Vendor Registry. Or business can register by going to vendorregistry.com.
 
In summary, this event will provide a unique marketing/advertising opportunity to companies by having the opportunity to interact with procurement representatives and to facilitate future relationships. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Purchasing Department at (865) 273-5745 or via email.
 
SOFT SKILLS SEMINARS
It's Your Career! That's the focus of eight 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 nine 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. 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 the first three classes with the inaugural class entitled "Time Management Techniques to Improve Your Productivity at Work" set for Sept. 18. This class aims to help people gain techniques and tools to help them manage their time effectively and increase their overall productivity. Sign up deadline is Sept. 1.
 
The other classes with open registration are "Can You Have It All? Achieving Work-Life Balance for Business and Personal Success" and "Working Smarter: Keys to Career Success," are set for Oct. 16 and Nov. 20, respectively.
 
REGISTER FOR SUPERVISOR TRAINING
The Blount Partnership, along with law firms Wimberly Lawson and Lewis Thomason, is hosting a three-part supervisor training - human resource/legal seminar on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015 from 8:30-11 a.m. at the Blount Chamber office located at 201 S. Washington St., Maryville, Tenn.
 
Topics include Tips for Hiring and Firing Employees without Getting Burned presented by Lynn Peterson of Lewis Thomason, Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team presented by Stacy Myers of Advanced Management, Inc. and Performance Reviews and Other Feedback given by Howard Jackson of Wimberly Lawson, Wright, Daves & Jones PLLC.
 
The cost is $25 per person (If you send two or more employees you will receive the registration price of $20 per employee). Click here for topic synopsis and registration info.
 
REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL
Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!
 
More money spent at local businesses is reinvested in our community creating diversity and helping the community maintain or create its unique appeal.
 
Why Buy Locally Owned?
Private and public sector services tend to cluster around shops. As shops disappear so do hairdressers, banks, restaurants, etc.
 
Find what you're looking for in the Chamber Directory.
 
CHAMBER BENEFIT OF THE WEEK
72dpi Looking save money on your fuel costs? Check out what ExxonMobil has to offer. Save 10¢ per gallon during the first six months and then 6¢ after that. Click here to find out more. This is more than just a fuel card. It's a fleet management solution that can help you better manage your vehicles, lower your fuel costs, and monitor driver usage. Choose between the ExxonMobil Business Fleet card, with great fuel rebates, and the ExxonMobil Fleet National card, with acceptance at more than 90% of U.S. retail fueling locations. Both cards offer the convenience of online account management and flexible security controls that are customizable to meet your business needs. Please contact Barry Nelson at 404-545-5304
 
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
Chamber Sept. 24 Starting a Business 9 a.m.-Noon Register Here
Library Sept. 29 Email Marketing 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Register Here
Chamber Oct. 8 Google + 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Register Here
Library Oct. 22 Growth Wheel - Ownership & Management 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Register Here
Chamber Nov. 12 Business Planning 9 a.m.-Noon
 
HATHORN, BURG JOIN MARY BETH WEST COMMUNICATIONS
Mary Beth West Communications, LLC, welcomed two new team members this month -- Taylor Hathorn, who will serve as the firm's communications manager, and Alison Burg, who is transitioning from account service intern to communications and administrative assistant.
 
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
This week in 1993, UB40's "Can't Help Falling in Love" was in its sixth of seven weeks atop the Billboard Singles chart. A remake of the song originally recorded by Elvis in 1961, this version appeared on the soundtrack of Sliver.
"Can't Help Falling in Love" - UB40

Events
August 31-September 6

 

 

September 7-13

 

 

Save the Date

 


You can access the entire calendar here to see other community events and submit your own.
Don't forget to check out the Hot Deals brought to you from other Chamber members. Add your Hot Deal by emailing Amy to get your login info.

The Dialogue

This feature, a question-and-answer session with a new Blount County Chamber member, will appear every week. So here we go with our fourth installment with Renee Taylor, Director of Business Development at CBI. They are located at 128 S Gay St. in Knoxville.
 
Describe what the CBI does. CBI is one of the nation's leading premier interior solutions providers. We believe that good design is good business. We believe that the workplace matters and that the built environment, when leveraged correctly, can have a profound and positive effect on people, processes and our clients' business.
 
Tell more about this type of business? The foundation of our success past, present and future is centered on our clients and the CBI experience we deliver for them. Words alone will not do justice when describing this experience; however, the core of this experience is based on CBI meeting our client's needs and exceeding their expectations at every touch. We will achieve this by focusing on our mission and guiding principles. Our mission is simple: To be the premier interior solutions provider in the industry. We will achieve this mission though three guiding principles: providing a challenging and rewarding work environment for our associates, relentless pursuit of excellence in everything we do, and managing profitability to ensure longevity. With 10 locations across the southeast we service a large base of clients on a local, regional and national level specializing in corporate office, higher education, healthcare and industrial applications.
Premier and Presidential Partners