Make plans to join us for the Soup Kitchen's ribbon cutting ceremony this Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. Let's welcome the Soup Kitchen back to Blount County. It's located at 245 Calderwood Ave., Alcoa, TN.

 

It's not too late to sign up for the soft skills training at the Blount County Library this Friday, Oct. 16 from 8-10 a.m. This session is entitled "Can You Have It All? Achieving Work-Life Balance for Business and Personal Success." Register online.

 

Don't forget about our Women in Business dutch treat lunch set for next Monday, Oct. 19 at the Airport Hilton from noon-1 p.m. These luncheons provide an avenue for women share best practices and discuss issues relevant to their work. Led by Sharon Hannum, the topic for this meeting will be "How to Apply Basic Change Principles for Your Business or Team."

 

DRESS UP IN YOUR COSTUME AND JOIN US FOR PRIMETIME

It's a Spooktacular Party at Primetime presented by US Cellular.

Primetime will be here on Tuesday, Oct. 27 from 4-6 p.m. at Maryville College's Alumni Gym. Admission is $15. Don't forget to bring a door prize.

This Halloween-themed event is your best opportunity to meet many Chamber members from all sectors of the community in one location. Use this event to network and meet new people in the business community!

To get your tickets or sign up to give away door prizes please call the Blount Partnership at 865.983.2241 or email [email protected]

Come network at the largest networking event in Blount County.

 

COMEDIAN FRANK CALIENDO TO PERFORM AT BEST OF BLOUNT AWARDS

Comedian, actor and impressionist Frank Caliendo will perform at the Best of Blount Awards on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Maryville College's Clayton Center for the Arts. Chamber members can get their discounted tickets for $25 until Oct. 26 by calling the Chamber at 865.983.2241 or clicking here. General public tickets are also available at the Clayton Center for $30.

 

Caliendo is best known for his work on the Fox Network television series MADtv, and as the in-house prognosticator for Fox NFL Sunday. In 2007 and 2008, he performed his impersonations on his own show, Frank TV, which aired on TBS. He is known for his impressions of Charles Barkley, NFL color commentator John Madden, sportscaster Jim Rome, comedian Robin Williams, actors Morgan Freeman and William Shatner, and United States Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

 

The Best of Blount, which focuses on the Blount County community as a whole rather than only on the business sector, celebrates those individuals and businesses that give their time and resources to make this area an outstanding place to live and work. Awards will be given for Philanthropist of the Year, Community Impact Award, Bright Future Award, Business of the Year and the Tourism Award.

 

HAPPY HAUNTING FROM OUR SAVE LOCAL NOW PROGRAM

Now that it's officially October, we're here to encourage you to create Halloween specific promotions using your Save Local Now digital platform. 7 out of 10 consumers are more likely to use a local business if it has information available on a social media site, so don't be a scaredy cat! Share your posts to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ AND your email list directly from your platform! Ghosts, goblins, and ghouls may be popping up around town before you know it.

 

TIP: When you're creating posts for your business on SLN, make sure to use some SPOOK-tacular vocabulary when naming them. "Slashing prices," "Eat, Drink and be Scary," and "Lend Me Your Ear" are just a few examples.

 

TRICK: Appear in more places by using trending hashtags in your posts. #TrickOrTreat, #HappyHalloween, #HalloweenIsComing, and #HappyHaunting will get you started.

 

Save Local Now is a FREE member benefit. Your digital platform includes the four main components of online marketing: content publishing, search engine optimization, email marketing, and social media sharing. Contact Rachel Coffman for more information.

 

REGISTRATION CONTINUES FOR TWO SOFT SKILLS SESSIONS

It's Your Career! That's the focus of 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.

 

Registrations are currently being accepted for "Can You Have It All? Achieving Work-Life Balance for Business and Personal Success" and "Working Smarter: Keys to Career Success," on Oct. 16 and Nov. 20, respectively.

 

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.

 

REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL

Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!

 

Local businesses tend to buy and sell with other local businesses.

 

Find what you're looking for in the Chamber Directory.

 

CHAMBER BENEFIT OF THE WEEK

Attend a free 30-minute marketing evaluation with 42nd Street Design and receive 250 free business cards. The evaluation includes website audit, overview of social media strategies, tips about effect Google marketing, advise on top 10 free directories. Call 865.382.7007or email

 

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	Oct. 22	Growth Wheel - Ownership & Management	11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Register Here

 

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 1968, "Hey Jude" by The Beatles was in the second of a nine-week run atop the Billboard Music chart. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song Paul McCartney wrote to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce. More than seven minutes in length, it was at the time the longest single ever to top the British charts.

Hey Jude - The Beatles