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 The Taste of Blount is next Thursday, Sept. 11 from 6-8 p.m. and the food and entertainment lineup couldn't be any better. We'll be at the Theater in the Park by the Blount County Courthouse, and the restaurants are ready for your appetites. Tickets are on sale now for $25 each, public is $30 and students are $15 with ID. Remember, admission goes up $5 the night of the event. So get your tickets online or call 865.983.2241.
The annual supervisor training and human resources seminar is coming up Sept. 4 at the Blount County Library. Check out the program and register here.
Three weeks from Friday, the Townsend Fall Festival begins and it's coming together nicely. This year we've added new crafters and additional food vendors, all who will be sharing their crafts and food to the sounds of traditional live bluegrass music that will be playing throughout the Festival. Admission is free, but we are offering a two-day parking pass for $10. That'll save you six dollars off the regular parking rate.
 See who's signed up for Primetime Oct. 28 at Maryville College's Alumni Gym. It's a Spooktakular Party at Primetime where we mix up a concoction of business connections, food music games and door prizes.
This Halloween-themed event is your best opportunity to meet many Chamber members from all sectors of the community in one location. For a $10 ticket, you will be provided a display area, but instead of standing at your booth, like a traditional trade show, you can use this event to network and meet new people in the business community!
There are 88 four-foot booth spaces available on a first-come basis. Get your tickets, booth space or donate a door prize by emailing Amy or call 865.273.1206. NOMINATIONS ARE STILL OPEN FOR BEST OF BLOUNT AWARDS  Do you know a person or business that should be considered for a Best of Blount Award? Nominate them today for either business of the year, philanthropist of the year, community impact award, tourism award and bright future award.  In addition, be sure to mark your calendar for Nov. 6. The awards ceremony will be held at the Clayton Center for the Arts and Rob O'Neill, one of the most highly-decorated combat veterans of our time, is our guest speaker. He was a team leader with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. O'Neill has deployed more than a dozen times, and held combat leadership roles in more than 400 combat missions in four different theaters of war. A highly-trained Navy SEAL, he led the military's most elite and was involved in our nation's most important campaigns. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned for more information about the 2014 Best of Blount Awards. VACATION RACES  Do you like distance running? If so, you'll want to take part in the Vacation Races half marathon set for Sept. 20. The course runs from Heritage High School in the Hubbard Community outside Maryville and ends in Townsend. Find out more information at greatsmokymountainshalfmarathon.com and check out the promo video. BUT FIRST LET ME TAKE A #SELFIE Now's your opportunity to be featured during the 2015 Blount Partnership Annual Meeting 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 Meeting! 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 Sticking with movie themes for the second consecutive week, we'll go back to this week in 1982 when "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor was ending its six-week run atop the Billboard Charts. It was written at the request of actor Sylvester Stallone for the movie Rocky III.
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