Blount Partnership News & Events

 
Be sure to join us this week for a pair of legislative briefings. The first is Tuesday, June 21 when Tennessee State Treasurer David Lillard will visit the Chamber from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Then on Friday, June 24, the City of Maryville will hold its briefing from 8-9 a.m. at the Chamber.

Also be sure to come out this weekend, June 24-25, for Hops in the Hills and Summer on Broadway this weekend in downtown Maryville. There will be plenty of family activities with the Farmer's Market, music, BBQ, arts and crafts and of course, sampling of the best regional craft beers.
 
Read our 28th installment of The Dialogue at the bottom of this email where we visit with Holly Sparks, CPM, Operations Manager of Realty Trust Group, which assists tenants, physicians, hospital clients and the community to make better real estate decisions.
 
GET YOUR PROMOTION IN FOR MEMBER-TO-MEMBER PROMOTIONAL PROGRAM
This is the final call to get your July promotion in to the Blount County Chamber of Commerce as part of its Member-to-Member Promotional Program which offers you and your company the opportunity to market your products and services to the membership.
 
Here's how it works:
1. Submit a PDF of a service, product or discount you'd like to offer to the Chamber membership to jmuir@blountpartnership.com. Be sure to include an expiration date.
2. An email with all the promotions will be sent out on the final Monday of every month (June 27) to our member database.
3. All promotions will be posted on www.BlountChamber.com
 
USING APPS TO IMPROVE BUSINESS EFFICIENCIES
There's an app for that! And there really is. On Wednesday, June 22 from noon-1:30 p.m., the Tennessee Small Business Development Center will present a free seminar about the ways mobile applications provide efficient ways to do business at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville). This is a one-time only class and will not be offered again by the TSBDC.
 
Network with like-minded entrepreneurs and learn how mobile applications can help your business be more efficient. You can also learn how to get $10,000 to grow your business. Lunch will be provided. Register here.
 
BLOUNTAREAJOBS.COM NOW LIVE
BlountAreaJobs.com is now live for those needing to post job openings. With the new site, you will need to re-register and provide an updated password. The cost is $10 for a 30-day listing and $15 for a 60-day listing. Job listings will be posted to the following: Indeed, Jobster, JuJu, Oodle, Refer.io, SimplyHired, Vast, BackPage, Glassdoor, Monster Controlled, Recruit.net, Twitter JobWatch, US Jobs, Trovit and Jooble.
 
GET YOUR TICKETS FOR HOPS IN THE HILLS
Craft beer lovers, renowned breweries and local bands will unite for the second annual Hops in the Hills festival June 24 and 25 in downtown Maryville, Tennessee. This year's festival includes a who's-who list of local and regional brewing icons, charming music from local groups and a brew crawl for craft beer enthusiasts.
 
The festivities begin Friday, June 24 with a craft brew crawl from 6 to 11 p.m. provided by Knox Brew Tours. Saturday's events include a 2:30 p.m. beer seminar at Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria led by local brewers and professors, followed by the brew festival from 4 to 8 p.m. Passes to the brew crawl cost $10. General admission tickets for Saturday are $40.
 
Hops in the Hills is also an opportunity for guests to enjoy historic Maryville, Tennessee, which serves as the gateway to the Smoky Mountains. The event is part of the Summer on Broadway celebration. It will take place at 121 West Broadway Avenue in downtown Maryville.
 
Interested parties can view a complete list of participating breweries and buy tickets at www.hopsinthehills.com.
 
SAVE THE DATE FOR PIGS AND POLITICS
The fifth annual Pigs & Politics Legislative Day returns to the Clayton Center for the Arts courtyard on the Maryville College campus Tuesday, July 26 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. Elected officials will once again be serving BBQ while collecting "tips" for their respective non-profit organizations.
 
SUMMERTIME PROMOTIONS USING SAVE LOCAL NOW
Summer is an amazing time to offer amazing deals to engage new and returning customers. Here are a few samples!

Food and Drink: Fourth of July Catering Specials! Description: 4th of July celebrations often involve family, food, grills, and fireworks. Whether you're looking to bring people together at your office or set-up a picnic with family and friends, we can help you put together some delicious options.

Activities: School's Out! Bring in your Report Card for a Free Game of Bowling Description: Is you report card something to be proud of? Reward yourself with a free game of bowling on us! If you earned an "A" (or the equivalent) on your final 2015-2016 report card, bring it into our location to redeem your free game!

Shopping: Christmas in July Sale! Description: Save BIG this summer with our Christmas in July Sale! Up to 50% off of select items both in store and online!

Beauty and Spa: Take a Mental Vacation and Relax with Us Description: Treat yourself this summer with a relaxing day of to our spa! Services include skin care services, massage services, body treatments, hand and feet treatments, aqua detox, organic waxing bar, and many more!
 
If you have any questions regarding your free digital marketing member benefit ( Save Local Now), your digital platform, or online marketing in general please reach out the Blount Chamber's Rachel Coffman. She is here to help you in the year ahead and will keep you on track as you fulfill your resolutions in 2016.
 
REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL
Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!
 
A local business will, on average, re-circulate 48% of its total revenue in the local economy through things like profits and labor, procurement of internal use, procurement for resale, and even charitable giving.
 
Find what you're looking for in the Chamber Directory.
 
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
Topping the Billboard Music Chart this week in the summer of 1981 was "Stars on 45 Medley." The song is actually entitled "Medley: Intro 'Venus' / Sugar Sugar / No Reply / I'll Be Back / Drive My Car / Do You Want to Know a Secret / We Can Work It Out / I Should Have Known Better / Nowhere Man / You're Going to Lose That Girl / Stars on 45." It is the longest titled song to ever chart in Billboard history, and is conveniently shortened to "Stars on 45 Medley", or "'Medley' by Stars on 45". The reason for the long title was copyright requirements for the use of The Beatles' songs.


Events

 

June 20-26

 

June 20 -- Alzheimer's Association The Longest Day Awareness
June 21 -- TN Achieves Community Service Day at BCCAA Meals on Wheels
June 21 -- State Briefing with TN Treasurer David Lillard
June 22 -- GAINS Computer Class-Microsoft Powerpoint @ Blount County Public Library
June 22 -- Mobile Applications - Efficient Ways to do Business
June 24 -- Local Legislative Briefing - City of Maryville
June 24-25 -- Summer on Broadway & The Big BBQ Bash
June 24 -- Hops in the Hills Craft Brew Crawl
June 24 -- Friday Night Light in Downtown Maryville
June 24 -- Acoustic Eidolon @ Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
June 24 -- Recovery Revolution at RIO Revolution
June 25 -- Putting the Cart Before the Horse...an arena of nonprofit learning @ Mane Support
June 25 -- Hops in the Hills
June 25 -- FreedomFest
June 25 -- Porch Pickin with Kendra Ward & Bob Bence @ Wood & Strings Dulcimer Shop

The Dialogue

This feature is a question-and-answer session with a new Blount County Chamber member. So here we go with our 28th installment visiting with Holly Sparks, CPM, Operations Manager of Realty Trust Group, which assists tenants, physicians, hospital clients and the community to make better real estate decisions.
 
What does the Realty Trust Group do? Since our inception in 1998, Realty Trust Group has become one of the most experienced and knowledgeable real estate advisory firms in the healthcare industry. Our philosophy is to provide innovative solutions to the complex and challenging issues found in today's healthcare real estate market. These solutions include strategic campus and facility planning, portfolio optimization, portfolio monetization, project development, site analysis and acquisition, property and asset management, transaction services, fair market value opinions and many other ideas and services.
 
What other things does Realty Trust Group focus on? Our company focuses on the "who" rather than the "what. Having the right employees, and having a set of core values have given us the skills necessary to run this business. Our core values consist of our Client Relationships, Integrity, Quality Assurance, a Culture of Self-Motivation and Execution, the ability to Encourage and Embrace Change and always remembering the Big Picture.
 
Who are your clients? Our client base is approximately 60% Hospitals/Health Systems and 40% Physician Practices.
 
What's made the largest impact on your business? The Affordable Care Act has been a factor and has impacted developers, owners and tenants. Technology is also a big factor for healthcare real estate. Medical Office buildings are being transformed into innovation centers, as opposed to your traditional spaces with magazine racks and medical charts.
 
 
Previous Profiles:
Amy McCarty and Tosha Wilhelmsen, The Artistic Bean Maryville
Dr. Drew Osborn, Foothills Pediatric Dentistry
Ray Clowers, Champion Physical Therapy Jeffrey Jeter, OneSouth Financial Group
Josh Fincher, Thermocopy
Cory Blanton, Aerotek Scientific
David Anderson, Shelter Insurance
Nancy McBee, Tennessee Trane Energy Services
Joel Honeycutt, J&S Janitorial Solutions
Suzie Cutshaw, JB&B Capital
Tom Klein, InfoSystems
Clint Woodfin, Spicer Rudstrom, PLLC
Rebecca Kiger, Home Instead Senior Care
Ben Hazel, Pree's Tree Specialists
Larry Parker, Auto Collision Experts
Jamie Weiss Photography
Jeff Jones, LC Fence
Steve White, White Enterprise Holding
Aundrea Scholem and Jennifer Madaj, Foothills Adult Care Enrichment Services
Wade McLemore, Paychex
Alan Baker, Crown Point Consultants
Shelby Avery, Avery Wealth Management
Kate Schriver, Schriver's
Elizabeth Ross, ECS Central, PLLC
Tony Saddy, Get Fit Maryville
Renee Taylor, CBI
Christy Simmers, Christy's Creative Cafe
Premier and Presidential Partners