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 The Townsend Fall Heritage Festival and Old Timer's Day is this Friday and Saturday, September 26-27. The gates will open at 10 a.m. both days for visitors to shop handmade crafts from over 40 crafters and enjoy food from over a dozen food vendors. The music lineup for the weekend include some of Tennessee and the Southeast's best bluegrass bands. Admission to the festival is free. Parking is $8 and benefits the Townsend Volunteer Fire Department.
 The 2015 Basically Blount lifestyle magazine and membership directory is entering its production phase. This annual, full-color periodical which includes intriguing stories and area photography that highlight the best of Blount County, plus your business, also has a finger-indexed, color-coded directory and buyer's guide of all Chamber members. The publication, which is a commemorative over-sized magazine, is distributed throughout the area and is an excellence resource for you to promote your business to customers seeking goods and services from area businesses. Check out the media kit for more information. GET TICKETS FOR THIS SPOOKTAKULAR EVENT  Tickets are on sale for $10 for the Spooktakular Party at Primetime Oct. 28 at Maryville College's Alumni Gym. This Halloween-themed event is your best opportunity to meet many Chamber members from all sectors of the community in one location. 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! With more than 120 businesses participating, you'll want to get your tickets by calling the Blount Partnership at 865.983.2241 or emailing Amy. Whether you decide to have a table top space or not, come and network at the largest networking event in Blount County. TICKETS ON SALE FOR BEST OF BLOUNT AWARDS  The Blount Excellence Awards have been renamed the Best of Blount Awards, and 2014 marks the first time the awards will focus on the Blount County community as a whole, rather than only on the business community. Hosted by The Blount Partnership for over 10 years, the Best of Blount will now celebrate those individuals and businesses that give their time and resources to make our county such a great place. The event will be the evening of November 6 at the Clayton Center for the Arts, with a reception starting at 5:15 p.m. The awards ceremony and speaker starts promptly at 6:30 p.m., with awards presented in five categories: Business of the Year, Philanthropist of the Year, Community Impact Award, Bright Future Award and Tourism Award. Each will be given to a peer-nominated business or individual, with each nomination vetted and reviewed by an independent committee. Nominees do not have to reside inside Blount County, but must have made an impact on the Blount County community over the last 12 months.  Our special guest for the evening will be Robert O'Neill, a member of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. One of the most highly decorated veterans of our time, he has deployed more than a dozen times and held combat leadership roles in more than 400 combat missions. He has been involved in some of our nation's most important campaigns. Mr. O'Neill is speaking on behalf of Your Grateful Nation, a non-profit corporation that is dedicated to supporting our special operation heroes and their families by providing executive-level mentoring, transitional services and family stabilization support. Schedule 5:15-6:15 p.m. - Heavy hors d'oeuvres reception 6:30 p.m. - Awards Ceremony 7:00 p.m. - Special guest Robert O'Neill Tickets are on sale by calling 865.983.2241 or online $45 - Chamber Member & General public with heavy hors d'oeuvres $35 - Chamber VIP Member include heavy hors d'oeuvres (Must call Chamber to reserve) $25 - Chamber Member & General public without heavy hors d'oeuvres tnACHIEVES NEEDS MENTORS  There are six weeks remaining to recruit the 6,000 mentors required to meet anticipated Tennessee Promise student demand. Thanks to your support we currently have 3,156 volunteers. And thanks to those of you who have helped with mentor recruitment. Remember, it is a ONE hour a MONTH commitment. Mentors serve as encouragers, resources, and task masters to primarily first generation students. tnAchieves mentors complete an application at www.tnachieves.org/mentor-application, choose their preferred high school, complete a one-hour training session, attend two one-hour meetings, and communicate with students every two weeks via email, phone or text as they transition from high school to college. IS YOUR BUSINESS GOOGLE-IZED?  You'll want to take advantage of this FREE class offered by the Tennessee Small Business Development Center. Sandi Sturm, a Certified Inbound Marketing Specialist, and Wayne Sturm, a Trusted Google Business View Photographer, will show you how to use Google to improve your online presence. The three-hour class takes place Wednesday, October 1 at the Pellissippi State Blount County Campus from noon-3 p.m. Bring your lunch for an eat, meet and greet from 11:30 a.m.-noon. Register here.
- Learn how to optimize your Google presence and develop an online and inbound marketing strategy.
- Learn what Google really favors for proper SEO, blogging, and social media promotions.
- Discover useful tools to create lead generation campaigns and take advantage of mobile opportunities and learn more about "Google My Business" interface.
VOTER REGISTRATION WEEK  This week, September 22-26, the Blount Partnership and the Tennessee Chamber are participating in Employee Voter Registration Week (EVRW). EVRW is an initiative organized by the business community to encourage employee voter registration. We have joined this effort in hopes that, together, we can reach the goal of having 100,000 voter forms downloaded during EVRW. Our belief is that, when employees vote, the business community's voice is heard. Don't let someone make the decision for you. Get registered. Get out the vote. 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 I'm going back 40 years to this week in 1974 when 3-time Grammy Award-winner Barry White topped the Billboard Singles chart with "Cant' Get Enough of Your Love, Babe."
 | | Barry White - Can't get enough of your Love, Babe |
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