If you or someone you know is looking for a job, please check out www.BlountAreaJobs.com. Additionally, if you need employees, please utilize the job board to advertise your open positions. Click here to get started.

 

WELCOME NEW BUSINESSES

Join us on Tuesday, June 13 at 11 a.m. for the Rocky Top Finance (321 S. Hall Road, Alcoa) ribbon cutting ceremony. Refreshments will be provided including cake from Walmart.

Then on Thursday, June 14, the Cades Cove Gallery (7843 E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy, Townsend) is holding its grand opening and ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Refreshments will be provided. Several guests and artists will be at this event showcasing the newest gallery in Townsend.

 

BLOOD DRIVE SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY

During the summer months, blood centers all over the country run short on all blood types. Shortages often happen around the same times each year: July - August and December - January. That's why the Blount Chamber has partnered with Camellia Trace Apartments (1201 Camellia Trace Dr., Maryville) in a community blood drive on June 14 from noon-6 p.m. Stop by and give blood to help save a life. Receive two free T-shirts, a Chick-fil-A sandwich, a free Texas Roadhouse appetizer and more.

 

DIY MARKETING SERIES: SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Join us on Tuesday, June 13 from 9-10:30 a.m. as Jeremy LaDuke, Chief Storyteller with Epic Nine Marketing, will present the second installment of the DIY Marketing Series focusing on Search Engine Optimization. Jeremy will discuss the basics of how to ensure you're on-line marketing strategy is successful using relevant content and on-going analysis. Our first DIY focused on social media and we had a full house, so make sure to RSVP! Light breakfast foods and drinks will be served. RSVP here.

 

THE POWER OF THE INBOX: TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL EMAIL MARKETING

Join us on Wednesday, June 14 from 9-11:30 a.m. as Constant Contact's Mike Coleman presents " The Power of the Inbox: Tips and strategies for successful email marketing." Register here.

Your list of customers, clients, donors, and prospects is the most important asset you have in your business. So it's important that you spend time and find the right strategy to build your list. Email marketing is the best (and proven) way to build your list. But it is essential to your business that you use the right strategies to make your email marketing work.

This powerful seminar takes you step-by-step through the keys to effective email marketing (and building your list).

From revealing why regular email doesn't work, to insider tips and techniques like automated list building tools and the design elements that work (and those that don't!), this seminar will give you the keys to the most effective marketing you can do: email marketing. Join us!

 

HOPS IN THE HILLS/SUMMER ON BROADWAY

The third annual Hops in the Hills festival is set to ramp up June 23 and 24 in downtown Maryville, Tennessee. This yearly craft beer festival will celebrate the science and agriculture of the region, showcasing the area's finest artisan brews. Beer, food and music enthusiasts alike will gather to enjoy the celebration.

Hops in the Hills brew week, June 19 to 22, leads up to the main event over the weekend with a week-long "Celebration of Fermentation." Each day, a different brewery will feature prizes, games and music for visitors to prepare them for the weekend's events.

The larger festivities begin Friday, June 23 with a new craft brew crawl and poker run from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. provided by Knox Brew Tours. Participants pick a card at each crawl stop to build their hand to win prizes. Saturday's main event is a brew festival from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a full schedule of events to be posted soon. Passes to the brew crawl cost $15. General admission tickets for Saturday are $50 per person or $60 the day of the event and include a t-shirt and commemorative glass as well as all of the food and brew visitors can sample. TICKETS

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, a series of events to celebrate the summer season.

 

FREEDOM FEST

The 39th annual City of Alcoa FreedomFest is a free public event held the last Saturday in June. The event is held at the City of Alcoa Duck Pond on Springbrook Road. Held this year on Saturday, June 24, 2017 from 6:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m., attendees can enjoy a variety of food vendors, children's activities, military exhibits , and live entertainment. The highlight of the evening is a 20-minute musically choreographed fireworks display produced by the world renowned and awarding winning Pyro Shows - a provider of fireworks entertainment throughout the world for almost half a century. Pyro has had pyrotechnic displays from Stockholm, Sweden, to San Sebastian, Spain, and from Abu Dhabi in the UAE, to Taipei, Taiwan. This is an annual event anticipated by not only the immediate community, but also by attendees from surrounding East Tennessee counties. A portion of the event proceeds goes to the Alcoa City Schools Foundation.

 

DEALING WITH WORKPLACE STRESS

Join COMPASSion Counseling on Wednesday, June 28 from 8:30-9:30 a.m. at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville) as they offer some helpful ways to deal with workplace stress as a business leader and help your workplace become a healthy environment where employees thrive. Learn what is work place stress, learn leading causes of stress, learn symptons of stress, learn why stress is costing employers $300 billion a year and how employers can prevent burnout. RSVP to Amy.

 

JUNE MEMBER-TO-MEMBER PROMOTIONS

Member-to-member promotions for June are here. Check out the special deals from Louisville Mercantile and Pipe Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. See these and other promotions at member-to-member promotions. New offers are being posted almost daily, so check out the Blount County Chamber of Commerce Member-to-Member promotions online. This Member-to-Member Promotional Program 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 to our member database.
3. All promotions will be posted on www.BlountChamber.com

 

SIDEWALK SALE SUCCESS

Because some customers wait all year to make purchases until this yearly sale, small businesses need to take advantage of the plentiful foot traffic in order to sell as much product as possible. Easier said than done. Does your town participate in a blowout Sidewalk Sale? If yes, keep reading for some foolproof advice on Sidewalk Sale success. Read more

Learn more about marketing your small business in a digital world, ask questions about social media, and take the time to discuss future campaign ideas. What are you waiting for? It's free with your chamber membership. Schedule your FREE session today.

 

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.

 

REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL

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

 

Independent businesses are where most interesting concepts and new ideas are generated.

 

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

"Thank God I'm a Country Boy," recorded by John Denver, went No. 1 this week on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. It also topped the Billboard Country Singles Chart the week prior.