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AFTERNOON MIXER AT FIRST HORIZON
 Join us for the first
Afternoon Mixer of 2020 at First Horizon (1820 W. Broadway, Maryville) from 3:45-5 p.m. to gain exposure for your business or organization. Mixers are designed to offer our members the opportunity to build business relationships with other members and to gain exposure for their business or organization in an "open house" setting and open to anyone associated with a Chamber member business. Participation is not reserved to the representative(s) listed on the Chamber membership.
CREATIVE AND AFFORDABLE WAYS TO FIND AND KEEP TALENT
 Finding and keeping talent continues to be the top challenge of many organizations. Learn the basics of total rewards, the psychology behind the concept, and explore and uncover alternative methods for recognizing and rewarding employees without breaking the bank. Make plans to attend our next Success in 90 Seminar on Wednesday, January 8 from 8:30-10:00 a.m. at the Blount Partnership. The topic will be "Total Rewards: Creative and Affordable Ways to Find and Keep Talent" by Kurt Greene of Vistage.
Register online for this January 8, 2020 seminar held at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville) from 8:30-10 a.m.
The Program, ID No. 506042, has been approved for 2.00 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR, aPHRi, PHR, PHRca, SPHR, GPHR, PHRi and SPHRi recertification through HR Certification Institute (HRCI).
MAXIMIZE YOUR MEMBERSHIP
 If you're new to the Chamber or just want to
know more about your membership, then join us January 9 from 2-3 p.m. at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville) as Tammi Ford will explain your benefits and the many opportunities that go along with membership.
PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS WITH OPERATION THANK YOU
 Promote your business during "Operation Thank You" by sending 1650 promotional "swag" items, gift certificates, brochures or flyers to us and we will distribute them during "Operation Thank You." Your Chamber constantly looks for ways to help you promote your business buy using the ABC theory - Always Buy Chamber. These inserts should be delivered to the Chamber no later than 5:00 p.m. Thursday, February 6. There is a charge of $250 for insert enclosure.
Participate in the Chamber's 22nd annual "Operation Thank You" set for February 17-19 and meet other business people on a one-on-one basis. During this three-day event, Chamber members, the Chamber staff and Board of Directors will personally deliver Chamber member information packets for 2020. You can agree to call on as many or as few members as your schedule permits. If you, someone (or several people) from your business, organization or group are interested in participating, please contact Amy Lawson at
alawson@blountpartnership.com or call 865.983.2241.
MLK BUSINESS LUNCHEON
 The
MLK business luncheon will be held at the Airport Hilton on January 17 at noon. The cost is $35 per person or $350 per table of 10. Reservations are required to attend this event and can be made by calling the Blount County Chamber of Commerce at 865-983-2241. The keynote speaker will be Radio and TV Personality, Mr. Hallerin Hilton Hill.
THE ISSUE: THE LACK OF SOFT SKILLS
 The Solution: Greg Coker's Soft Skills Boot Camp
This seminar, held January 24, 2020 at the UT Conference Center, 600 Henley St. 4th Floor in Knoxville from 8:30 a.m.-noon, provides a powerful message about the necessary skills that will lead to increased employee effectiveness while boosting a company's productivity, retention and customer satisfaction. Seminar topics will include: image, importance of strategies, creativity, communications, project management, problem-solving skills, customer service, teamwork, conflict resolution, exceeding expectations and leadership
This powerful workshop is designed to accomplish THREE THINGS:
1. Define the gap in employees Soft Skills
2. Build the training for improving Soft Skills
3. Provide easy-to-understand tools to help
Topics covered: Leading/Following; Managing; Employee Engagement; Emotional Intelligence; Customer Satisfaction; Coaching; Change; Teamwork; Culture; Problem-Solving; Organizational Dynamics
Register today
www.tnchamber.org, Click on Events and the date of workshop. Fees are $125 for TN Chamber members and $175 for Non-members.
POWER CONNECT LUNCH
 Join us for a midday networking lunch on January 22 at 11:30 a.m., at In/Out Pizza (501 N. Cusick St., Maryville). Meet, Mingle, Lunch, Connect, Nibble, Engage and Network with other influential professionals.
While you (and the other guests) will have an opportunity to introduce your business, current areas of focus and/or anything you could use help with, all I ask is that everyone shows up with a focus on how they may be able to add value for the other attendees.
Open to ALL Blount County Chamber members, but you
must RSVP online. This is a Dutch Treat lunch.
Event chair Tony Saddy of
Get Fit Maryville will lead the event.
REGIONAL LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST
 Make plans to attend Regional Legislative Agenda Breakfast held January 31 from 7:30-9 a.m. at the New Hope Center (602 Scarboro Rd., Oak Ridge). This annual event is a partnership of the Oak Ridge, Knoxville and Blount County chambers of commerce. The three chambers identify issues of importance in our state and those issues will be introduced during the breakfast. Legislators who represent the region will be in attendance to comment.
Tickets are $25 per person and may be
purchased online.
Following the breakfast, there will be a tour of Y-12. Pre-registration is required for the tour and space is limited. To be placed on the list, please email
Shelby Fowler.
TOOLS TO HELP EMPLOYERS NAVIGATE THE OPIOID CRISIS
 Tennessee has been hit hard by the opioid crisis-harming individuals, families, communities, and employers. Each year, Tennessee's economy loses billions in lost workforce productivity. The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry is working to provide real solutions to employers to better manage this the opioid crisis.
Join us for a breakfast discussion, connect with recovery resources, and learn how to create programs to support employees struggling with opioid dependence. This event presented by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and co-hosted by the Blount Partnership is set for February 20 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the Airport Hilton (2001 Alcoa Hwy., Alcoa).
Each event will highlight local resources and organizations employers can work with to prevent opioid misuse in the workplace, create programs to reduce stigma, and help direct opioid dependent employees to recovery services. We'll convene employers with first responders, law enforcement, recovery organizations, and community leaders to foster meaningful dialog on working together to solve this community and economic crisis.
There is no fee to attend, but
registration is required here.
GLENN SHEPARD SEMINAR RETURNS FEBRUARY 6
 This is a world class professional development course designed specifically for supervisors on the front line, who directly manage two or more employees. It's for managers who are "in the trenches", like the restaurant manager who can't open tonight because three of his servers didn't show up for work, the dentist who spends as much time dealing with her employees as treating patients, etc.
In this full day seminar, these top 9 modules will be covered:
Module 1: How to Find Good People when the Labor Market is Tight
Module 2: How to Manage, Motivate, and Communicate with Millennials
Module 3: Behavioral Psychology for Managers
Module 4: How to Do Performance Evaluations
Module 5: How to Reduce Tardiness and Absenteeism
Module 6: How to Motivate People
Module 7: Advanced Supervisory Skills for Managers
Module 8: How to Use Affirmative Discipline to Correct People When They Get Off Track - without Demoralizing Them
Module 9: How to Fire Without Fear
Your Chamber has worked out a great deal for you on the tuition. Managers have paid as much as $1,295 to hear Glenn Shepard speak. You, as a member of the Chamber, may attend this event for only $197, and your fourth company registration is FREE! Non-chamber members tuition is $247. This seminar is approved for 5.50 (General) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute and SHRM.
REGISTER HERE.
FUTURE OF SHOPPING SMALL GRANT PROGRAM
 American Express is teaming up with Main Street America to give 10 small business owners $10,000 each to help their businesses thrive. The American Express Future of Shopping Small Grant Program is intended to support small businesses that are looking to implement new technology and strategies, ultimately helping them navigate the current challenges facing the retail and servicing industries and strengthen older and historic commercial districts.
Grant applicants will be asked to demonstrate their commitment to supporting their local community and should be interested in implementing principles described in American Express's Future of Shopping Small Guide. The guide is filled with actionable tips that could help small business owners begin to future-proof their businesses. You can view the guide
here.
The deadline to apply for the grant is March 31, 2020 or whenever the first 3,000 applications have been submitted, whichever is sooner. Learn more about the program on
the website and
apply here.
Eligible small businesses are those businesses in the U.S. with fewer than 100 employees that are recognized as a business (e.g., not an unincorporated contractor or self-employed individual), that are not part of a national franchise, and that operate out of a physical location (i.e. online only businesses are not eligible).
SIGN UP FOR THE JANUARY SOFT SKILLS CLASS
 It's Your Career! That's the focus of a free soft skills session offered in partnership by the Blount County Public Library, the Adult Education Foundation of Blount County and the Blount County Chamber of Commerce.
Registrations are currently being accepted online at
www.blountchamber.com for a class entitled Building Success by Developing Leadership on January 24. Learn the difference between management and leadership. Explore the characteristics, qualities and attributes of proven leaders, and see how you can develop these traits within yourself and others.
All participants will earn .5 CEUs per session for participating. They will also receive an email survey two months after workshop participation to assess application of new ideas.
All classes are conducted in the Blount County Library's learning lab located at 508 N. Cusick in Maryville and limited to 50 participants. 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.
PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY
 Take advantage of your Blount Chamber discount and protect you, your family and employees by enrolling in IDShield. IDShield monitors identity from every angle and alerts you to status changes immediately. It can also help restore your identity if it has been compromised.
LEARN MORE
YOU CAN POST YOUR OWN MEMBER-TO-MEMBER DEALS
REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL
 Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!
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 or any good news about your business, please
send it to us. We'd love to share it with the community.
REMEMBER WHEN
Topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week in 1960 was "El Paso" by Marty Robbins. It became a major hit on both the country and pop music charts, reaching No. 1 in both at the start of 1960. It won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording in 1961, and remains Robbins' best-known song.
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Blount Chamber members can now post their own
