J.C. Blair Prepares for Safe 

Fireworks Viewing

Many area residents enjoy the Huntingdon fireworks display from the large parking lot at J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital each year. Concerned for patient access and safety, as well as the safety of those viewing the fireworks, hospital administration and security and safety staff will be restricting the number of vehicles and the time vehicles will be permitted to access the hospital property for fireworks viewing. 

"We implemented these restrictions last year and everything went very well," said Mike McKim, Director of Engineering and Security. "In previous years we had people arrive in the afternoon and set up tailgating parties in the Hospital parking lot with illegal fireworks, illegal parking close to the helipad, consumption of alcoholic beverages, unsupervised children with sparklers and scribs, creating an unsafe environment for all." 

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Event Re-Cap

On June 26 Cisney & O'Donnell, Inc., Price Motor Sales and The Colonial Florist hosted a Business After Hours. They had several caters, musical entertainment and juggling. They also had several wonderful door prizes! 

Annual Membership Luncheon

Patched Together: A Day of Music Raises more than $18,000 for Home Nursing Agency's Healing Patch

The planning team for Patched Together: A Day of Music recently presented a check for $18,134 raised to benefit the Home Nursing Agency Healing Patch: A Program for Loss and Hope for Grieving Children and Their Families. The Sixth Annual Patched Together concert was held in November 2017 with live music from a variety of local performers, Chinese Auction and children's activities. 

"We are so grateful for the commitment of this team of compassionate volunteers that dedicate endless hours of their time to support the grieving children in our community," shares Allison Stockley, Family Hospice manager of volunteers and bereavement services. Stockley has overseen operations of the Healing Patch since 2006 when the program began. "It has been an honor and privilege to work alongside this dedicated team for the past seven years as they raise funds for the vital operations of our Healing Patch program, significantly contributing to the sustainability of services."

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On The Job Training Program

• Cuts the cost of wages for employers by a minimum of 50% during the training time.
• Reduces the employer's costs for advertising and recruitment.
• Allows employers to make all hiring and firing decisions.
• Guarantees a quick referral process.
• Requires minimal paperwork.
• May involve a single placement, a number of people for one type of job, or a variety of jobs. 

• Post the job on the CareerLink system.
• A search is then conducted of the eligible applicant pool for people who match the characteristics set by the employer. The employer is then provided the information about potential candidates in the manner in which they have requested. 
• The employer decides whom they want to hire and a possible start date. The Business Services staff is notified about the circumstances of the hire. 
• The employer and the Business Services Representative negotiate a contract, which includes a training plan, length of training and costs to be reimbursed to the employer for providing the training. It is important to note that this contract MUST be in place BEFORE an eligible client begins working or the opportunity to secure funding will be lost. 

The Chamber is now offering use of our Bulk Mail Permit for FREE to our members. Bulk Mail Permits cost $250.00 per year. If you are interested in using the Bulk Mailing Stamp, we will walk you through the process to make it easy for you. You will still have to pay postage. 

If you are interested in saving money on your electric bill, please contact [email protected] or 814-643-1110 to get connected with the program endorsed by 120 chambers of commerce in PA and 80 Harrisburg based associations. OnDemand Energy manages 6 billion kWh in PA. There is no cost or obligation involved with seeing how much money your business or organization can save. In many cases it has been quite a significant savings. OnDemand Energy can also review your gas savings options with you. 

You are now able to be the exclusive sponsor of our weekly e-newsletter. The cost is $200 a quarter and includes your name in the email heading as the sponsor and an ad (2 in. wide and 3 in. tall) at the top of the left column of the newsletter. 

If you only want to have an ad (2 in. wide and 2 1/2 in. tall) in the left column, the cost is $100 per quarter or $300 per year. Please continue to share your events and special news and we will include that information for free. Contact [email protected] if you would like to include your ad in our e-newsletter or be the exclusive sponsor. 

Many of you have been asking about more opportunities to send email blasts to our database of nearly 1,000. Currently individual blasts are $50 for for-profit businesses and $25 for non-profits. You can now purchase one blast a week for a quarter for $200 or one blast a week for a year for $500. Non-profits pay $100 for the quarter or $250 for the year. Contact [email protected] if you are interested in taking advantage of this special opportunity. 

This group is being brought to you at the request of HCCC members during the most recent survey. The HCCC Member to Member group is a closed group for Chamber members only to post questions and important information that other members will find valuable. Please invite other Chamber members to join our group and share in discussions. 

If you have any business news and updates, achievements, awards or recognitions that you would like to be included, it can be done for FREE! If you have an event that is free or all the proceeds are being donated to a non-profit as a fundraiser, we'll include it for FREE! If you'd like to include a promotion or a money making event or non-profit fundraiser where proceeds will benefit the organization's operations, we charge a small fee. (Profit - $25 and Non-Profit - $10) Contact MacKenzie Locke at 814-643-1110 or [email protected] if you're interested in including an article.