BLOUNT OF BLOUNT AWARD WINNERS

Seven individuals and businesses that gave their time and resources to make Blount County a special place to live and work were honored at the Blount Partnership Best of Blount Awards held at the Clayton Center for the Arts Thursday evening. Charter Spectrum, Massey Electric, Blount Excavating, C2RL Engineers, DENSO and Cherokee Millwright sponsored the event.

The awards program, which saw more than 1,000 attend, was hosted by Star 102.1-FM morning personalities Kim Hansard and Marc Anthony.

The evening was highlighted with a special visit from former U.S. Army helicopter pilot and prisoner of war Mike Durant, whose saga during a mission in Mogadishu, Solmalia, in 1993 was chronicled in the movie Black Hawk Down.

BEST OF BLOUNT AWARDS WINNERS
Philanthropist of the Year - Kathy Johnson
Large Business of the Year - Altar'd State
Small Business of the Year - Avero Advisors
Bright Future Award - Tina Rhea, REO Cheesewagon
First Responder Award - Elizabeth Murphy, Blount County Sheriff's Office
Community Impact Award - United Way of Blount County
Tourism Impact Award - RT Lodge

 

RIBBON CUTTING SET FOR SOUTHERN GRACE COFFEE

Join us for the Southern Grace Coffee (312 Tedford St., Maryville), ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on November 20. Refreshments provided.

 

COFFEE CLUB AT QUINN APPLIANCE

Wake up to new business contacts at coffee club held November 21 at Quinn Appliance (160 S. Calderwood St., Alcoa) from 7:45-9 a.m. Coffees 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. Coffees are open to anyone associated with a Chamber member business. Participation is not reserved to the representative(s) listed on the Chamber membership.

BLOUNT COUNTY VENDOR DAY

If you currently do business with Blount County government or are interested in doing business with it, please join the Blount County Purchasing Office for Blount County Vendor Day, November 20 from 9-11 a.m. at the Blount County Courthouse, Room 315, 385 Court St., Maryville. You'll meet the Purchasing Staff and other departments. You can register to do business with Blount County.

 

SMART TRIPS WANTS TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS BECOME A BEST WORKPLACE

Best Workplaces for Commuters (BWC) is an innovative membership program that provides qualified employers with national recognition and an elite designation for offering outstanding commuter benefits. Employers and developments that meet the National Standard of Excellence in commuter benefits can get on the list of Best Workplaces for Commuters. The application deadline for the 2020 BWC list is December 30, 2019.

Smart Trips has partnered with Best Workplaces for Commuters to encourage employers to apply for this national recognition opportunity. Our program would love to cover the application fee ($230 value) for our Chamber's members. If you know of any members interested, please let them know this is available until the application deadline.

For more information about the application process, please visit our website.

 

MENTORS NEEDED FOR TNACHIEVES

Become a tnAchieves mentor! 12 hours a year is all it takes to help Tennessee students on their journey to higher education. The December 6 deadline is approaching fast. We need 67 more mentors locally to meet our goal of 192! Encourage your friends, family and coworkers to apply at http://tnAchieves.org/mentors/apply

 

READ THE DIALOGUE

Check out the latest edition of The Dialogue in this email where we visit with new Blount County Chamber member Tyler Chase, CEO of Creekside Cyber Systems.

 

GET PLACEMENT IN 2020 BASICALLY BLOUNT

The 2020 Basically Blount lifestyle magazine and membership directory is entering production once again. This annual, full-color lifestyle magazine and chamber membership directory is initially distributed to all Chamber members starting Feb. 2020, along with distribution four times throughout the year via area professional offices, newcomers, visitors, and new businesses all looking to relocate to Blount County.

We are pleased to offer a variety of advertising opportunities at cost effective rates through our media kit. We have contracted with Marcon Marketing Consultants, a local Chamber member, to handle production and ad sales.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of Basically Blount, the importance of supporting the Chamber, and how to get your business involved, contact: Rick Ford of Marcon Marketing at 865-705-8580 or Vicki Hawkins of Marcon Marketing at 865-310-2963

 

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY IS NOVEMBER 30

This November 30, the Blount Partnership wants to celebrate Small Business Saturday with you! It's a special holiday created so communities can show love for small local businesses. And it wouldn't be a celebration without businesses like you joining us!

The day was setup to help businesses with their most pressing need -- getting more customers. The day encourages people to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The single day has grown into a powerful movement, and more people are taking part than ever before.

If your small business is interested in participating, please email alawson@blountpartnership.com. We will help get the word out about shopping locally at the beginning of the holiday season.

 

SIGN UP FOR THE NOVEMBER 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 November 22. 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.

 

YOU CAN POST YOUR OWN MEMBER-TO-MEMBER DEALS

Blount Chamber members can now post their own Member-to-Member deals on this page at no charge. Simply login to your account, Click on the "New Coupon" button, fill out the form and click save. It's that easy.

Click here if you need access to your login information.

Of course, we will be happy to add your coupon. Just email information about the product or discount you'd like to offer to the Chamber membership to jmuir@blountpartnership.com. Be sure to include an expiration date.

View the latest deals.

 

REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL

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

 

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 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 1986 was "Human" by the Human League. The song became the second single by the band to top the Billboard Hot 100 after the 1982 single "Don't You Want Me."