Blount Partnership News and Events

 
Our 97th installment of The Dialogue is now up and this week we visit with Dewayne Holloway, owner, of Cell Phone Repair (CPR). Read the article at the bottom of this email.
 
WOMEN IN BUSINESS
business_group_women.jpg Make plans to attend our next Women in Business meeting on Monday, January 22 at noon at Airport Hilton (Bar Area) led by Sharon Hannum.

In order for us to have enough time for the meeting if you are planning on eating please arrive at 11:45 and go ahead and get your lunch and bring to the bar area.

This will be a Dutch Treat lunch from Cooper's Restaurant. The menu is soup or salad bar for $8.95 + tax, this includes drink, and dessert or the whole buffet for $12 (Including tax) and includes drink, buffet and dessert.

RSVP to Amy by Friday, January 19 if you are attending.
 
DISCOVER BLOUNT
Designed by Leadership Blount and in collaboration with community partners, Discover Blount is an introduction to Blount County showcasing all that is great in this place we call home. The program introduces participants to resources in our county and identifies opportunities to be more involved.

The Discover Blount program is held on six Tuesdays from 1-6 p.m. and includes one social and one service opportunity. The Spring 2018 dates are: February 6 and 13, March 6 and 20, and April 3 and 17.

All classes begin and end on the Maryville College campus unless otherwise noted. A tour bus will provide transportation during the class day. The cost for the program is $325. Registration is online at www.leadershipblount.com.
 
START-UP WITH GROWTH WHEEL SET FOR JAN. 18
The start-up of a small business does not have to be stressful. Explore your new business idea by applying GrowthWheel and expanding into the big picture. With the help of certified business counselors learn about the necessities of a small business. Topics will include the forms of business organization, tax requirements, business licenses, business planning, and financial options along with loan qualification criteria and opportunities. You do not have to start a business alone because we are here to help.

The session is Thursday, January 18 from 9 a.m.-noon at the Blount Partnership, 201 South Washington Street, Maryville. Registration is online only.
 
PROMOTE AND PARTICIPATE IN OPERATION THANK YOU
Promote your business during "Operation Thank You" by sending 1400 gift certificates, brochures or business promotional pieces to us and we will distribute them during Operation Thank You.

Your Chamber constantly looks for ways to help you promote your business through the ABC theory - Always Buy Chamber. We do ask that your enclosure piece not to exceed 8.5x11". These inserts should be delivered to the Chamber no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, February 8.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Amy Lawson at alawson@blountpartnership.com or call 865.983.2241. There is a fee of $200 for insert enclosure.

Participate in the Chamber's 20th annual "Operation Thank You" set for February 20-22, 2018 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. We invite you to join us in this three-day effort. 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 is interested in participating, please contact Amy Lawson at alawson@blountpartnership.com or call 865.983.2241.
 
REGIONAL LEGISLATIVE AGENDA BREAKFAST SET FOR JAN. 26
Join local business leaders and elected officials to hear about pending state legislative issues that could impact the business community as well as the legislative agenda developed by policy leaders at the Knoxville Chamber, Blount Partnership, and Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. The breakfast is Friday, January 26 from 7:30-9 a.m. at the Embassy Suites Knoxville West (9621 Parkside Dr., Knoxville, Tenn.). Tickets are $25 and must be purchased here or through the Knoxville Chamber at 865.637.4550.
 
SOFT SKILLS SESSION FOR JANUARY
It's Your Career! That's the focus of nine free soft skills sessions offered in partnership by the Blount County Public Library, the Adult Education Foundation of Blount County and the Blount County Chamber of Commerce that are scheduled over the next 12 months.

Registrations are currently being accepted online at www.blountchamber.com for the first class entitled Time Management set for Jan. 26.

The other classes offered include Building a Team, Managing People and Personalities, Free Resources for Professional Development, How to Run an Effective Meeting, Improving Your Presentation Style - Speaking, Improving Your Presentation Style - Strategies for Engaging Presentations, Making Your Social Media Look Good and Creating Infographics for Promoting Your Business.

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.
 
JANUARY MEMBER-TO-MEMBER PROMOTIONS
Member-to-member promotions are here for January. Check out the new offer from Quality Financial Concepts, Epic Nine and Swagtown. See this 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
 
REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL
Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!
 
Each dollar you spend at independent businesses returns 3 times more money to your local economy than one spent at a chain.
 
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 2000 was "What a Girls Wants," by Christina Aguilera. The song became her second consecutive US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single.

Events

 

Jan. 15-21

 

 

Jan. 22-28

 

 

Save the Date

 


You can access the entire calendar here to see other community events and submit your own.

The Dialogue

This feature is a question-and-answer session with a new Blount County Chamber member. So here we go with our 97th installment visiting with Dewayne Holloway, owner, of Cell Phone Repair (CPR), who are in business to provide the citizens of Blount County the best of service that can be provided with all mobile and electronic devices.
 
Describe what CPR does. Sales and Service of Smartphones, tablets, Computers and games systems. Specializing in Smartphone, tablet, Computer services. An independently owned franchise with over 500 stores and opening almost one a week. We will have the buying power to get the best parts and the best prices. This is why we offer a Lifetime Warranty on all screen replacements.
 
How did you get started? After spending all my career in the IT industry and most recently 15 years with a Fortune 100 software/hardware company I started our first store in November 2014 at the University of Tennessee and have since opened up in Pigeon Forge in August 2016. The location in Alcoa will be our Home base and will serve the other 2 locations as well as any others from Alcoa.
 
What is your background? After receiving an Associates in Electronics from T.I.E. now Fountainhead College of Technology, I have spent the rest of my career building the knowledge through obtaining several other certifications that include. MCP-Microsoft Certified Professional I-Net- Internet Networking CNE-Certified Network Engineer Net-+ - Networking Plus Comp TIA Certification
 
Describe your customers. Our customers are normally in very upset state of mind. And in our type of service we understand that we are the link to turn this around. Whether to repair the phone or retrieve data from a laptop or tablet they thought they have lost.
 
What impacts your business environment? The social and technological environments effect us the most because socially all the devices we work on are attached to the "social media". And technological because this environment is changing with the release of each new phone or laptop. It is our job to stay educated in these environments so that we can serve our customers to the best that can be.
 
Name three things you wish you knew when you started. 1. Customer temperaments. 2. Employee Needs. 3. Owner interaction
 
What do you enjoy about CPR? The most thing I enjoy is seeing the smile on the customers face when we are able to save that phone or laptop. Or the pictures and data on their device. It's priceless when "We Save Your Mobile Life"
 
Premier and Presidential Partners