
Early voting for the Federal & State General, Alcoa, Louisville, & Maryville City Election begins on October 17 and ends on November 1, 2018. The following locations and times are available for your convenience.
Blount County Courthouse - Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. & Saturday, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Blount County Public Library - Monday thru Friday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Everett Parks & Rec - Monday thru Friday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Pellissippi State - Monday thru Friday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR VALID PHOTO ID TO VOTE

Two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and University of Tennessee All-America Peyton Manning is the guest speaker for the
Blount Partnership's Best of Blount Awards, Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m., at the Clayton Center for the Arts on the Maryville College campus.
A limited number of balcony tickets are on sale for $50 (plus taxes and fees) using PASSCODE: Manning18 by calling the Clayton Center at 865-981-8590 or
online.
Awards will be given for Philanthropist of the Year, Community Impact Award, Bright Future Award, Business of the Year, First Responder Award and the Tourism Award.
Event sponsors are Massey Electric, Pilot Flying J, Cherokee Millwright, Blount Excavating, DENSO, T.W. Frierson Contractor, C2RL Engineering, McCarty Holsaple McCarty, Stowers Caterpillar, Joseph Construction and First Tennessee Foundation.
GET PLACEMENT IN 2019 BASICALLY BLOUNT

The 2019 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. 2019, along with distribution four times throughout the year via area professional offices, newcomers, visitors, and new businesses all looking to relocate to Blount County.
In addition to intriguing stories and area photography that highlight the best of Blount County, Basically Blount also includes a finger-indexed, color-coded directory and buyer's guide of all Chamber members. Chamber members consistently tell us that they keep Basically Blount on hand throughout the year in order to find business products and services when they need them.
On top of the lifestyle magazines, we will have a complete online version on both the chamber and economic development websites.
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
Sign up today and promote your business in a primary marketing tool utilized by the Chamber and Economic Development Board. Key positions will go quickly!
SOFT SKILLS SESSION FOR OCTOBER

It's Your Career! That's the focus of 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 three months.
Registrations are currently being accepted online at
www.blountchamber.com for a class entitled Improving Your Presentation Style - Strategies for Engaging Presentations set for October 26. This course qualifies for .2 CEU's awarded by Pellissippi State.
The other classes offered are: 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.
LYNDA.COM AND FREE TECHNOLOGY CLASSES AT LIBRARY

The
Blount County Public Library is offering free computer classes in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint (2016) and Gmail. Receive an opportunity to gain a nationally recognized certificate from Northstar Digital Literacy. Course descriptions and schedules are listed below. The free classes meet in the Blount County Public Library's new Learning Lab (outside the library in the former First Tennessee Bank branch building) unless otherwise *noted. Spaces are limited and registration is required. To register, please visit the library's Information Services Desk or call (865) 982-0981, ext. 1450, or (865) 273-1428. Sign up no earlier than one month prior to a class.
Microsoft Excel 2016 Essentials: 2-session class. Bring a USB drive.
M/F - Nov. 5 @ 9-12:30 PM, Nov. 9 @ 8-10:30 AM
M/F - Dec. 10, 12 @ 2-4 PM.
Microsoft Word 2016 Essentials: 3-session class. Bring a USB drive.
M/W/F - Dec. 3, 5, 7 @ 2-4 PM
Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 Essentials: 3-session class. Bring a USB drive.
M/W/F- Nov. 26, 28, 30 @ 2-4 PM
Gmail How-To's: 1 session class. Bring a USB drive.
M - Nov. 19 @ 9-11 AM

Additionally, businesses need to take advantage of the library's subscription to Lynda.com. Using your library card, get access to Lynda.com, a LinkedIn Company, with thousands of courses in software, creative and business skills to develop your staff skills and meet learning needs at your own convenience.
Learn More
OCTOBER MEMBER-TO-MEMBER PROMOTIONS

Member-to-member promotions are here for October. Submit to the email below. Check out the offers from Proven Protection, King University and ADT Roland's Bistro catering. 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
REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL

Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!
A marketplace of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.
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 1985 was "Oh Sheila" by Ready for the World. The song is commonly misattributed to Prince as well as the belief that the song's lyrics allude to frequent Prince collaborator Sheila E.