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If you or someone you know is looking for a job, please check out
www.BlountAreaJobs.com. Additionally, if you need employees, please utilize the job board to advertise your open positions. Click
here to get started.
SPONSOR THE BLOUNT COUNTY JOB FAIR
The Blount County Job Fair is coming to the Second Harvest Food Bank on Friday, May 19, 2017, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sponsorship levels include the Presenting Sponsor for $1000, Silver Sponsor for $500 and Media Sponsor is In-Kind. The deadline for sponsorship is April 13. If interested, please
review and complete this form.
Be sure to check out our 74th installment of The Dialogue at the bottom of this email where we visit with 4th installment visiting with Kathleen Puckett, LPC-MHSP, LADC, CSAT,DCC, owner of
A View From Within Counseling.
READY, SET, MOVE! AWARDS
 Get your nominations in for the Ready, Set, Move! Awards. This recognition award, sponsored by Blount BEneFITs, was established in 2009 to recognize the efforts of Blount County schools and businesses that are taking steps within their organizations to promote and embrace healthy living through creative programs that encourage good nutrition and increased physical activity. Previous winners include weight loss challenges, running clubs and other exercise programs, some of which were long-standing programs and others that were start-ups.
Click here for more information and nomination form.
COME TO THE TANASI 1796 WINE & CHEESE RECEPTION
 All chamber members and their guests are invited to the Tanasi 1796 Preview/Wine & Cheese reception on Thursday, March 16, from 3:30-5:00 p.m., at the Blount Partnership, 201 S Washington St, Maryville.
Come and enjoy a preview of the upcoming historical drama.
Tanasi 1796, which will be performed on Saturday, March 25 at the Clayton Center for the Arts, features live drama, music, art, and historical displays and tells of the events leading to and following the American Revolution and the drafting of the Tennessee Constitution as seen through the eyes of Captain Joseph Black, Cherokee Peace Chief Attakullakulla, Ensign Andrew Evans, the Reverend Samuel Doak, and other historical figures from the time.
Enjoy wine and cheese while learning more about the upcoming production, which depicts a pivotal time, not only in our history as a nation, but also for our very own Blount County and the surrounding region.
REFERENCE USA WORKSHOP
 Join us for a
free seminar on Wednesday, March 22 from 8:30-10:30 a.m., at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville) on how to harness data to improve your business.
Bring your laptop or tablet and tap into the premier research and reference tool for business and residential data. Reference USA provides quality information and helps users of all kinds search for jobs, identify competitors, create marketing and small business plans, research neighborhoods and more. This resource is available to all Blount County businesses and Blount County Public Library cardholders. RSVP to Amy if you wish to attend.
GROW YOUR BUSINESS USING EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA
 This
session on Tuesday, March 14 from 9-11 a.m. at the Blount Partnership will help make sense of the noise and help you organize your marketing. In this seminar, you will learn how to make the most of the combination of email, social media, video, and other tools for your business. When the session is done you'll have a greater understanding of marketing basics like:
Setting goals and objectives; What a "campaign" is and what to write about and offer in that campaign; The social media platforms where you need to put most of your focus; How to use email and social media together to get better results; Creating the right content to get (and keep) your audience's attention; How to get your messages opened, read, and shared to become more socially visible; Using time-saving tools to engage with your existing customers and supporters, expand your reach to new prospects more effectively
Throughout the session you'll be given opportunities to capture your own ideas and build out the framework of your own "next great campaign." So join us and start to build a plan that will help you grow your business by eliciting the responses you want from your customers or supporters. Register here.
BUSINESS PLANNING WITH GROWTH WHEEL
 The Tennessee Small Business Development Center is holding its next free session on Thursday, March 16 from 9 a.m.-noon at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville).
Register here.
Discover Business Planning with GrowthWheel! Small Business planning is much more dynamic and moment by moment rather than a dull chore with fabricated forecasting. Lots of decisions are made over a cup of coffee or while driving not predetermined months in advance. Business owners are much more reactionary to the market and have limited planning budgets. GrowthWheel is a new innovative tool that lets the business owner plan the most pressing needs for the business. It also is a visual tool to provide structure and direction allowing the business owner to set goals and take action. NO MORE writing 40 pages of useless information that always ends buried in your desk. Gone are charts and graphs replaced by 30 day plans and action steps. GrowthWheel is not just for new businesses but also works for all businesses in all stages and for all industries. Come try this totally innovative approach to business planning.
WOMEN IN BUSINESS
 Make plans to attend our next
Women in Business meeting on Monday, March 20 at noon at the Airport Hilton led by Sharon Hannum.
This will be a Dutch treat lunch from Cooper's Restaurant. You can either do 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.
Please
RSVP to Amy by Friday, March 17, if you plan to attend.
NETWORKING TRAINING CLASS
 Stop selling and learn to profit from relationships that drive business to you. Join us for a free
networking training class on Tuesday, March 21 from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Blount Partnership, 201 S. Washington St., Maryville. Presented by Raeus Jae Cannon, this is one class that everyone can benefit.
SIGN UP FOR NEXT SOFT SKILLS CLASS
 Registrations are currently being accepted for a free soft skills session set for March 24 entitled, "Motivation and Burnout." Do you see telltale signs of burnout at work? It is not uncommon, even for millennials under thirty, to experience burnout. Join us for tips and tricks to stay motivated, and to keep others motivated, while performing at your best.
All classes are conducted in the Blount County Library's learning lab located at 508 N. Cusick in Maryville and limited to 50 participants. Those interested must register online at
www.blountchamber.com/community/soft-skills. 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.
The other classes offered include Managing People & Personalities, Tips for Public Speaking, Hiring Good Employees, Motivation and Burnout, Time Management and Managing Change in the Workplace.
BLOUNT TOURISM AMBASSADOR CLASS SET
 The next Blount Tourism Ambassador Program (BTAP) class is set for Wednesday, April 5 from 1-4 p.m. at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville). BTAP is based on a nationwide certification program geared toward those working in the tourism industry. The Blount County program is the first of its kind in Tennessee and the Southeast.
The three-hour course gives front-line personnel information about the county and region. They are provided up-to-date information about events, happenings and the "inside story" in order to better serve their customers. There are continuous learning opportunities throughout the year to help satisfy annual certification renewal requirements.
More than 200 people have been certified since the program's inception in 2012.
Email Deborah if you or your employees are interested in attending.
EXPERIENCE SPEED NETWORKING SPONSORED BY BNI
PRESIDENTS OF COLLEGES POST SECONDARY UPDATE
Join us
Friday, March 31 at 8 a.m. at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville) as we hear from College Presidents; Dr. Tom Bogart, Maryville College and Dr. Anthony Wise, Pellissippi State; give us an update on what is happening in our community at the post secondary level.
GET YOUR SMALL BUSINESS MOVING
 SCORE is a non-profit association dedicated to helping new and existing small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship.
Greater Knoxville SCORE's 40-plus volunteers have a wide range of business experience and education and provide One on One mentoring for free and workshops for small business and non-profits for no charge or at very low cost.
SCORE is supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA),
To request assistance, or to meet with a SCORE representative in Blount County visit us at
greaterknoxville.score.org or phone 865-692-0716.
MARCH MEMBER-TO-MEMBER PROMOTIONS ARE IN
 Take a look at the March Member-to-Member promotions. With over 50 merchants participating, there's something for you. Check out the
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
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
 If you own a business, you know how quickly time goes by when things become busy. That's why planning ahead is key to running your business smoothly. Sure, you can get away with procrastination. But it feels so much better to plan in advance, so you can actually remember to enjoy your business, especially during the busy holiday season. Here are a few reasons you should start planning now, not later:
Read more
Learn more about marketing your small business in a digital world, ask questions about social media, and take the time to discuss future campaign ideas. What are you waiting for? It's free with your chamber membership.
Schedule your FREE session today.
If you have any questions regarding your free digital marketing member benefit (
Save Local Now), your digital platform, or online marketing in general please reach out the Blount Chamber's
Rachel Coffman.
REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL
 Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!
At a small business, chances are you'll be waited on by the owner, a member of their family, or someone who reports directly to the owner.
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, please email
Ashlee so she can post it on
www.SmokyMountains.org.
Also, please
send us any news releases or good news about your business. We'd love to share it with the community.
REMEMBER WHEN
"Jacob's Ladder," recorded by Huey Lewis and the News, became the band's third number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 this week in 1987. Set in Birmingham, Alabama, the song marries the Biblical image of Jacob's Ladder to someone who rejects proselytizing evangelists and is instead struggling to get through life one day at a time.
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