Check out our Facebook page to enter gift card drawings and to see who has won already. Gift cards are from local businesses that were selected during a random drawing.

We thank the businesses who donated to the tote bags that were given to shoppers on Small Business Saturday, and the businesses who gave an item for the gift basket, they are:

Northwest Bank-Smithfield location

Criminals using stolen identities filed claims for unemployment compensation in other people's names. Because unemployment compensation is taxable, state unemployment agencies submit Forms 1099-G to individuals in whose names and Social Security numbers the unemployment compensation was paid and to the IRS. Victims of fraud who receive Forms 1099-G with inaccurate amounts of unemployment compensation in Box 1 should notify the state agencies of the inaccuracies and request corrected Forms 1099-G. The Department of Labor details www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/UIIDtheft.

Taxpayers should only report income they actually received on their tax returns. Do not report income you did not receive. The IRS offers tax guidance to victims at https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/identity-theft-and-unemployment-benefits.

Chamber staff has been out taking photos and short videos to encourage people to support local this Holiday Season. If you are interested in a visit from us, please contact ymartin@huntingdonchamber.com. Photos of your merchandise can also be emailed to this address for us to share, or tag us in your holiday Facebook posts.

The Chamber's Membership & Marketing Committee is looking for some people to join the committee and help develop more ways we can support our members. If you would like to learn more about the committee, please contact me at ymartin@huntingdonchamber.com.

Click here for PHMC's Communithy Health Worker Project infomation.

Click here for a sample scope of work.

Contact Yvonne at ymartin@huntingdonchamber.com.

Contact Yvonne at  ymartin@huntingdonchamber.com  or 814.643.1110

Click here for the list of participating businesses. If you would like to accept Chamber Bucks, contact Yvonne at ymartin@huntingdonchamber.com

The Huntingdon County Foundation has begun a capital campaign to grow an endowment fund in honor of a founding foundation board member well-known for his community support and his leadership role at Juniata College. William Alexander, a former Juniata economics professor and later vice president, supported many community organizations and causes and is remembered as much for his volunteerism as for his professionalism and knowledge.

Mr. Alexander died Feb. 1, 2019, at age 74, after a short bout with cancer. In honor of “Bill,” the foundation in July 2019 renamed its general fund the William R. Alexander General Fund. Earnings from the Alexander fund can assist a variety of community and civic needs whereas other foundation endowments are restricted to the specific purpose for which they are created.

Click here to read the entire article.

On Thursday, December 9 our Leadership Huntingdon County Class of 2022 had their fourth session! The topic was Health and Health Care. We had Dr. Debra Kirchhof-Glazier and Eileen Woods presenting. Dr. Kirchhof-Glazier is the Emerita Professor of Biology and Director of the Health Professions Program at Juniata College. Ms. Woods is the Mental Health Social Work Supervisor at the James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center.

The PA Department of Agriculture has reached out to us to educate you on spotted lanternfly permit requirements. A business toolkit was created to help businesses understand the permitting requirements and who needs a permit. The easy answer is anyone that who moves goods or equipment in the quarantined area needs a permit. Even if a business uses third-party shippers, they still need a permit so they can make sure their product is free of SLF before it is loaded onto a truck.  SLF Business Toolkit_4.22.21.pdf (pa.gov)

Download our logo to use on your website. Click the logo for more information. Feel free to link the image on your website to our website, huntingdonchamber.com.

Time is running out to claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit. If your business has fewer than 500 employees and had a 20% reduction in gross receipts for any quarter in 2021 as compared to the same quarter in 2019 you may qualify. Click here to learn more.

Nominations are being accepted in the categories New Construction, Preservation, Community Spirit, and Special Merit. Projects must have been completed in 2021. Click here for the nomination form. Click here for the guidelines. Once nominated, the nominee will receive the application form to complete with additional information.

Saint Francis University Institute for Energy is pursuing is a companion to the USDA REAP program, which provides grants and loans to ag producers and small businesses for renewable energy or energy efficiency projects. The requirement for ag producers is that at least 50% of their income comes from ag production and for small businesses is that they are in a rural area (the detailed version of the qualifications is below). Per the eligibility map (https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/.../welcomeAction.do...), all of Huntingdon County is classified as rural, so any small business should be eligible to participate!

The grant would provide free renewable energy assessments. The proposal is stronger if they can show a list of businesses that are interested. For the proposal. they ask for the name of the business, a contact person and a way to contact (email and/or phone number). Having your NAICS code (if known) and address could be helpful, too. Please comment here with that information or email ymartin@huntingdonchamber.com. If you are a Chamber member we have your contact information already, so just need to know who the contact is for this purpose. https://www.francis.edu/institute-for-energy

If you are hiring, please send position information to ymartin@huntingdonchamber.com or login to the member section of our website to post your jobs. We've begun promoting this on Facebook.

Vaccine sign up now available. Per the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Penn Highlands Healthcare is vaccinating any Pennsylvanian ages 12 and above. Please call the PHH Vaccine Information Line at 814-503-4735 to sign-up or by visiting www.phhealthcare.org/vaccine to schedule a vaccine. If have questions, please call the PHH Vaccine Information Line at 814-503-4735 Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Click here to view the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Fact Sheet to learn more about the Paid Leave Tax Credit, how it works, and who is qualified to receive it.

Click here to view the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s Fact Sheet to learn more about how to claim the tax credit during quarterly filings and additional resources for employers about the program.

Click here for additional information.

Looking for more ways to promote your business?

Tag the Huntingdon County Chamber of Commerce in your Facebook posts and we will share them on the

Huntingdon, PA - Promotions & Activities page. This page is followed by more than 4,000 people and it is free advertising for you.

Click here for access to timely resources.

Yvonne Martin