What’s new at the Blair Area Chamber of Commerce Good Afternoon! How is it February already? Will “Punxsutawney Phil” see his shadow tomorrow morning? What exactly does that mean anyway? According to folklore, a groundhog's behavior can predict the weather. A sunny day that allows the groundhog to see his shadow will send him scurrying back into his burrow, a sign of six more weeks of win- ter. A cloudy and therefore shadowless day is a sign of spring encouraging the ground- hog to stay above ground. Thank You so very much to everyone that attended our Annual Meeting last week. We had a great evening of socializing, networking, sharing successes and set- ting goals. Congratulations to The Blair Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue on win- ning the Chamber’s Annual Community Service Award– we are beyond blessed to have these amazing people in our community, putting in hundreds and thousands of volun- teer hours each year to help us when we are in need. Congratulations to Emily Ander- son on winning the 2016 Chamber Ambassador of the Year Award, and Congratula- tions to Terry Dutton on receiving Gateway Development’s Emmett Award. (enjoy the pics from the evening on pg. 2) We have had a few scam warnings come in to the Chamber office. One we have heard a few times before, a company from Texas contacts your business and asks you to sponsor t shirts that will be handed out (or shot out of a t-shirt shooter) at the school sporting events as a fundraiser for a particular group, ie: cheerleading, foot- ball,etc. Please contact the school directly if you have questions, and remember to work with your LOCAL companies! Another one that has been rampant across the entire country, is a phone scam where you will receive a call and they will ask “ Can You Hear Me?” This company is recording you when you say “Yes,” then they use that clip as your approval for different charges– then they come after you to pay up. If you get these calls, either by a person or robo-call, do not respond– just hang up! Has your business visited the Careerockit website yet to submit your opportu- nities for this program? http://careerockit.com/ We are at ~ 100 student experiences right now, so we need to bump this up to 500 in Washington County! This can be ANY type of business. The school will then pair up students that have an interest and they’ll come in to “job shadow” or learn about what you do during the week of April 1- 8, 2017. Students range from 3rd grade through college age. The BACC has some great Lunch & Learns scheduled for 2017– so please keep an eye on your emails, calendar and I hope to fill up our conference room for these. Do you have a topic in mind that you would like to see for a session? If so, let me know. I want to make sure that we are offering the classes that will be beneficial for our members! Social Media has been requested again, so that is one we will get added in soon! The BACC will be partnering up with 6 other Chambers again for the “Northeast Nebraska Day at the State Capitol” on Tuesday March 7th. This will be a great opportunity for you to head to Lincoln to listen in to committee hearings and join us for speakers and a reception with Senators from across the great State of Nebraska. If you are interested in being a sponsor and having an opportunity to present about your business, please contact me ASAP! Our 25th Annual Golf Outing & Fundraiser will be held on Friday May 12th at River Wilds. The registration form for that is ready to go– so get your team together and get signed up! Teams will be limited to 30 and we will have hole sponsorships available. Gateway to the West Days has officially been recognized on the State of Nebraska’s “Sesquicentennial Celebration” calendar. We will go with the Nebraska History theme for our event this year. I am working on the forms for this, they will be available on our web- site and in the office soon. The dates are June 8-11, 2017. If you read my last newsletter (I am sure everyone does, right!?) then I had Three Challenges for Chamber Members– how many of you have done 1 of them? Log in to your member portal and update it, add a job listing or an event? Do you have someone attend- ing the Ambassadors meeting? Do you have a rep from your business that is attending the Lunch & Learn next week? Maximize your Chamber Membership today! Schedule a meeting with me to go over any of these things benefits or to talk about the numerous oth- er ways to get involved in the Chamber. I have heard a lot of people say that they want to “get more involved in 2017”- well call me and let’s get going on that! Thank You for supporting Chamber Member businesses and events! ~ Jordan Chamber Happenings January 2017 Blair Area Chamber of Commerce 1646 Washington St. Blair, NE 68008 402-533-4455 [email protected] www.BlairChamber.org UPCOMING EVENTS: February 1: Chamber Ambassador Meeng February 2: Ladies Day Out! February 2: Groundhog’s Day February 2: NE Chamber Annual Mtg & Legislave Caucus February 3: Dueling Pianos @South Creek February 5: Kiwanis Club Pancake Feed 8am-12:30pm February 6, 13, 20, 27: Blair Kiwanis Club Mtg. February 7, 14, 21, 28: Blair Rotary Club Mtg. February 7, 14, 21, 28: Step It Up! February 8, 22: Blair Opmist Club Mtg. February 8: Downtown Business Meeng February 9 & 23: Chamber Chat on River Country 97.3 February 9: Lunch & Learn: CyberSecurity February 14: Valenne’s Day February 15: BACC Board of Directors Meeng February 20: President’s Day February 23: WCHA Aſter Hours @Frahm House February 25: MCH Auxiliary Gala March 1: Chamber Ambassadors Mtg March 2: Ladies Day Out! March 3-5: Blair ACE Hardware Grand Opening Celebraon! March 6, 13, 20, 27: Blair Kiwanis Club Mtg March 7: Northeast NE Day at the State Capitol March 7, 14, 21, 26: Blair Rotary Club Mtg March 8, 22: Blair Opmist Club Mtg March 9: Chamber Chat on 97.3 w Coonwood Cove March 9: Lunch & Learn– Back Up: Protect your important company informaon March 12: Daylight Savings Time Begins March 15: BACC Board of Directors Meeng March 17: St. Patrick’s Day March 20: 1st Day of Spring March 21: Coffee & Connecons @WC Extension Office March 23: Chamber Chat on 97.3 March 25: Rotary Club Comedy Night @Coonwood Cove *As always, please check the Chamber Website for MANY more events going on around the area. If your Business has an event coming up, log in to your member portal and get it added to the events calendar!