The Chamber will be hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony for Edith’s Kitchen in Downtown Danville this Friday at 4 p.m. Edith’s Kitchen will be serving light refreshments after the celebration. Their special for the day will be all you can eat fish and homemade crab cakes served from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.

The holiday shopping season has already begun! Take some of the stress out of what to get the people on your list while helping support local businesses.

Chamber Gift Certificates offer the gift of choice for family, friends, and employees. The Certificates can be accepted at any member business and are processed just like a check at full face value. Recipients can use them for a night out, spa treatment, or home essentials.

Certificates in $10 and $25 denominations can be purchased during normal business hours at the Chamber office on Market Street in Bloomsburg. Other denominations and large orders are available by calling 570-784-2522 and allowing 2-3 days for processing.

Chamber members now have access to a group-buying option for processing credit and debit cards.

This new member benefit program is with Ignite Payments – Preferred Client Group. Ignite Payments is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Data Corp, one of the largest credit card processors in the U.S. Pennsylvania-based customer service specialists are available to help members understand new EMV “smart chip” and other requirements.

There are no set up fees, hidden charges, or termination fees. Participants do not need to change their financial institutions for deposits or other banking services. Existing equipment can often be reprogrammed.

Before the holiday rush, call Ignite Payments – Preferred Client Group at 877-470-8472 for program details to see if this new program can increase your profitability!

The Chamber is welcoming PetValu to its new location at the Dillon Center, 1009 Scott Town Center in Bloomsburg on Saturday, October 24. The celebration begins at 9 a.m. and will continue throughout the day with sales, free refreshments for pets and their owners, face painting, prizes and more. Pets that arrive in their Halloween costumes from noon – 3 p.m. will be entered to win a Greenies Prize Pack. For more information and coupons click here.

The six candidates who will be on the ballot for Bloomsburg Town Council in the November 3rd general election answered a series of questions related to business and other issues on Wednesday, October 7th. The Candidate Forum, sponsored by the Joint Governmental Affairs Committee of the Chamber and Visitors Bureau, was held at the Bloomsburg High School Auditorium.

The questions focused on a wide range of topics including the Town’s business climate, parking, the growth of Bloomsburg University, flood protection, and more. Questions were developed by the Governmental Affairs Committee as well as accepted from the audience. Audio from the event is available here. The first question is answered by Joe Martarano, followed by Fred Trump, Chuck Wagner, Eric Bower, Jim Huber, and Diane Levan. The second question was answered first by Mr. Trump, with the same subsequent order, and so on.

Prior to the Spring primary, the Committee submitted a series of questions to the candidates for Commissioner in both Columbia and Montour County. The responses from those candidates who are on the Fall ballot are also available.

Columbia County Commissioner candidate responses here.

Montour County Commissioner candidate responses here.

Candidate Forum: The six  on the ballot for Bloomsburg Town Council in the November 3rd general election answered a series of questions related to business and other issues during a candidate forum on Wednesday, October 7th. The event, sponsored by the Joint Governmental Affairs Committee of the Chamber and Visitors Bureau, was held at the Bloomsburg High School Auditorium. Fred Gaffney, Chamber President, moderated the forum.

Questions were developed by the Committee as well as accepted from the audience. Topics included: the Town’s business climate, parking, the growth of Bloomsburg University, and flood protection.

Click here for audio.

The Big Heart Pet Brands facility started with the Hunts Company in 1963.  It was purchased by Campbell’s Soup, then Heinz. In the early 2000s it was then purchased by DelMonte. In 2013, DelMonte split the fruit and vegetable business from the pet food business and they became Big Heart Pet Brands.  This year they were purchased by The J.M. Smucker Company.

Big Heart Pet Brands manufactures and distributes wet and dry dog and cat food under labels such as 9Lives, Gravy Train, Kibbles ‘n Bits, Skippy, Gravy Train, Natural Balance and Nature’s Recipe.

Big Heart Pet Brands is active in the community by serving on boards at Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg Enactus, United Water Customer Advisory Council, Agape, and North Shore Railroad.  They have active members in various dog and cat rescues – Fabulous Felines, PA Pets Feral Program, Chesapeake Area Alaskan Malamute, Therapy Dog International, and CART. Other employees are active responders for the various emergency response organizations including the Bloomsburg Fire Department, Berwick Fire Department, Espy Fire Department, Lime Ridge Fire Department, and Bloomsburg Ambulance. Big Heart Pet Brands employees are soccer coaches, scout leaders, etc. They also participate in various fundraisers such as research for Cancer and Alzheimer’s, Toys for Tots, and Veterans Programs.

Big Heart Pet Brands is proud of their facility and the employees who work there. They look forward to continuing to be a prominent employer in a great area like Bloomsburg.

For more information visit www.bigheartpet.com.

The subject of each month’s Member Spotlight is selected from attendees of Chamber events.

The Chamber is welcoming Merle Norman, a cosmetic studio, to 310 Mill Street in Danville on Thursday, September 10 at 4 p.m. Merle Norman will provide light refreshments and is running a Grand Opening Special from September 10-18. The special includes a free express makeover or facial, free gift with purchase and entrance to win a beauty shopping spree

Tina Welch has been a corporate Human Resources leader for more than 20 years. In that time, she was able to position HR policies and practices in a strategic manner that enabled her organizations to achieve their corporate goals while creating an outstanding work environment for employees. She was able to help organizations grow from 50 to over 400 employees, locally and internationally, and has lived in the shoes of a growing business. Tina left the corporate world with a mission to help many other organizations across Central PA accomplish the same thing. Welch Performance Consulting was founded on the principals that motivated and engaged employees drive motivated and engaged customers who in turn love to buy from the company, creating success and happiness for all.

Welch Performance Consulting offers a full range of HR support for organizations that not only create great workplaces but also improve HR metrics creating a return to client’s bottom line. Services fall into 3 categories:

• Corporate Strategy Development which includes development of organization’s vision, mission and values, corporate governance structure, and facilitating strategic planning.

• HR Process Assessments of HR functions from recruitment and selection, through  on-boarding and orientation, performance management and employee development programs, compensation and benefit assessments, and reward and recognition programs.

• HR Legal Compliance which includes HR audits, handbook development, policy review, employment law compliance, coaching and guidance regarding difficult employee issues.

Growing organizations frequently do not have dedicated HR professionals on staff and benefit from WPC’s guidance and coaching of the company’s leaders and staff assigned this important role. HR departments in need of outsourcing projects to keep on task also find value in WPC’s assistance.

WPC approaches HR from a strategic perspective and a customized approach. Any work done for an organization must be tailored to align with the goals of the organization. This comes from listening to the company to understand what they want to achieve and then delivering the work in a manner that helps them achieve their goals.

WPC’s work has helped our clients achieve numerous awards such as Best Places to Work in PA, the Wall Street Journal’s Best Small Workplace award, awards recognizing healthy workplaces and outstanding workplaces for women to name a few.

Tina and her family are new to Bloomsburg and have a legacy of supporting their community. They have every intention of contributing significantly to the local area as well. In their previous community the Welch’s were active with the YMCA, United Way, Boy Scouts and youth sports leagues, the local school board, volunteer fire department, the Chamber of Commerce, and Leadership Centre County. This year both Tina and her husband, Steve, are continuing that tradition by participating in the 2015-2016 class of Leadership Central Penn; and WPC has already become active in the Chamber’s events and local professional groups.

WPC serves businesses in the entire central PA area and in any industry. They are passionate about helping organizations and teaching them how they can be great places to work.

To learn more about Welch Performance Consulting visit welchperformanceconsulting.com