Sidewalk Grant Applications Are Being Accepted

The Chamber administers a sidewalk grant for the Borough of Huntingdon. This grant is available to low and moderate income homeowners that reside within the Borough of Huntingdon who qualify under a certain income limit based on the size of their household. Individuals that participate are not required to pay anything and will not have any liens placed against their property. Basically, Huntingdon Borough residents that qualify will have their sidewalks replaced at no cost to them.

Time is running out to qualify for this assistance. For more information, please contact Zachary Waite at the Huntingdon County Chamber of Commerce at (814) 643-1110 before August 26. Click here for the application.  

The award nomination deadline is August 21 for the awards that will be presented at the October 6, 2011 Annual Awards Gala. Nominees are being accepted in the following categories:

Business of the Year- Sponsored by the John B. Brown Funeral Home.
Community Service Award- Sponsored by All American Pizza & Subs
Customer Service Award- Sponsored by the Comfort Inn Huntingdon
Educator of the Year Award- Sponsored by Juniata College
Entrepreneurial Success Award- Sponsored by Kooman & Associates
Volunteer of the Year Award- Sponsored by Cisney & O'Donnell, Inc.  

The Chamber is seeking nominations for the prestigious ATHENA Award thanks to the generous support of the following sponsors: BottomLine Pros LLC; DuBois Business College; Grier School, J. C. Blair Health System, Inc.; Juniata College; Lincoln Caverns, Inc. And Whisper Rocks; Northwest Savings Bank; Penelec; Raymond James Financial Services; State College Magazine; and Westminster Woods

We thank our sponsors for making the award presentation possible.

Click here for the nomination forms and a list of past recipients.    

Don't miss your chance to help us recognize deserving businesses and individuals! 

Members of the Huntingdon County Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Committee and a select group of business leaders had the opportunity to meet with Robert DeSousa, State Director for U.S. Senator Pat Toomey last week in Huntingdon County.  Over breakfast, twelve people representing various business sectors shared business and economic concerns.  Business leaders attending the meeting were:  Joe Peluso (JC Blair Memorial Hospital), Helen Pyzowski (Huntingdon CareerLink), Glenn Gribble (Bonney Forge), Joe Keller (Keller Engineers), Jim Bookhammer (Mutual Benefit Group), Mike Rodli (John R. Wald Company, Inc.), Denny Cisney (Cisney & O'Donnell, Inc.), Ann Dunlavy (Lincoln Caverns),  Mathew Price (Huntingdon County Visitors Bureau), and Amy Wise (Huntingdon County Business and Industry, Inc.).  Chamber Office Manager, Zac Waite and Executive Director, Yvonne Martin, represented the event host, the Huntingdon County Chamber of Commerce.    

Mr. DeSousa briefed attendees on the Senators top two current concerns, the federal budget and EPA regulations.  The Senator is co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill, the EPA Regulatory Reform Act of 2011. The Senator is reaching out to business communities to gain an understanding of the issues they face doing business in Pennsylvania.

It was clear that attendees at the breakfast agreed on several issues, with healthcare reform and unemployment compensation being two of the top items. Obama Care has put a strain on businesses as they struggle to meet the new regulations, which in many instances increases their costs.  Adding those costs to the unemployment costs imposed on the business community is detrimental.  The group discussed the current law permitting 99 weeks of unemployment compensation and agreed that although it is necessary to help those who really need to take advantage of this opportunity, the current legislation allows for UC comp abuse by those who wish to take advantage of the system.  The group also felt that it is unjust to businesses to allow people to receive UC comp when they are fired for legitimate reasons.

Lack of funding for hospitals was also discussed.  JC Blair relies heavily on Medicare and Medicaid funding.  Over 60% of JC Blair's patients are insured by these programs.  Among other things, businesses discussed the need to be competitive in a global economy, the importance of transportation funding and workforce development.  Business leaders also discussed the lack of a federal budget and social security funding, noting that government should take its lead from the business community and cut costs as businesses are forced to do instead of increasing the deficit. 

Following the meeting, Robert DeSousa accompanied Yvonne Martin on tours of Bonney Forge Corporation, JC Blair Memorial Hospital and MeadWestvaco.   A meeting was held at Bonney Forge with top management to discuss issues they face doing business in Pennsylvania.  While traveling between locations, Yvonne took the opportunity to further discuss businesses needs with Mr. DeSousa.  

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is considering how a cashless, All-Electronic Tolling (AET) system would impact customers, stakeholders and operations.

In order to reach as many cash paying customers as possible, the PTC has partnered with several organizations, including the PA Chamber of Business and Industry, which have agreed to disseminate the survey to their members. It is important that the perspective of the business community be taken into account as we consider the future of the PA Turnpike.

Visit the website to see how AET works and take the online survey today.

Click here to complete the survey and register to win a gas card. 

Thursday, August 25, 2011

6 p.m. 

Mount Union High School

706 North Shaver St. 

Mount Union, PA 17066 

To view this press release in its entirety, select the following link: 

http://www.puc.state.pa.us/general/press_releases/press_releases.aspx?ShowPR=2811