The Main Street Post

Among the newest chamber members

POTTSTOWN PA – Seventeen area businesses recently became members of the Pottstown-based TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, and were recognized during its meeting Thursday (June 13, 2013) at Brookside Country Club, 850 N. Adams St. Chamber President Eileen Dautrich said they were:

• AC Burns General Contracting LLC
• Affinity Bank, A Division of First Priority Bank
• Bellewood Country Club
• Chick-fil-A Royersford
• CzarStar Security, Division of Kriebel Security
• DeVry University
• Gehringer Mechanical
• Lindt Chocolate
• Nathan Altenor’s Janitorial Services Inc.
• Polaris Productions
• Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority (PDIDA)
• Red Lobster #789
• StandingStone Media/SSM Creative
• The Training Center for Sales & Business Development
• Utilitech Inc.
• We R Wireless – Verizon Wireless
• Wrigley’s Business Products & Services

Representatives of several firms (above at right) were on hand to receive membership certificates.

POTTSTOWN PA – Eleven companies and organizations that opened new facilities or renovated space within western Montgomery, eastern Berks and northern Chester counties during the past three months have been recognized with ribbon-cutting ceremonies by the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, 152 High St, Suite 360.

They are:

• Pottstown School District tennis courts, 750 N. Washington St., Pottstown;
• Wolf, Baldwin, & Associates, 800 East High St., Pottstown;
• Jeffery Jackson Enterprises, Inc., 205 E., High St., Pottstown;
• ArtFusion 19464, 254 E. High St., Pottstown;
• State Farm Insurance, 1304 E. High St., Pottstown;
• River of Revolutions Interpretive Center, 140 College Drive, Pottstown;
• Potty Queen, 3115 Sanatoga Rd., Pottstown;
• Revive Consignments, 9 S. Washington St., Boyertown;
• Reading Art Works, 715 Clinton St., Reading;
• National Penn Bank, 2900 N. Charlotte St., Gilbertsville; and
• Sears Appliance and Hardware Store, 700 Nutt Rd., Suite 500, Phoenixville.

For more information, call the chamber at 610-326-2900.

POTTSTOWN PA – Top healthcare attorney Mark A. Smith will be the featured speaker next Wednesday (Aug. 8, 2012) from 11 a.m. to noon during a free webinar covering business impacts and compliance requirements of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and hosted by the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce at its office, 152 High St., Suite 360.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Smith will identify steps businesses should take to prepare for approaching compliance deadlines, and will also provide an overview of Pennsylvania’s proposed approach to establishing required insurance exchanges.

Advance registration is requested. For more information or to register, call chamber President Eileen Dautrich at 610-326-5158 or send her an e-mail, here.

Photo from Google Images

POTTSTOWN PA – The next meeting of the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce Pro-Business Council will be held Aug. 20 (2012; Monday) at 10 a.m. in the chamber office, 152 High St., Suite 360.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Those interested in attending the meeting are asked to call chamber President Eileen Dautrich at 610-326-5158, or send her an e-mail, here.

HARRISBURG PA – Small-business owners in Pennsylvania who want to save money on energy usage or prevent pollution may now apply for a Small Business Advantage Grant through the state Department of Environmental Protection, the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce newsletter reported Tuesday (July 31, 2012).

Businesses can apply for 50-percent matching funds of up to $9,500 to adopt or buy energy-efficient or pollution-prevention equipment or procedures.

The program “helps small businesses secure energy-efficient means to conduct their day-to-day operations,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer told the chamber. “Becoming more energy-efficient will not only reduce environmental impacts, but also make Pennsylvania’s small businesses more competitive.”

Only for-profit corporations, limited liability corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships or other legal entities with 100 or fewer full-time employees can qualify. Their grant-supported projects must be in a Pennsylvania facility they own, and must save the business at least 25 percent annually in energy or pollution-related expenses.

Eligible projects include heating, ventilation, air conditioning and boiler upgrades, high-efficiency lighting, solvent recovery systems, waste recycling systems and auxiliary power units deployed as anti-idling technology for trucks.

The application deadline is Sept. 26. Eligible applications will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis until the money runs out. For more information, call 717-772-8909.

Photo from Google Images

BIDDING THEM WELCOME – Representatives of the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce recently joined representatives of two area businesses to welcome them to their respective communities and ceremonially open their doors to the public with ribbon-cuttings. Outside the newly refurbished Steel River Playhouse, 245 High St., Pottstown PA (above), Deborah Stimson-Snow handled the scissors while, from left, Terese Brittingham, Reed Lindley, Rob Curtis-Brown, Lisa Waltz, Marta Kiesling, Bill Kiesling, and Steve Reazor watched. In Birdsboro PA (below), at All About Family Counseling LLC, 119 N. Furnace St., those assembled for the event were, from left, Adele Klein, Janet Flack, Tim Forester, Mario Di Nenna, Sandy Pierce, Betsy Chapman, and Peggy Brendlinger. Both ceremonies were reported Tuesday (July 17) in the chamber’s weekly newsletter.

by Burt Stein, Business Editor
for The Post Publications

Get your tickets early

POTTSTOWN PA – The TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual golf outing at Hickory Valley Golf Club, 1921 Ludwig Rd., Gilbertsville PA, has been rescheduled from June 11 to Sept. 11 (2012). That presents a bargain opportunity, it said last week.

The chamber is encouraging golfers to take advantage of its “early bird special:” register by July 1 and pay $140 per person for lunch, golf, and dinner, or $550 (a $50 savings) for a foursome.  After July 1, regular pricing applies:  $150 per person for lunch, golf, and dinner, or $40 for dinner only.

To register, call 610-326-5158.

Golf outing sponsors include Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, Main Line Financial Advisors LLC, Keller Williams Realty Group, Lewis Environmental Inc., National Penn Bank, and Last Call by Neiman Marcus. The chamber, located at 152 E. High St., Suite 360, Pottstown, serves business members in the greater Pottstown area.

Photo from Google Images

Eileen Dautrich

POTTSTOWN PA – Eileen Dautrich, executive director of the Pottstown PA-based TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, has been reappointed to serve on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Association of Chamber Professionals, a professional association of Pennsylvania local chambers of commerce executives and others involved in chamber management.

Dautrich has been a board member since 2006.

Members voluntarily serve for specified terms, developing and leading the annual association’s action plan, and assist in the enhancement of quality education in professional and organizational development to its members. The association annually conducts leadership conference, Chamber Day with the state Legislature in Harrisburg, and professional development webinars and programs.

ROYERSFORD PA – A U.S. Chamber of Commerce policy agenda that it claims will help “expand the economy, create jobs, and boost America’s competitiveness in the global economy” is the focus of the March membership meeting of the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, scheduled for March 29 (2012; Thursday) from 7-9 a.m. at Spring-Ford Country Club, 48 Country Club Rd., Royersford.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

U.S. Chamber representatives will discuss policy topics that include producing American energy, rebuilding infrastructure, developing an “innovation agenda,” and regulatory and legal reform, TriCounty chamber President Eileen Dautrich said. They’re hoping local chamber members will promote the “pro-growth and pro-business agenda,” she added.

• Watch a video, above, about the U.S. Chamber’s six-point jobs plan, or see it at the chamber’s YouTube channel.

The breakfast also features a small business expo that highlights “our small business members contributing to free enterprise in the tri-county area,” Dautrich said. The expo is open only to chamber-member companies of 9 or fewer employees. For information and pricing regarding the expo, or to buy tickets for the breakfast, call Kitty at the chamber office, 610-326-2900.

POTTSTOWN PA – Learn the importance of developing wellness initiatives for your business at an “Employee Health” Seminar scheduled for next Thursday (Feb. 23, 2012) from 8-10 a.m. at the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, 152 High Street, Suite 360, Pottstown.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

This educational seminar will be presented by Chester County Public Health Educator Irene Shetron, and David Kraybill, executive director of the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation. The session costs $25 for chamber members and $35 for non-members. For more information, call 610-326-5158.