Chamber Events

Join us for a free information session on our upcoming August 2020 trip along the Rhine River and hear from a representative from Dream Vacations. Light snacks and beverages will be provided.

Enchanting Rhine River Cruise

featuring France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland

August 10-17, 2020

from $3,687* Double Occupancy

*not including airfare; cost increases additional $500 after January 31, 2020  

7-Night Cruise

Tour features include: spacious staterooms, wellness activities and fitness room, free internet and Wi-Fi access, sun deck pool with swim-up bar, daily entertainment including cultural performances, award-winning dining, unlimited fine wine, beer, and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, immersive tours in every destination, knowledgable guides and personal headset for easy exploration, and much more!

Itinerary

Day 1 - Embarkation - Basel, Switzerland

Day 2 - Breisach, Germany

Day 3 - Strasborg, France

Day 4 - Ludwigshafen, Germany - Rudesheim

Day 5 - Rudesheim - Rhine Gorge

Day 6 - Cologne

Day 7 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Day 8 - Amsterdam - Disembarkation 

Optional Pre-Cruise Land Program: 2-nights in Zurich and 2-nights in Lucerne (from $1,560 per person)

Join the LLV Class of 2020 during their opening retreat dinner social catered by QT Catering and meet the future community leaders of the Lebanon Valley. Wish them the best of luck as they begin their journey through the Chamber's Leadership Lebanon Valley program. 

Thank you to our Opening Retreat sponsor:

Whether you're interested in learning more about the program and meeting the LLV board, or attending to support a member of the 2020 LLV class, we look forward to seeing you at our opening retreat dinner!

How can you create a simple business plan? Why do you need one? Should I review my current plan? Come on out for a casual presentation with plenty of time for questions and answers. Presented by Jerry Glenn, certified SCORE mentor.

__________________________

The importance of planning should never be overlooked. For a business to be successful and profitable, the owners and the managing directors must have a clear understanding of the firm's customers, strengths and competition. They must also have the foresight to plan for future expansion. Whether yours is a new business or an existing business in the process of expanding, money is often an issue. Taking time to create an extensive business plan provides you with insight into your business.

Join us for a free information session on our upcoming August 2020 trip along the Rhine River and hear from a representative from Dream Vacations. Light snacks and beverages will be provided.

Enchanting Rhine River Cruise

featuring France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland

August 10-17, 2020

from $3,687* Double Occupancy

*not including airfare; cost increases additional $500 after January 31, 2020  

7-Night Cruise

Tour features include: spacious staterooms, wellness activities and fitness room, free internet and Wi-Fi access, sun deck pool with swim-up bar, daily entertainment including cultural performances, award-winning dining, unlimited fine wine, beer, and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, immersive tours in every destination, knowledgable guides and personal headset for easy exploration, and much more!

Itinerary

Day 1 - Embarkation - Basel, Switzerland

Day 2 - Breisach, Germany

Day 3 - Strasborg, France

Day 4 - Ludwigshafen, Germany - Rudesheim

Day 5 - Rudesheim - Rhine Gorge

Day 6 - Cologne

Day 7 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Day 8 - Amsterdam - Disembarkation 

Optional Pre-Cruise Land Program: 2-nights in Zurich and 2-nights in Lucerne (from $1,560 per person)

Please join this month's Business Roundtable as we present:

E-Marketing - online, email advertising, and more!

This great session, presented by Terri Cole of Chickadee E-Marketing, will focus on marketing your company through e-blasts and other forms of online media. 

This presentation is free to Chamber members and is part of our monthly Business Roundtable workshop.

Lunch is provided courtesy of Dominos Pizza, Lebanon. Drinks are provided by the Chamber.

While the roundtable is free, registration is requested.

Please mark your calendars for all of our Business Roundtables:

• February 28: Cyber-Security
• March 27: Interviewing/Hiring/Firing
• April 24: Franchise vs. Entrepreneur
• May 22: Customer Service & Customer Experience
• June 26: Updating Your Business Plan
• July: NO ROUNDTABLE
• August 28: Do You Speak Millennial?
• September 25: Unemployment & Workers Compensation
• October 23: Your Company’s Brand
• November 20: Getting Credit for Your Business
• December 18: Setting SMART Goals

• M.L. Fletcher, Regional Investment Consultant, Vice President for T. Rowe Price
• Andrew Hildebrand, Professor, Lebanon Valley College "The market is up, taxes are down, what could keep a CFO awake at night?"
• Kevin Courtois, Congressional and Public Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce - Federal Legislative Update

Thank you to our presenting sponsor:

Thanks to our speaker sponsor:

Steve Goodhue 

Thanks to our Advisor Sponsors:

The Small Business Administration and Kutztown Small Business Development Center will present a "First Steps to Starting your Business" workshop.

This workshop covers a number of critical issues relevant to starting and operating a small business. Professional presenters include attorneys, insurance agents, accountants, financial specialists and zoning and codes staff. The workshop is designed for both entrepreneurs thinking about opening their first business and existing business owners looking for a “checkup”. 

Join us for our next Non-Profit Roundtable topic: What is 211?

Brooke Smith, CEO of United Way of Lebanon County, will be providing an overview of the 211 system and how it impacts our community.

Please join this month's Business Roundtable as we present:

Cyber Security - Keeping Your Data Safe

This session, presented by Rodney Royer of LYLAB Technology Solutions and Robert Yeagley of Eagle Secure Solutions, will be sure to provide some insight on keeping your data safe.

This presentation is free to Chamber members and is part of our monthly Business Roundtable workshop.

Lunch is provided courtesy of Domino's Pizza, Lebanon. Drinks are provided by the Chamber.

While the roundtable is free, registration is requested.

Please mark your calendars for all of our Business Roundtables:

• March 27: Interviewing/Hiring/Firing
• April 24: Franchise vs. Entrepreneur
• May 22: Customer Service & Customer Experience
• June 26: Updating Your Business Plan
• July: NO ROUNDTABLE
• August 28: Do You Speak Millennial?
• September 25: Unemployment & Workers Compensation
• October 23: Your Company’s Brand
• November 20: Getting Credit for Your Business
• December 18: Setting SMART Goals

— a program of Leadership Lebanon Valley

Purpose: To provide education, training and tools to employees or anyone in the workforce who may be ready to advance to a managerial position. Individuals attending the training will enter the workforce with a greater skill set. This is an accelerated leader on-boarding program.

“The Chamber's Professional Development Series is a necessary investment to our employees and company. Our supervisors came back from each class with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and a greater perspective on the business world. The presenters really impressed my team and I look forward to sending another group for the next class!”

Jenn Thompson, SHRM-CP
Manager, Human Resources - VF Corp

Who might utilize this program:

• Any member business with employees that does not have an internal training program
• Students and individuals who are looking to advance their skills before applying for a position
• Employees moving into entry level supervisory positions

Program Structure:

• Classes will run one time a week for four weeks from 8:00 -10:30 am
• Classes last 2½ hours each for a total of 10 hours of training

Program Details:

• Each class after the first will begin with a 30-minute reflection/discussion on how participants applied their new skills throughout the previous week
• Participants will leave with a toolkit of resources and information to back up the lessons

Training includes:

Session 1: March 6

Self-Evaluation – What are your professional strengths and weaknesses, how can you utilize your strengths as a leader and develop strategies to overcome weaknesses.

Presenter/facilitator: Dennis Mellott - Team Builders

Session 2: March 13

Professional Standards in the Workplace: ethics, behavior, time management.

Presenter/facilitator: Dr. Marianne Bartley, Time to Think.

Session 3: March 20

How to Manage Staff: motivation, managing difficult employees, scheduling, understanding HR and legal requirements, hiring and firing.

Presenter/facilitator: Sage Schott Reed, The Assessment Network.

Session 4: March 27

Becoming Part of the Company Team – advancing the mission and goals of the company, adding innovation and ideas for growth, making the change to management, managing the work-life balance.

Presenter/facilitator Robert Hadfield, Certified SCORE Mentor.

Simple Steps is a comprehensive program offered by the SCORE Lancaster-Lebanon Chapter with the goal of assisting and equipping small business entrepreneurs with the tools needed to develop a successful business plan. The program will help business entrepreneurs start and grow their business. The program consists of five 2+ hour sequential classes.Who should attend? Individuals or business partners considering starting a business, buying a business or small business owners who want to enrich and grow their business profitably.

This 5-WEEK program carries a $100 fee payable to SCORE. Please visit here for details or to register.

March 11 - SIMPLE STEPS SESSION 1: Starting a Business  An introduction to the SIMPLE STEPS Program including steps an entrepreneur needs to know to start a business or run a new business. This session provides:

Introduction to SCORE and entrepreneurial colleagues also starting a business– Myths and realities of entrepreneurship– Critical success factors– Types of Businesses– Overview of key business planning components to be addressed in detail in upcoming sessionso Components of business ownershipo Legal considerations (structure, licensing, taxes) Business and Marketing plan overview Financial Plan overview including cash management and funding

March 18 - SIMPLE STEPS SESSION 2 : Business Planning  This session focuses on business planning. It discusses how to develop the business idea/concept, create the business model and data collection of core information to create a professional and viable business plan.– Developing your business concept– Elements of a Business Plan– Identifying customers and competitors– How and where to collect the information to complete a Business Plan

March 25 - SIMPLE STEPS SESSION 3: Marketing This session provides an overview of a marketing plan and guides the participants on the steps necessary to build a successful plan. The discussion will touch on product definition, pricing strategy, competition, target markets, marketing strategies to reach customers and costs elements as related to marketing plan choices.– Define your product or service and the benefits they provide – Define and target your customer and the benefit you provide them– Differentiate your product or service – Promote your product or service – Place your product in the marketplace (retail store, website, mail order, etc.)

April 1 - SIMPLE STEPS SESSION 4: Financial Planning and Projections  This session focuses on financial planning for a successful business. The session is intended to take the mystery out of the“numbers” and provide a clear financial framework and tools for understanding and tracking business performance. Participants will learn how to create:– Forecast of revenue and expenses– Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet – Profit and Loss Statement – Break Even Analysis and Benchmarks for your company compared to industry norms 

April 8 - SIMPLE STEPS SESSION 5: Funding and Financing and Panel Discussion with Key Resources  This session discusses financing your business. The discussion includes sources of funds, financial statement analysis,accounting and bookkeeping systems, the six C's of credit, banking relations, ratio analysis, monthly preparation andreview of financial statements. A bank loan officer will provide an inside view of how a banker assesses the merits of business plans and loan applications.In addition, a panel of key resources every small business should know will be available to answer questions on why and how to get started. Resources include: Banker, Insurance Agent, Lawyer, bookkeeper and SCORE Mentor.

— a program of Leadership Lebanon Valley

Session 2:

Professional Standards in the Workplace: ethics, behavior, time management.

Presenter/facilitator: Dr. Marianne Bartley, Time to Think.

Registration for this 4 week course is available through the March 6 event listing. 

— a program of Leadership Lebanon Valley

Session 3: 

How to Manage Staff: motivation, managing difficult employees, scheduling, understanding HR and legal requirements, hiring and firing.

Presenter/facilitator: Sage Schott Reed, The Assessment Network.

Registration for this 4 week course is available through the March 6 event listing.