The Neighborhood Newsletter

JUNE MEMBER OF THE MONTH Heather Meloy, Chestnut Ridge Insurance Services I am an Independent Insurance Agent/Broker - proudly servicing Western Pennsylvania (17 counties) for the past 34 years. As an Independent Agent Broker, I have access to over 100 different companies for all lines of insurance - including Auto, Home, Business, Farm, and Life Insurance to name a few. I am also a Medicare Specialist offering Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicare Supplement Plans and Prescription Drug Plans. I currently have 2 offices - one in Blairsville and one in Greensburg. My mission is to provide options and solutions that work best for my clients. Insurance, let alone Medicare is confusing enough. I strive to educate my clients so they can make the best decision for ‘them’. I offer Medicare 101 seminars, and work with individuals that can offer information on topics such as social security, long term care, and planning. I went back to school and received my degree in Medical Administration - Billing and Coding. This has allowed me to assist my clients and advocate for my Medicare clients with respect to hospital and medical bills they receive. I can often review these with them, clarifying charges, and often reach out to the insurance companies, providers and facilities on their behalf. And of course, I still make house calls! I have been a chamber member for 2 years. I try to attend as many chamber events as possible. As a small business owner, I understand the importance of supporting our local businesses. Being involved with the community is easy with the Chamber. The GLLV Chamber is very proactive with respects to the members, reaching out to us to offer educational programs, help promote our businesses and offering ways to be involved. Through the chamber newsletter, the after hours get togethers, supporting our businesses at grand openings/ribbon cuttings and through other meetings - I can’t put a price tag on that. For the community - it is important to give back, by supporting our seniors, to volunteering and supporting animal rescues. Two areas that are very dear to me. And last but certainly not least, is Esther Mae - my potbelly pig. But that’s a whole other story. Ask me about her next time we meet! Read more

Marketing Amidst Coronavirus Read more

Member of the month Eric Cosby Read more

March is here, and with spring quickly approaching, it’s time to focus on the looming task of spring cleaning. The sense of satisfaction that comes after finally giving the space behind your couch a long overdue sweep or pulling out those old condiments from the depths of your fridge is unmatched. If you haven’t done it yet, here’s your reminder that teriyaki sauce on the bottom shelf expired three years ago. Cleaning those often-neglected areas of home is definitely important, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing some spring cleaning in your workplace. It is important to stay organized in both your work and home life in order to maintain or increase your productivity levels and streamline your work processes. Perhaps the best place to start is your desk. It might seem obvious, but having a clean desk can translate into greater productivity for you. One study by Office Max reported that company executives waste around six weeks per year looking for lost items and information! De-cluttering your office space can give you peace of mind and improve your productivity. Invest in a paper daily planner or a whiteboard calendar to help keep track of your activities and deadlines by the day. Once your desk is reorganized, it’s time to start rethinking strategy and goals. Focus on areas that you think your business might need improvement in and make sure your goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented, and Time-Bound. Specificity is key to goal-setting because it can quickly become difficult to achieve goals that aren’t measurable. Making sure your goals are specific and measurable can help eliminate any uncertainty and wiggle room for failure. Think of it like going to the gym: you’re much more likely to stick with a regular routine if you set a specific weight loss (or gain) goal and track your progress day- by-day until you reach your target. Goals should be attainable as well; setting realistic goals can help you to accomplish them within the time limits that you’ve set and help avoid disappointment. Having results-oriented goals can help you to focus on solving issues that matter most. Finally, making sure your goals are time-bound ensures that you have a specific target date for the completion of your goal in mind. There are few things more satisfying than crossing off a task from your calendar! In addition to revamping your goals and cleaning your office space up, it never hurts to check up on your website and social media accounts. For prospective customers checking out your business for the first time, your company’s website can make or break their opinion. The importance of making sure your website is easy to navigate and user-friendly cannot be understated. Cutting down on irrelevant information, updating your sites calendar and events pages, making sure relevant pages are easy to access, and adding new photos are all great places to start. Maintaining an active social media presence is also major plus, since posting interesting content and engaging with followers shows prospective customers that you don’t hide behind a virtual curtain – you are there to interact with people and answer their questions. Spring cleaning your business can help you to refocus on what matters and clear your mind for the challenges you will face on the road ahead. The Chamber of Commerce and our members can help you with your business’s spring cleaning at any one of our informational sessions. Keep a close watch at our events calendar for more information! Read more

Networking is quite possibly one of the most important skills you can have as a young professional. Today, websites like LinkedIn have made networking even easier by quantifying the amount of people in your network and making contact with those people easier. Even though these sites can be great tools, it is just as important to attend networking events and expand your network by meeting people in person. Read more