Have you opened a new business, added a new product, moved to a new location, hired a new person or promoted an employee? The community wants to know, and so do we.

Send us your information at news@peninsulaclarion.com, fax it to 283-3299 or drop it off at the Clarion at 150 Trading Bay in Kenai.

Photos will be considered, as well. For more information, call Nan at 335-1241.

Chambers set schedules

* Nikiski Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon today at the Nikiski Recreation Center at Mile 23.4 of the Kenai Spur Highway. For more information, call Judene at 776-5551.

* The Soldotna Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon Tuesday at Froso's Restaurant. The featured speaker will be Steve Holloran, vice president, community member and visitor relations with the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau. For more information, call Michelle at 262-9814.

* The Kenai Chamber of Commerce luncheon will be held at noon Wednesday at the Kenai Merit Inn. The featured speaker will be Larry Porter, CEO of the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska. For more information, call Janie at 283-7989.

* The Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon Wednesday at the Anchor River Inn.

Rawson promoted

Joyce Rawson of Kenai was promoted to driving instructor and road test instructor at Manny's Drivers Ed Kenai branch.

Rawson received her AAA training last summer. For more information about Manny's Drivers Ed, call 398-9452.

Weight management classes offered

Central Peninsula Hospital's Healthy Directions Weight Management classes, a dietician-led programs, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays or from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Iliamna Room. Classes are four months long with three months of active weight loss and one month maintaining weight lost. Depending on the options chosen, the cost is $160 or $240 for the entire session. Payment it due before class begins. Healthy Directions is is a dietician-led program. For information call Tamara or Kelley at 714-4752.

Soldotna seniors open gift shop

The Soldotna Senior Center's Sitka Rose Gift Shop will open at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 15 A variety of handcrafted items and gifts will be offered. For more information, call 262-2322.

Small business workshops slated

The Small Business Development Center will hold the following workshops at its office in the Red Diamond Center, Suite 12, on Kalifornsky Beach Road.

* A business recordkeeping workshop will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 20. The fee is $25 per person. Preregistration is required no later than Nov. 16.

* A budgeting workshop to learn how to establish budgets, monetary amounts or percentages and how to evaluate successes and failures will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 29. The fee is $15 per person. Preregistration is required by Nov. 16.

For more information or to preregister for workshops, call Bunny at 260-5629 or e-mail her at inblk@uaa.alaska.edu.

Enstar United Way fundraiser continues

Enstar Natural Gas Co. will raffle off a natural gas Weber barbecue for its United Way fundraiser. For every dollar donated to United Way, participants will receive a raffle ticket for the barbecue. Donations may be dropped off at the Soldotna Enstar office at 36225 Kenai Spur Highway.

The drawing will be held Nov. 30. Community members don't have to be a customer to participate. For more information, call Becky McCord at 262-9334.

Seafood processing institute open to applicants

Alaska Seafood Processing Leadership Institute, or ASPLI, a program that aims to promote the professional development of future leaders in the seafood processing industry, is taking applications through Dec. 15.

The program includes three training segments (in Anchorage and Kodiak) and a five-day field trip to the 2008 International Boston Seafood Show and Northeast seafood processors and reprocessors. The training sessions will cover technical aspects of seafood processing, seafood logistics, HACCP/plant sanitation, leadership, personnel management, plant management, regulatory requirements and global seafood marketing.

Participants will have the opportunity to interact with leaders in the seafood processing field and work closely with a professional mentor in their place of employment.

The institute is sponsored by the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program, University of Alaska Fairbanks and is funded in part through a grant from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development's State Training and Employment Program (STEP).

For more information or to apply, call Angela Camos at (907) 274-9699, e-mail fnasc2@uaf.edu or visit www.marineadvisory.org/aspli.

Children's cooking workshops offered

Children ages 6 to 12 may attend pint-size workshop cooking classes at 10 a.m. Saturdays at Allen and Petersen Cooking and Appliance Center in Kenai. Admission is two cans of food or a $2 donation to the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank. A parent must remain during the 30-minute workshops. For more information, call 262-3111.

Food safety leadership award offered

NSF International announced a second call for nominations for its 2008 Food Safety Leadership Awards Program. The program recognizes key individuals and organizations that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in food service safety.

The nominations will be divided into seven categories: technology breakthroughs, research advances, education, equipment design, product development, packaging innovation and systems improvements. Nominations for a special lifetime achievement award also are being accepted. Food service operators, manufacturers, researchers and members of academia are encouraged to submit nominations.

The 2008 award recipients will be announced at the Food Safety Summit on March 19 during a luncheon at the Washington, D.C., Convention Center.

The summit attracts more than 2,000 food manufacturers, food processors, restaurant executives and food retailers.

Additional information is available at www.nsf.org/business/newsroom/fs_awards_nomination.asp or by calling (734) 827-5627. Nominations will be accepted through Nov. 16.

Manufacturer of the Year nominations sought

Nominations for Made in Alaska Manufacturer of the Year are being accepted. Made in Alaska permit holders are eligible to nominate another permit holder or self-nominate by Jan. 12. For more information, call (907) 272-5634 or e-mail madeinalaska@anchoragemarkets.com.

Fisheries business assistance available

Alaska Business Development Center Inc. renewed its Fisheries Business Assistance contract with the state of Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development and Division of Investments.

The contract enables the center to provide free or low-cost business counseling and assistance to commercial harvesters and small businesses in the Alaska fishing industry.